Welcome to our exclusive interview here

on Video Jug. We're here with singer

songwriter Zena. How are you Zena?

>> I'm good. How are you?

>> I'm very good, thank you. We've been

following you for the last couple of

months. Can you tell us a bit about the

journey and how it's been?

>> Yes. Um Oh my gosh, where do I start?

Okay. So, like yeah, this year has been

pretty crazy because like starting with

recording at Abi Road at the beginning

of the year and then um doing a live

session there and then recording two

albums over the summer at British Grove

Studios with the most amazing band ever.

Um and then yeah, doing a gig this

coming Monday and video shoots and

everything planned. So yeah, crazy

things happening but very excited. Can

you tell us a bit about what inspired

your music and your style of music?

>> Um, what inspired my music? I think one

of like the the big like things that

inspired it is definitely the album

Speak Now. Um, so this is like my

favorite album of Taylor Swift. And um,

straight away when I was listening to

it, I was like, "Oh my gosh, I didn't

know words could do that." especially

like the song Dear John and like just

flipping through the lyric book every

day and trying to dissect every word. I

was just like, "Oh my gosh, like this is

what I want to do with my life and make

people feel like this." Um, so I think

that was definitely one of the the main

like inspirations. Uh, but I've always

loved writing since I was like like a

tiny kid. Um, just in the kitchen whilst

my mom was cooking and everything. So

um, it's great to have like followed

that through and be doing this now.

Yeah,

>> your music has a very unique feel to it.

It has a great message. How do you want

the people to feel when they're

listening to your music?

>> That's a very good question. I'm always

like I always want them to feel

something different with every song. Um,

so we have the songs that are about

social issues like um some are about

like women's rights, others about like

LGBTQ rights or like other things are

more like niche I guess. But I don't

ever want to be preachy. So what I hope

I achieve through those songs is really

just like they get to have like a moment

of introspection and just think about

what they think about these issues. I

don't think like none of the things I

talk about are controversial. Like it's

just like basic human rights, but it's

just something we still need to be

talking about today. And I don't think

like it's present in a lot of pop music.

So I yeah, that's my main aim to write

about things that aren't usually written

about. And that's like my aim with those

songs. But then we also have the fun

songs, even if lyrics are miserable,

like it's just a fun vibe. And I hope

that they can either just like jam to

it. And then there's the ones that are

actually like super like I don't know

like heart-wrenching. And I just hope

that with those songs like they like the

audience feels less alone cuz that's

what music has done for me. Like made me

feel like heard at times. and I just

hope that I get to achieve that even

with one person. So yeah, these are the

goals through the music.

>> Do you remember your first song you

wrote or your first performance? Can you

tell us a bit about that?

>> Um yeah, I remember like the first

melody I wrote which was just like um I

don't even have a name for it and I

never managed to continue it but it was

like more than I thought. I love this

place. Like it was a little melody and

then my mom was like a that's so cute.

And then like for every event or

anything happening like I always had

like a song that I come up with or even

at school when we had an exam like the

only way I could remember any words was

like by putting them in a song. So I

think songwriting has always been part

of like growing up and yeah everything I

do. [laughter]

>> What's some of the biggest challenges

you think you've faced?

>> So I think the main challenge at the

beginning was not really knowing anybody

in the world of music. Um, and although

like I was like really lucky to do

musical theater as a kid and everything,

um, I think most of my friends always

wanted to do like a career that was

separate from like the creative industry

ones. And like um yes, so I think one of

the like the major things that changed

my life was moving to London and

surrounding myself with so many

creatives and people working in music um

like as their career which like like in

my family normally if you work in music

or theater or anything it's like as a

hobby. [laughter] So um now they're like

super supportive as like that as a

career. Um but yeah, I think surrounding

myself with like lots of like friends

who helped me like you know start

producing songs and then um more

recently working with James um who's my

producer um has just been a phenomenal

experience and getting to like put like

things not only into words like I have

been on my life but now into like actual

like instrumentation and like things

that we can actually release. Um so yeah

very grateful for all of them. What's a

moment so far that's really stuck with

you?

>> A moment so far? Um, I think there's

been many moments. Definitely the first

time recording at Abby Road because that

was also like my first time in an actual

like studio. So, it was just like so

many emotions and like fear and

excitement and everything. Um, another

moment has been like performing at Times

Square like as a concept show in the

past and like um it was just very last

minute like at this festival but like it

was the biggest crowd I've ever seen and

doing that was just like oh my god like

it's New York it's Time Square was also

a feeling that like I that could not be

matched.

>> Yeah.

>> You mentioned a few of the venues that

you've been in over the past few months.

Can you tell us a bit about British

Grove Abbey Road or some of the artists

you've been performing with?

>> Yeah, of course. So, um, at British

Grove Studios, um, that's where we've

been recording both of the albums and,

uh, the people who are part of the band

who are just amazing and so creative and

talented are, um, Jake, who's the

guitarist, and who's also been like

taking on the role uh, of MD as well

more recently. And he's phenomenal at

everything he does because one note I

always give him is like, "Can you make

that guitar not sound like a guitar?"

And he just does that and like he puts a

paintbrush over a guitar. Like he puts

wires between like the chords. I don't

know what he does, but it just does like

magic and you wouldn't believe when you

hear it that

sounds so different when I just

[laughter] it. Um so he's phenomenal.

Anyway, and then Luke is our keys player

who's um from Glasgow, which he calls

like the superior part of Scotland,

[laughter] but he's really funny as

well. Um my most recent interaction with

him was like cuz he was eating chocolate

in the studio and then I said to him

like, "Oh, it's good. Like it's a good

energy boost that you're having that."

And then he said, "Yeah, there are worse

things to be addicted to." I can't do

the Scottish accent, but like and then I

was like and then he's like, "I'm

addicted to those things as well,

unfortunately." And I don't know, he's

just very funny in every line he he

speaks, even though he might not

[laughter] like realize it. Um, but he's

great and super talented, and he does

lots of like pretty things on the keys.

So, really excited for people to hear

like how everything sounds. But then we

have JGO who's our bass player, and he's

like very much a leader like of the

troop sometimes, and he um yeah, he just

comes up with the most amazing things,

and he's just effortlessly cool. And uh

we have Alex Reeves on the drums and

like he's so energetic and such a young

spirit and talks an awful lot about meat

and how much he loves to eat meat. Um

but he's a funny guy and um everyone has

such like strong but beautiful

personalities and I'm just very honored

to to even get to be in the same room as

them. Yeah.

>> Having great characters builds a really

good vibe in the studio, doesn't it?

>> Yeah, for sure. Yeah,

>> that's great. Do you have a special

memory to when you first met the band?

Maybe the first song you made together

or the first performance you had

together?

>> Yeah, like I met them at like separate

times. Um, the first person I think I've

met of the band was Jake because we

performed together back at a gig in

January. Um, and I remember thinking

like, wow, like he's so cool and I want

to work with him again. And then I got

to work with Jake and Luke at Abbey

Road. and then the rest of them at

British Grove. So, it's kind of been

like like at different times, but um

yeah, every time it was just

magic. Um yeah. [laughter]

>> So, your approach to music could be seen

as quite controversial in a way. What's

the message or emotion you want people

to feel when they're listening to your

music?

>> Um so, in terms of the songs about like

social issues, like I never like being

preachy. So I think what I want through

those songs is mainly for people to just

have like their own like introspection

about like how they feel about like

certain things. So there's a song about

like women's rights, LGBTQ rights, which

aren't I don't think it's controversial,

but [laughter] like I think it's just

like things that they're just human

rights, right? So um I I just think it's

important to write things like that cuz

somehow we're still questioning them in

this world. And then the other songs

which are like more fun. Well, they're

fun but they're sad, you know, because

they just sound fun, but they're Yeah.

lyrically like miserable. Um, but I just

want people to know like whatever you're

feeling like you're not alone in this.

>> What's next for you and your fans?

>> What's next? I mean, there's so much

coming. There's like two albums coming.

So, that's like crazy. Um, what I'd love

to do especially is because a lot of

like or like all the lyrics or many of

the lyrics are very visual. So what I'd

love to do is cuz when I write I have

like the whole music video playing in my

head. So what I'd love to do is to

transpose those words into worlds that

are yeah cinematic and everything. And

within the within those videos also like

put in like loads of Easter eggs cuz

like Taylor does that and I love like

analyzing and writing literal

dissertations about her music videos. So

to do that would be a lot of fun to like

create a scavenger hunt within like just

an image. I think that's really cool. Um

but yeah, we're going to be playing

shows again and hopefully releasing the

music hopefully. Yeah, like hopefully a

lot of things, but we're doing it. So um

yeah, there's so much I don't know how

to like contain that within words and

I'm like really really happy with

everything we created. So just really

excited to share it. Yeah.

>> Great. Thank you very much, Zena. Thank

you.