Zee Avi
Artist: Zee Avi
Hails from: Malaysia
Musical Style: Alternative, Pop, Acoustic
For Fans of: Feist, Jack Johnson, Regina Spektor
Why you should check her out:
The slow rhythmic chords emanating from Zee Avi’s impossibly charming self titled debut, conjures up immediate images of the warm sunbathed beaches and swaying hammocks derived from her island origins. With her hypnotically light voice and nimble melodies, Zee Avi sweetly creates the kind of respite fit for paradise.
Background Check:
Zee Avi is a success story of the You Tube variety, where her self recorded acoustic demos landed her a deal on Jack Johnson’s rapidly expanding Brushfire Records. Born on the tropical island of Borneo, Avi was raised in pristine, lush rainforests, ample settings for a young mind with songwriting ambitions. Avi voraciously learned to play guitar at a young age, citing influences from classical jazz to the Velvet Underground, and at age 17 moved to Kuala Lumpur before her music eventually brought her to L.A.
Whether it is an acoustic or full band accompaniment, Avi’s music is a retreat from the gravity of the modern world. Her softly swaying tunes envelop, in simple poignancy, a sense of the island serenity she grew up in. Even as she beautifully covers Morrissey’s “First of the Gang to Die” the tranquility is so weightless and bright, it’s hard to believe something could be so gentle and so affecting.
Underneath that bright surface, Avi’s songs reveal a depth and emotion usually glossed over. Songs like “Just You and Me,” written on ukulele, and sounding as classic as 1930’s ragtime, balance the whispered pains and mournful horns of songs like “Bitter Heart.” Carried by Avi’s fragile and doting voice, the tales of failed love and hopeful tomorrows carry with them the sincerity of experience, without the disparity of cynicism. Whatever the hardship, Zee Avi can look to her music and her life for ever amplified inspiration.
Where you can find her in Cyberspace:
On Tour: