Zoé
KEEPING TEMPO INTO TOMORROW, THE GRAMMY-WINNING BAND ZOÉ HAS NO INTENTION OF SLOWING DOWN
In preparation for their upcoming US tour, Zoé drummer Rodrigo Guardiola spent a couple minutes with AFROTAINO to chat about being on the road, connecting with fans abroad, and keeping creatively inspired over a 20+ year span of ruling the Mexican alternative rock scene.
Ask any hard-working recording artist: it gets harder year after year to evolve & mature under the burn of the Spotify sun. As genres rise & dive out of popularity over the years, artists & musicians do their best to stay in rotation. But it’s not easy to continually manifest magic from studio to stage. To deliver original, stick-in-your-brain compositions, with perfect lyrics & chord licks that penetrate the collective psyche of their fan bases, and to balance that with real-time relevance becomes more challenging with every release. The live concert experience is what the artists & the music lover share – the brief intersection to make sense of it all, fulfilling existential roles that validate dreams in this rock & roll life.
A band like Zoé – who emerged in Mexico in the mid-90’s as the murky, cluttered waters of Grunge music wave started to recede – know a thing or two about weathering these semi-existential storms. Speaking with Zoé drummer Rodrigo Guardiola shed some light on what keeps the band pushing into the future with creative integrity. Young rockers should take heed.
On recording, experimentation is key: “When we go into the studio, we just concentrate on the music…sometimes we turn it upside down, and turn things backwards…” Despite some studio tricks here and there, they build on their signature bittersweet alt-pop sound, with frontman/lead vocalist León Larregui anchoring down the songs: “No matter what sound we create, León’s vocals add the perfect layer to each composition. Our fans recognize that.”
Oh yeah, that’s right: Zoé fans are hardcore. From Mexico City to Paris, Zoé fans attend concerts with fervor & pride. When discussing touring, Guardiola was asked which city outside of Mexico ignites the band’s spirits the most? “Bogotá. Every time we play there, it gets bigger and better than the last. It is a very special place for Zoé.”
But, alas, “today” is different. Sweating under stage lights, changing environments & climates night after night, draws some concern this time around, as the pandemic brings a stark reality, one very different than previous tours. “We are being very careful for this tour”, says Guardiola, when talking about health care amongst the band & crew.
Zoé as a unit: Guardiola assures the band’s fans, nonetheless, that once they hit the road, it will be a celebration. “When we go out on tour, that’s when we come together and become family again.”
Zoé begins touring U.S. cities in mid-August 2021.
