Zoe and her multimedia approach to music
Why do girls have to be this and that, but ‘boys will be boys’? This was a question young Zoe had asked her parents and eventually made into her personal mantra. Ahead of her opening slot for the AMG First World Tour, Zoe shares her personal journey breaking the gender stereotypes on femininity through her music.
Growing up in a religious school, Zoe’s main exposure to music was the choir worship. Because of her mezzo-alto voice though, she didn’t quite enjoy the selection of songs that tend to be sung at choir. “Don’t get me wrong, I think every genre of music is great. I think I couldn’t appreciate the type of choir songs at that time because of the other social context and dynamics I was experiencing at that time.” Zoe shared that she has always felt that there was a double standard placed on women that is more subtle in the music industry. Women, she said, were expected to have soft, feminine voices and sing choir, or ballads or love songs. Men, on the other hand, could do whatever they wanted, in whatever styles, and would still be recognised and appreciated regardless. “I really wanted to change that, and I knew that if I were to ever make a breakthrough, it would have to be through experimenting outside existing conventions.”
And that she did. Zoe drew a lot of inspiration from her visual arts background and infused an entirely different meaning to the saying “the world is your canvas.” She said, “I’m always asking myself, what’s the story behind this?” Zoe also opened up about her “mild synesthesia”, and how she has embraced it as her ‘secret weapon’ in her creative process. “If you ask me, I think everyone’s brains are wired differently, and that’s okay! The synesthetic associations help me think beyond cliches when trying to pin emotions into words, and thoughts into sounds.”
Zoe’s music has been described as lo-fi, R&B-hop that blends elements of trap, electronic and a touch of punk rock. Her first official debut song, “Crowns in the Underground” has been characterized as having "down tempo, with melancholic themes and soulful vocals". The album within which this song is part of will be released by the end of the month.