Baby Zionov Announces Album, Shares New Single ‘Dolphin Diamond Raceway’ feat. deepState
Baby Zionov Announces Album, Shares New Single ‘Dolphin Diamond Raceway’ feat. deepState
August 1st, 2025
Baby Zionov is the musical project of Aaliyah Zionov (she/her), a musician and songwriter based in Tāmaki Makaurau.
An icon of Aotearoa’s underground electronica scene Baby Zionov’s music is deeply inspired by the mid-2000s Internet and blurs the lines between the worlds of pop, dance, and the avant-garde. Since her breakout 2018 collaboration with Ayesha Erotica, Baby Zionov has gone on to support Charli XCX and perform at The Others Way, Newtown Festival and Cross Street Music Festival. Baby Zionov’s critically acclaimed 2022 debut album Henrietta was nominated for Album Of The Year in at Student Radio Network Awards, where she was also nominated for Best Solo Act. Baby Zionov is active in her community, curating and producing the Loud & Proud Festival as well as remixing tracks for Memory Foam, deepState and Amamelia.
2025 saw Baby Zionov return with the high tempo return ‘Cirrus Homebound’ and the SRN hit ‘Froggy Forest Raceway’. Today Baby Zionov announces her new album Raceways Of My Heart and shares the new single ‘Dolphin Diamond Raceway’ feat. deepState.
Dolphin Diamond Raceway feat. deepState contrasts dreamy, suspenseful pads and pianos against a relentless acid squelch and bouncing drums. Using ‘90s trance as a blueprint the song takes the listener on a wild ride through on a gorgeous, joyous, trippy, chopped-up soundscape.
“Dolphin Diamond Raceway feat. deepState is inspired in part by the waterparks and outdoor swimming pools of my childhood,” explains Zionov. “Splash Planet and the Parnell Baths are some of the most joyous places in the world to me. I wanted to evoke the same feelings of glee that the wacky inflatable creatures, the brightly coloured architecture, the rush of the slides, and the unnaturally crisp blue water stirred in me when I was a kid.”
“The concept of the album is ‘the soundtrack for a racing game that doesn’t exist.’ Dolphin Diamond Raceway is the first song on the album and is essentially the scene-setter to get you ready to race your heart out, the big bright opening level brimming with digital sunshine and shiny, 3D-modelled trees and flowers. I wanted the listener to feel like an exciting new world is opening up in front of them, beckoning them to drive around and explore.”
“I filled Dolphin Diamond Raceway feat. deepState with fun, silly details and elaborate ‘setpieces’ to help create a sound-world that feels lively and animated. My personal favourite is the middle section where you hear a bunch of orchestra blasts and a splash as a crowd of children goes wild, like someone just did a really cool somersault into the water or something. At the end, the song explodes into a fanfare to congratulate you on winning your first race!”
“I think it’s my favourite song I’ve ever made!”
Check out all things Baby Zionov below: