Ze!

Can you tell us how did you started out?

I started gigging about 10 years ago, in ’99 as a rapper in a girl-band. I went solo in 2002, at that time i didn’t have a very clear direction and I tried writing all sorts of different kinds of music. I released my first EP and did everything from rock to hiphop. It was my DnB track that became my first track that ever got played on radio, followed by my album which was another experimental record and yet again I realize my electronic numbers did better than my other sounds.

How would you describe your music?

Fun, party music. My songs aren’t rocket science, and i like that about it.

I was reading an interview that you did online and got intrigued by the ‘Beyonce fiasco’, I’m not at all familiar with it, but it kind of piqued my interest. What was the ‘Beyonce fiasco’ and why did you get a lot of hate mail (as well as lot of attention) with it?

Beyonce was supposed to come perform here in Kuala Lumpur, everybody was psyched about it but she had to cancel and so I posted on my facebook status that i was ‘glad that that woman isn’t coming to tell us single ladies how to put our hands up’. Clearly, i was kidding. A few hours later, I came back to check on my fb and found hundreds of friend requests and thought my account was hacked until somebody told me about the post on Media Takeout about some Malaysian singer dissing Beyonce. I thought it was a really funny way to end up on a celebrity gossip blog, but at the same time felt that i had it clear that I truly respect Beyonce as a performer because not only is she insanely gorgeous, she’s smart and is an amazing artist without a doubt.

You opinion on Lady Gaga : Crazy Insane or Artistic Genius? On a related note, what is a disco stick anyway?

I think it’s still very early in her career to say but if I had to pick then i’d say Artistic Genius. She definitely had that little something that was needed in pop music which was getting very boring. We always need a weirdo on the charts – we’ve had MJ, Madonna, Prince, Gwen Stefani in her No Doubt days, Pink, etc – and then came Lady Gaga. I don’t think she’s crazy insane tho, cause she knows what she’s doing. For me, crazy insane is Courtney Love. And i love her, for being Courtney Love. I dont know any other artists who can look so crazy and beautiful at the same time.

I’m sorry but I honestly can’t think of any other meaning for disco stick other than a penis. Can you?

You’ve got a new album out soon called ‘I am Glam’ – can you tell us more about it?

It’s got 10 songs on it, all disco electropop trash. I am proud to say that I have finally found my sound and this album took me 4 years to produce with Ruben Debusschere, mostly recorded in Belgium. It also features POSH! the Prince on my intro (who is currently touring with Lady Gaga), Docolv (a French producer), Defunct! (a DJ duo from US) , The Coolness (a glam rock band from London) and my sister miss.osixnine (a DJ & Designer, who did the artwork). It’s gonna drop this May 12th!

Can you share some songs that you’d like for our readers to hear?

‘I Am Glam’ was written about my frustrations over the local music scene from where I come from. I felt that I had so much to offer yet nobody was giving me any attention. It was written before I ever went touring in Europe, where I actually sang that song live at every show and slowly came to realize that maybe the local scene was never the audience i was looking for after all. But i’m glad all that anger led to me to this song – because whenever i sing it now, it reminds me of how much i’ve grown as an artist.

‘Boys I Like’ is about, well, boys i like. I wrote it just after breaking up with my long-time boyfriend and i thought i’d write a really silly song about boys. The song is also gonna be on my album – I first released the song in 2007, in collaboration with Eric Durchholz who contributed one of his photographs as my single cover of a gay couple kissing. When I went to LA recently, some friends of mine loved the song so much that we made a music video. It’ll feature some very talented new and upcoming Hollywood actors, and we’re excited to release it real soon. Watch out!

I always ask this question to every artist that we feature –  how do you define indie music?

Indie music to me represents the soul of the artist, that there is a story behind the music and where it comes from. I want to feel that the artist has put his every blood, sweat and tear into that record and have it mean something.

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Ze! is your indie substitute to today’s Lady Gaga / Beyonce dominated dance pop, as well as a fresher alternative to M.I.A. or Santigold – just up the electrodance factor a bit and add more out of this world outfits.  With the international release of her album I Am Glam!, we’re quite sure that Ze!‘s well on her way to reach a wider audience that knows what ‘glam’ is exactly all about.

I Am Glam! drops tomorrow on May 12th – you can check more details about the album launch as well as a preview of the songs on Ze!’s official site at – https://ze.com.my/