Zoe Wees Ascendant
The instant that I heard German singer-songwriter Zoe Wees’ voice, I was stunned. Literally. I sat frozen in my desk chair amazed at what I was hearing. It was that day that I realized that although many songs may touch us in our hearts and souls, they don’t all touch in the same spaces. It’s the reason why every song differs in the way they make us feel, not just the individual emotions themselves, but the nuanced feelings that exist between them. Listening to her debut single “Control”, I knew that this was a song worthy of repeated playing, which I exactly what I did later that evening.
I often wait until night to listen to music, when I can relax, smoke a joint, and sip on something with alcohol. It seems that I hear more when I’m under the influence. With Zoe, however, I just wanted to be immersed in that wonderful pool of aural magnificence! It couldn’t have come at a better time, as the pandemic was beginning to grow exponentially that same month (March). But that's all there was, just that one song and I had no choice but to (im-) patiently wait until the next banger, “Girls Like Us” released earlier this year. That’s when I thought it would be the perfect time to reach out to her people and see if I could get an interview with her before the rest of the world found out about her. I was completely unaware that my time had come and gone almost from the day “Control” was released. From what I’ve read since then, her ascent happened quickly. It shouldn’t have surprised me, really. It would only take one person in a position to make it a hit after hearing the song just once.
The day I received the notification from Apple Music that her EP Golden Wings had been added to my library, I was ecstatic! The combination of Zoe’s music and freshly brewed coffee was heavenly! The first two tracks are those that had been previously released, so hearing the rest of the EP was the real treat for me since I hadn’t heard those tracks as yet. People talk about being “vulnerable” in their music and I don’t doubt that they’re being genuine when they say that, but there are few artists that I feel truly put themselves out there. Zoe Wees opens up her wounds in all of her songs, especially on the aforementioned “Control” and “Ghost”. The former explores her struggles with benign rolandic epilepsy (BRE), the latter deals with what it feels like to allow oneself to be vulnerable. Her music is a reminder that there once was a genre of music called “soul”.
Before publishing this article, I checked to see if Zoe had released anything since, and I was rewarded with two songs. I first gave a listen to the amazing “Hold Me Like You Used To”. It’s a song of nostalgia and heartache, and (in my opinion) Zoe’s voice has never sounded better. The second song I gave a listen to is by Norwegian producer Kygo, a pleasant dance tune that may not blow your mind, but satisfies enough to get you on the floor.
For a year now, I’ve watched as Zoe Wees’ career ascended the charts and have witnessed the (well-deserved) accolades heaped upon her from Spotify, YouTube, to Universal Music. She’s one of the few artists whose new music I eagerly anticipate hearing, and I cannot wait to hear what she does next.
