bitter heart by zee avi

 

Sunny little song – even brighter story… Zee Avi is just 23 but she's an old soul. A huge talent in a petite frame bringing a universal message from the unlikely birthplace of Borneo, an ancient island east of Malaysia which remains an untouched, natural paradise, an apt description of her songs. How Avi came to record her debut album in L.A., the first joint release from Ian Montone's Monotone Label and Jack Johnson's Brushfire Records, is a true 21st century tale of the way the Internet has transformed the music business and shrunk the globe in the process.

At 17, Zee started locking herself in a room for hours on end to learn to play guitar. She began recording her songs on a webcam and posting them on YouTube for a friend to hear. "I remember getting so excited when there was one new comment from some random person I didn't know… One was written by Kris Rowley, a U.K. singer-songwriter with a YouTube following under the name Zzzzzzzzap. He began posting her videos on his site, which began a viral snowball effect. The day before her 22nd birthday, Zee posted what she intended to be "my last video," a holiday song, "No Christmas for Me." By the time she checked her e-mail Avi had almost 3,000 messages including a slew of label offers. 

Before she knew it Zee was on a plane to L.A. to record her debut with producer Robert Carranza at Brushfire's Solar Powered Plastic Plant. With an eclectic pool of influences that range from such eccentrics as Cat Power, Regina Spektor, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, Jolie Holland, Daniel Johnston and Chris Garneau, to jazz greats Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, to classics like Velvet Underground and Led Zeppelin, this self-described "rock lover at heart" captures the dark, bittersweet qualities of romance with a crack left open for hope and optimism.

From Malaysia to Los Angeles, Zee Avi is enjoying the ride and ready to take on passengers. "I'm still pinching myself" she gushes. "My parents always told me it's important to keep yourself grounded. I'm thankful, but at the same time, I just want to jump through the roof. It's been a pretty amazing journey, getting to work with some really wonderful people, a blessing, really."

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