A couple of months ago, I got to cover the Rainbow Bistro and all the musical acts that they happened to showcase. During the coverage of that article, I saw Zeelle perform for the first time (She is actually the singer on the cover of the article!). Ever since then, Zeelle has been doing a lot more local shows and released the Mad EP. I got a chance to sit down with the artist and discuss her inspirations, the new EP and the musical journey that they have taken so far.
Q: How would you describe the Mad EP to someone who hasn’t listened to it yet?
A: Sonically, it is everything that I love to listen to and love to make. There are a lot of different genres it takes you through, it is very tumultuous. Lyrically and thematically, it takes you through the stages of grief after a piece of trauma. I detailed it a little bit on the instagram posts that I did for each song, but to summarise it: We start with “mad”, the ending of whatever situation that could be traumatic and it is the anger phase afterwards. Moving into “In one ear” where people in your life start to abandon you because of this. “Hourglass/ corpse bride” being the sadness and the longing for wanting to go back to how things were. “Apple tree” being “I don’t need anybody, I can do what I want”. And then “Medusa” is that resolution piece, coming to terms with what happened and learning to exist with it.
Q: What significance does the title track “Mad” have?
A: That was the last song I wrote for the Ep. I wrote it at the very end of August on a plane back to Edmonton from Africa, as I was about to break up with my ex. I was angry on an 18 hour plane ride and I was in my notes app rage typing. And then, I was going over to my mom and showing her. Genuinely, I was so angry when I wrote that song and I love words that have multiple meanings. Mad being crazy, angry, insane, passionate even. It’s a very strong word that holds a lot of different meanings. The song is you’re crazy if you think I’m going to be upset and show you that I am upset. The EP itself is all these different versions of madness like anger, craziness, delusion and passion.
Featured: Zeelle. Photo: Vasileios Tselios
Q: You uniquely have a playlist with all your musical inspirations, are they a big part of your music career?
A: Oh yeah, I love so many artists, it’s really hard for me to pick my favourite. Just cause I love her as a human, I love Sabrina Carpenter. I met her when I was 12 or 13 through my voice coach at the time. She is so lovely and it’s so cool that she is now getting the recognition she deserves. I love a lot of the diversity she has in her music, she has been a huge inspiration for me. Also just my friends in the scene. Hannah Vig, a really good friend of mine, she is always pushing me and we push each other. Eric Montpool, he is my guitarist and the lead singer of Noise Hotel. He is one of the most talented musicians I know, and he is also constantly pushing me. I love my friends, man, it’s so cool that I get to say that my friends are such talented musicians. I mean you can scroll through that inspiration playlist, there are so many different artists on there.
Q: How did you go about performing in Ottawa once you moved here?
A: My friend, who was in the same residence building as me, was like “hey, do you want to come to a show with me, my friends are performing”. So we go to the 27b club and Noise Hotel is performing, with School House. I saw Christian Strong outside, and I was like “You are in my motivation class!” and we had a little funny moment. I became friends with them and started going to more of their shows. I met Hannah Vig and they were like “Oh my god, you are a musician, let me hear your stuff”. She was like “hey do you want to open for me at the Avant Garde”. I had my crappy little Cassio keyboard that I bought myself and it was on this little stand and I was playing my songs. A few people came up to me and said “You are really good, we need to get you a better stage”. One of those people was Luka from Frabjous, and he has been nothing but lovely to me. He gave me a spot at Cool Kids Club which was a show at club Saw. It was my second show in Ottawa ever and it was sold out. It was wonderful, I was starting to tear up. That event kind of kick started everything for me.
Q: Does the name Zeelle have any significance?
A:It’s my initials. My full name is Zahra Ladha. Also my uncle has just called me “Zee” my whole life. So, to pay homage to a nickname that I have and I wanted something that was distinct. I like keeping my life separate. People ask “what fruit are you?”, I say I am a pomegranate because I come in sections. Music is one part of my life, and it helps me get into character as well. Having that confidence and that persona when I get up on stage.
If you want to catch a Zeelle performance, information about upcoming performances are usually posted on the artist’s instagram, such as their upcoming performance at the Rainbow on May 11th.
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