Zoe Konez does everything herself — writes, records, produces, plays the guitar. The Brighton-based singer-songwriter has spent years building an arrestingly intimate corpus of works, aided by warm fingerpicked guitar and rich harmonies stacked on top of each other. But the most important element is, of course, Zoe's songs that make you feel like you overheard them by chance.
Her new album Everything's Fine, out June 12th, goes deep into "inner-city loneliness, the need for human connection and the slow search for a different life". Five million Spotify streams, BBC 6 Music, a Netflix sync on Love Is Blind — the audience found her, and it's high time we join the growing fandom.
The entry point is Nudge, a stand-out track from the upcoming record. We already mentioned that Zoe's output often reaches for intimacy (and achieves it). But the striking thing about it is that the songs manage to sound both intimate and BIG. Here it's evident from the very first guitar sounds, then the universe expands when we hear the in-your-face, larger-than-life Zoe's vocals. And then the trademark harmonies take us from the warmth of a lonely bedroom to outer space. The music feels like it zooms out and shows everything from bird's eye view. The bass frequencies add weight to the whole thing. Mixing and mastering are excellent.
The interesting thing about it is the song's topic. Zoe sings about the weight and hardship of being strong and vulnerable at the same time. And the music fits this perfectly. Zoe sings about a certain nudge that helps her keep going. This is very recognizeable. And it also leaves room for interpretation – because for each of us this nudge would be caused by a different thing – a set of values, a belief, or a memory of someone we love.
Check out Nudge and be sure to listen to the whole album when it's out.