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Artist
Zoe Spencer
11+ albums
about
Influenced at an early age, by the likes of Billy Holiday, Teena Marie, Phyllis Hyman, Sade, and Chaka Khan, Zoe realized that being able to deliver a song with true passion involved being able to express her own feelings, experiences, and emotions. It wasn't about "a belt" or "a riff"; it was about the feeling behind the lyric. So, she took aspects from each of these 'True Divas' and used them to begin writing her own lyrics, and cultivating her own vocal style. She began to merge intricate lyrics with intricate vocal arrangements, transforming her poetry into song-under the guidance of the renowned Al Johnson. "I didn't want to belt or riff for 3 out of the 4 minutes of a song in order to move people. That wasn't my style. Anyway, we already had beautiful 'belters' and 'riffers', like Patti, Kelly, and Faith. Nor did I want to infinitely repeat a hook because 'to me' that's not song. I wanted to use melodic intonations and abstract vocal combinations to tell a story that people would hear and feel in their souls-like Lauryn (Hill) does. So, when I first started writing, I would take my songs to Al and he would critique them like a dissertation. It used to make me angry because I would go in thinking it was a good song- but when he finished critiquing it- it wasnt so good. He taught me that a song should be like a story. Everything should both fit and make chronological sense to the listener. It had to be succinct. He encouraged me to do more than put words together tha
