Zoë Johnston is a
Grammy
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
-nominated British singer and songwriter, born in
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
, England. She has written and recorded songs with a number of bands including
Faithless
Faithless are an English dance music Band (rock and pop), band that formed in 1995, with its core original members being Rollo Armstrong, Rollo, Sister Bliss and Maxi Jazz. During the band's initial period of success, Sister Bliss and Maxi Ja ...
,
Above & Beyond,
Bent, and
Delerium
Delerium is a Canadian new-age ambient electronic musical duo that formed in 1987, originally as a side project of the influential industrial music act Front Line Assembly. Throughout the band's history, their musical style has encompassed a ...
, and also with former
Beautiful South
The Beautiful South were an English pop rock group formed in 1988 by Paul Heaton and Dave Hemingway, two former members of the Hull group the Housemartins, both of whom performed lead and backing vocals. Other members staying throughout the ...
frontman
Paul Heaton
Paul David Heaton (born 9 May 1962) is an English singer-songwriter. He was the lead singer and main lyricist of the Housemartins, who had commercial success in the UK and other European countries between 1985 and 1988, releasing several singl ...
as part of his solo projects. Her longest musical collaborative partnership is with UK
trance
Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...
group
Above & Beyond.
Early work
Zoë wrote with Nottingham-based
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...
duo Simon White and Cal Gibson, firstly on the single "Cherry Trees" (1999) and then on a number of tracks which were released on their debut album ''A View From the Heights'', released on both vinyl and CD by
Glasgow Underground in 1999. In all work with Neon Heights, Zoë is credited under the moniker "Zed J". Numerous remixes of the album tracks followed. Johnston received praise in early write-ups with one reviewer finding her vocals to be "so distinctive, almost unearthly".
/sup> She also wrote with Hubtone ("Wayback" in 1998 and "Red Balloon" in 1999), Weekender ("Sunday Session" in 2000), and created an unreleased solo EP entitled ''Balloon Woods'' (1999).
Bent
After reuniting as old school friends, Zoë began exchanging demos
Demos may refer to:
Computing
* DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system
* DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR
* Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems
* Plural for Demo (computer programming ...
with Simon Mills (one half of the UK electronica duo Bent along with Nail Tolliday). The band were in the process of putting together their debut album having just been signed to Ministry of Sound
Ministry of Sound or Ministry of Sound Group is a multimedia entertainment business based in London with a nightclub, shared workspace and private members' club, worldwide events operation, music publisher (popular music), music publishing busin ...
. At home, Johnston was using a 4 track to record guitars and vocals and had just completed an acoustic version of her song "Private Road". Simon immediately loved it and asked her to re-record it with Bent for inclusion on their debut album, '' Programmed to Love'' (2000). Zoë played guitars and sang on the album version of the track. Shortly afterwards, she wrote her vocal parts for the song "Swollen", which was described by the British actor Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, 14 March 1933) is a retired English actor. Known for his distinct Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films over Michael Caine filmography, a career that spanned eight decades an ...
during his BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
broadcast of ''Desert Island Discs
''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942.
Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight audio recordin ...
'' as "one of the most romantic songs in chill music I've ever heard". In keeping with the format of the show, he included "Swollen" in a list of only eight songs he would take with him were he cast away on a desert island with limited resources. He also included the track on a self-compiled chill-out album entitled '' Cained''.
Faithless
Upon the release of "Swollen", Faithless
Faithless are an English dance music Band (rock and pop), band that formed in 1995, with its core original members being Rollo Armstrong, Rollo, Sister Bliss and Maxi Jazz. During the band's initial period of success, Sister Bliss and Maxi Ja ...
member Rollo Armstrong
Rowland Constantine O'Malley Armstrong (born 8 May 1966), known professionally as both Rollo and R Plus, is an English DJ and music producer. He is one half of the remix/production duo Rollo & Sister Bliss and is a founding, non-touring, membe ...
was one of a few people tasked with re-mixing the song. He was immediately drawn to Zoë's voice but assumed she had been sampled from a 1930s-era record as Mills and Tolliday were at this time frequently building their songs around vocals lifted from old vinyl. When he received the audio parts, he realized otherwise and contacted Zoë asking her to write with Faithless. He sent her a cassette tape of an instrumental track which would eventually become the song "Evergreen". Zoë worked using the 4 track at home and wrote the vocal parts, before re-recording them at the Faithless studio in London with the approval of Rollo and Sister Bliss
Ayalah Deborah Bentovim (born 30 December 1970), better known by her stage name Sister Bliss, is a British keyboardist, record producer, DJ and songwriter. In the studio, she is best known for her work with Rollo Armstrong as one half of the pr ...
.
Following this, Johnston returned to the studio to record " Crazy English Summer". Rollo and Sister Bliss had written an instrumental to which Zoë added the lyrics and melody from the first verse and bridge of an acoustic song she been writing at home, called "Crazy English Summers". Johnston also sang with Maxi Jazz
Maxwell Alexander Fraser (14 June 1957 – 23 December 2022), better known by his stage name Maxi Jazz, was a British musician, rapper, singer, songwriter and DJ. He was the lead vocalist of British electronic band Faithless from 1995 to 2011 ...
on the song "Liontamer".
All three songs were included on th
platinum
selling album '' Outrospective'' (2001). It became Faithless's biggest selling album in the United Kingdom. Despite some critical press reviews of the album as a whole, Zoë was repeatedly picked out by online commentators and media sources as a stand out highlight, with the BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
writing that "it is Maxi Jazz's soulful testament to his childhood hero "Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...
" and Zoë Johnston's sublime "Crazy English Summer" that will give this album a shelf life" and reviewers praising her "obvious musical talent" and "original voice, style and sound hich
Ij () is a village in Golabar Rural District of the Central District in Ijrud County, Zanjan province, Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq ...
are so rare in today's music world."
In support of the album, Zoë accompanied the band on an 18-month world tour, performing in multiple countries throughout Europe, as well as in South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
. She sang live with Faithless on the main stage in front of nearly 90,000 at the Werchter festival in Belgium ( headlining in front of Coldplay
Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer and percussionist Will Champion, and manager Phil Harvey (band m ...
) and on the pyramid stage at Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...
in the United Kingdom in 2002. This Glastonbury gig was included by ''The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' in its 2015 article, "The 100 best Glastonbury performances ever" and was listed at number 21 ahead of many other notable artists.
Delerium
Whilst on tour with Faithless, Johnston wrote the first of three songs for Delerium
Delerium is a Canadian new-age ambient electronic musical duo that formed in 1987, originally as a side project of the influential industrial music act Front Line Assembly. Throughout the band's history, their musical style has encompassed a ...
, entitled "Love" (2002). She received the track on a CD and recorded all of her vocal parts at her own studio before posting the finalized piece to Delerium's label management in the USA. The same set-up yielded the tracks "The Way You Want It to Be" (2003) and "You & I" (2004).
Paul Heaton (formerly of The Beautiful South)
Having listened to the Bent album ''Programmed to Love'' and fallen in love with Zoë's voice and song-writing abilities, Heaton got in touch and asked her to perform on his debut solo album '' Fat Chance'' on Mercury Records
Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...
. It was released in 2002 under the pseudonym Biscuit Boy AKA Crackerman. Johnston had by this point formed a habit of only singing her own lyrics, but took a rare deviation from this to duet with Heaton on his own song "Poem". The album as a whole was critically acclaimed but not a commercial success owing in part to Heaton's initial choice not to release the album under his own name. However, "Poems" received high praise from reviewing buyers and also from journalists who were moved by Johnston's performance:
Zoë reprised her role with Heaton in 2008 when he invited her to sing on the single "Little Red Rooster". A different version featuring Heaton without accompaniment appeared on his album '' The Cross Eyed Rambler''. Although the main vocals were Paul Heaton's own lyrics, Johnston created and sang all of the choir style backings and harmonies on the track.
Above and Beyond
In 2004, Johnston began working with the UK trance
Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...
/ EDM trio, Above & Beyond (Paavo Siljamäki, Tony McGuinness, and Jono Grant). Her cousin contacted her to say that his old school friend, Jono Grant, and his band wanted her to sing on one of their tracks. Zoë received a CD of instrumentals through the post, and in her own studio wrote and recorded the vocal parts for what became their first collaboration, "No One on Earth". She has said that the song is about being rescued from loneliness by aliens and taken to a different planet ‘"for some heart-repairing". The single was voted Tune of the Year in 2004 in Armin van Buuren’s trance radio show ''A State of Trance
''A State of Trance'' (often abbreviated as ASOT) is a Dutch Trance music, trance radio show, hosted by Armin van Buuren and co-producer Ruben de Ronde, that first aired in June 2001. It is currently aired weekly every Thursday at 20:00 (CET) a ...
''.
In 2006, Zoë wrote and recorded vocals for "Good for Me", which was released on Above & Beyond's debut album '' Tri-State''. The song was again voted Tune of the Year in van Buuren's radio show.
Group Therapy album
With Johnston's solitary writing process clearly successful, Above & Beyond continued to provide her with instrumentals with a view to developing them into lyrical songs. With the exception of "Alchemy" and other small parts (which were recorded in London), Zoë wrote and recorded all lyrical and vocal content for the ''Group Therapy
Group psychotherapy or group therapy is a form of psychotherapy in which one or more therapists treat a small group of clients together as a group. The term can legitimately refer to any form of psychotherapy when delivered in a group format, i ...
'' songs at her own studio before sending them to Above & Beyond, who then developed the songs further musically, and produced and mixed the music to release standard. Johnston features throughout the album on six songs: "Alchemy", "Giving It Out", "Only a Few Things", "Love Is Not Enough", "You Got to Go", and "Sweetest Heart". The album was released on Anjunabeats
Anjunabeats (, ) is a British record label started in 2000 by producers Jonathan "Jono" Grant and Paavo Siljamäki of Above & Beyond. Initially, Anjunabeats was only a trance music label, and it started releasing trance-edged house in 2011. T ...
to widespread critical acclaim on 6 June 2011. It reached number one on the iTunes
iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
Dance Album charts, and was hugely well received in the dance music press, with ''Mixmag
''Mixmag'' is a British electronic dance and clubbing magazine published in London. Launched in 1983 as a print magazine, it has branched into dance events, including festivals and club nights.
History
The first issue of ''Mixmag'' was printe ...
'' hailing it as Artist Album of the Year.
1,000 copies of a ''Group Therapy Collector's Book'' were released along with the album. The 40-page hardback book contained a number of Zoë Johnston's hand-written lyrics and drawings.
Johnston spoke of her fondness for the band members and their collaborations in a rare interview in 2011:
We Are All We Need album
Above & Beyond's fourth studio album '' We Are All We Need'' was released on the Anjunabeats label in January 2015, and again featured numerous contributions from Zoë. In a break from the previous writing process, she wrote her vocal parts for the album in London at Above & Beyond's studio, collaborating more closely with the band. As with ''Group Therapy'', she appears on five songs: "We’re All We Need", "Peace of Mind", "Save Me", "Fly to New York", and "Treasure". Zoë received special praise in album reviews: "Johnston’s beautiful but almost haunting and ghostly vocals are captivating", with established followers of her contributions emphatically stating, "My vote is for Zoë Johnston, who continues to produce nothing but quality vocals time and time again."
Zoë appears in the video for the single ‘We’re All We Need’ which is themed around the 1991 Ridley Scott
Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is an English film director and producer. He directs films in the Science fiction film, science fiction, Crime film, crime, and historical drama, historical epic genres, with an atmospheric and highly co ...
film, ‘Thelma and Louise
Thelma is a female given name. It was popularized by Victorian writer Marie Corelli who gave the name to the title character of her 1887 novel '' Thelma''. Although the character was supposed to be Norwegian, it is not a traditional Scandinavian n ...
’. The video was filmed in Arizona
Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
, USA in October 2014.
Acoustic projects
In early 2009, Above & Beyond began considering the idea of creating acoustic versions of their best loved EDM songs and called Zoë in to rehearse with them to test the idea out. In June 2009, they performed as a quartet unplugged in a hot air balloon to competition winning fans and Radio 1 DJ Pete Tong
Peter Michael Tong (born 30 July 1960) is an English DJ who works for BBC Radio 1. He is the host of programmes such as '' Essential Mix'' and '' Essential Selection'' on the radio service, which can be heard through Internet radio streams, for ...
who covered the event for the BBC.
Shortly after this, Zoë performed a number of semi-acoustic songs live with the trio and the addition of celebrated Above & Beyond vocal collaborator Richard Bedford
Richard Bedford is a Grammy Award-nominated British singer-songwriter.
Biography
Bedford is widely known for his vocal work in electronic dance music (EDM) and trance including his collaborations with Above & Beyond on their 2011 album '' ...
and drummer Sebastian Beresford, to 8,000 people in Beirut
Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...
's La Marina.
''Acoustic I''
Zoë performed acoustic versions of her songs with Above & Beyond for four nights at London's Porchester Hall
The Porchester Centre is a Grade II* listed building at the junction of Queensway and Porchester Road in Bayswater, London W2.
History
It was built in 1923–25 by the local architect Herbert Shepherd, and was originally called Porchester ...
in June 2013. It was the band's first foray into large scale acoustic shows, with grand piano, harp, strings, percussion, brass, xylophone, rhodes
Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...
, mandolin
A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...
, and double bass all featuring in the sound, as well as vocals from Alex Vargas and Annie Drury. The full concert with commentary was streamed live on YouTube on 24 January 2014. As of July 2016, it has amassed over 3,000,000 views and has attracted thousands of positive comments from listeners, with exceptional praise shown for Zoë whose voice is referred to as "beautiful", "magical", "sensual", and "a true gift". Her lyrics are frequently quoted under videos, with their universal appeal summed up with statements such as "my life in a song", "Zoë Johnston sounds like love" and "she sings truth".
The live shows were followed up with an album entitled ''Acoustic'' (released on Anjunabeats in January 2014), which saw Johnston performing re-imagined versions of the songs "Love Is Not Enough", "You Got to Go", and "Good for Me". ''Acoustic'' was warmly received by fans and positively critiqued by reviewers, who described it as "a masterpiece of an album" and celebrated the ability of the songs to unite Above & Beyond's EDM fans with listeners who were either new to the music or lovers of the acoustic genre.
In October 2013, Above & Beyond took the ''Acoustic I'' live show to Los Angeles, and Johnston performed two sold-out nights at the Greek Theatre
A theatrical culture flourished in ancient Greece from 700 BC. At its centre was the city-state of Athens, which became a significant cultural, political, and religious place during this period, and the theatre was institutionalised there as par ...
with the previously assembled full band to wildly enthusiastic crowds. A ''Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' review of the show described Johnston's voice as "formidable"’ and reflected of the show itself that "at times, the performance recalled Zero 7
Zero 7 is an English musical duo consisting of Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker. Both of them began as studio engineers and in 1997 formed the group Zero 7. Their debut album, '' Simple Things'', was released in 2001; their song "Destiny" stayed in ...
or Portishead’s ''Roseland NYC Live
''Roseland NYC Live'' is a live album by English electronic music band Portishead. It was released on 2 November 1998 by Go! Beat. A PAL format VHS video was released the same year, with a DVD version following four years later. Although the Ne ...
'' album from 1998. It was orchestral and ethereal while still rooted in the world of electronica." It was described as "a stellar show... one of the finest shows in dance music history."
Reviewers again praised Zoë's emotive performance: "Zoë Johnston in particular was a triumph. Her performance of ‘You Got to Go’ brought me to tears. Not of sadness or longing, but of emotional buoyancy. The lyrics to the song themselves are uplifting in the way that Above & Beyond's music always is, but the pared-down, slowed-down rendition we heard that night was easily one of my favorite moments in music of this year" – and expressed comfort in the familiarity of a vocal sound which had by now become synonymous with Above & Beyond: "Finally the recognisable voice of Zoë Johnston brought new life to the stage".
On the second night, the band were joined onstage by American producer and DJ Skrillex
Sonny John Moore (born January 15, 1988), known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ, record producer, musician, singer. Raised in Northeast Los Angeles and Northern California, he began his career in 2004 as the lead vocalist of the ...
who took up a guest guitar slot on the song "Black Room Boy", sung by Tony McGuinness.
''Acoustic II''
The ''Acoustic II'' project comprised a new acoustic album and a sold out tour of some of the world's most iconic music venues, including Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...
, Beacon Theatre, The Wang, Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272.
Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...
, Massey Hall
Massey Hall is a performing arts auditorium in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1894, it is known for its outstanding acoustics and was the long-time hall of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. Although original ...
, Tivoli, Waikiki Shell, Chicago Theatre
The Chicago Theatre, originally known as the Balaban and Katz Chicago Theatre, is a landmark Theater (structure), theater located on North State Street (Chicago), State Street in the Loop, Chicago, Loop area of Chicago, Illinois. Built in 19 ...
, Greek Theatre
A theatrical culture flourished in ancient Greece from 700 BC. At its centre was the city-state of Athens, which became a significant cultural, political, and religious place during this period, and the theatre was institutionalised there as par ...
, and the Hollywood Bowl
The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre and Urban park, public park in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in the United States by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018 and was listed on ...
. The tour took place through May and June 2016, and extended from London and Manchester in the UK to Utrecht, Chicago, Toronto, Boston, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Hawaii and Sydney. Zoë performed five of her songs from the Above & Beyond catalogue during the live shows and provided harmonies on other tracks.
The tour was an enormous success and was universally acclaimed by both fans and critics. Reviewers of both Chicago shows described the music putting "crowds in oan acoustic/orchestral trance" and remarked on the "lush grandeur" and "tenderness" of Johnston's songs. The gigs were "an unforgettable, one of a kind experience" in which "people in the crowd laughed, hugged, kissed and cried… one couple got engaged… the concert left us speechless". In the UK others reflected on Johnston's "incredible live performance" stating that it was "absolutely revealing of her simplicity and ability to connect with her audience in such a deep and meaningful way... hewins her audience with her down to earth attitude." Two nights of performances at New York City's Beacon Theatre on Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...
garnered glittering praise of the band's "spellbinding performance" which " roughttears to the eyes of NYC", with one reviewer summing up the experience as "being mind blown for nearly two hours". Johnston was celebrated for her input: "Zoë’s voice is extraordinary… astounding."
On 28 May 2016, the band played to a sold-out Hollywood Bowl
The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre and Urban park, public park in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in the United States by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018 and was listed on ...
crowd of over 17,000, with journalists and music critics celebrating the show as "beyond compare" and "spellbinding" with Johnston's opening rendition of "We’re All We Need" described as "haunting".
The band received a standing ovation at their last show in Sydney Opera House in recognition of a "musicality hich
Ij () is a village in Golabar Rural District of the Central District in Ijrud County, Zanjan province, Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq ...
completed captivated the crowd in an unprecedented outpouring of love" and the "generosity of spirit" which was shared throughout the gig. Reviews described "genuine warmth… one can only describe the event as magical…. the evening will remain in the hearts and minds of Australians for many years".
The '' Acoustic II'' album (released 3 June 2016 on Anjunabeats) accompanied the tour and was well received by both fans and critics who hailed it "a masterpiece… stunning… an incredible piece of work", and described its contents as "tear-jerking". Johnston sings on acoustically re-invented versions of "We’re All We Need", "Save Me", "Peace of Mind", "No One on Earth" and "Alchemy". Her vocal presence on the song "No One on Earth" was critiqued as "bone-chillingly beautiful and hauntingly graceful".
Grammy nomination
In February 2016, Johnston attended the 58th Annual Grammy Awards is Los Angeles as a Grammy nominee with the song "We’re All We Need" (co-written with Above & Beyond). The song was entered into the Best Dance Recording category. Other nominees included Skrillex
Sonny John Moore (born January 15, 1988), known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ, record producer, musician, singer. Raised in Northeast Los Angeles and Northern California, he began his career in 2004 as the lead vocalist of the ...
, the Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo formed by Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands in Manchester in 1992. They were pioneers in bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture.
Originally known as The Dust Brothers, th ...
, Galantis
Galantis is a Swedish electronic music act consisting of producer Christian "Bloodshy" Karlsson. Formerly, they were a duo, alongside rising musician Style of Eye, until he decided to part ways with the project shortly after their second albu ...
, Diplo
Thomas Wesley Pentz (born November 10, 1978), known professionally as Diplo, is an American DJ and music producer. He is a co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer; a member of the supergroup LSD (group), ...
, Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first music ...
, Flying Lotus
Steven Ellison (born October 7, 1983), better known as Flying Lotus or sometimes FlyLo, is an American record producer, DJ, filmmaker, and rapper. He has released seven critically acclaimed albums: ''1983'' (2006), ''Los Angeles'' (2008), '' Co ...
and Justin Bieber
Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to the U ...
. The award went to Skrillex and Diplo (as Jack Ü
Jack Ü was an American electronic dance music duo consisting of electronic music producers Skrillex and Diplo, formed in 2013. They released their first official single, "Take Ü There", featuring vocals from Kiesza, on October 4, 2014. They re ...
) with Justin Bieber for the song "Where Are Ü Now
"Where Are Ü Now" is a song produced by American EDM duo Jack Ü, composed of DJs and producers Skrillex and Diplo, with Canadian singer Justin Bieber. The song was released as the second single from the duo's debut studio album, '' Skrillex a ...
".
Solo album
In 2004, Johnston released an album of unpolished home recordings called ''Happenstances''. It is mostly self-recorded, with Zoë playing acoustic guitars and layering harmonies to hone a unique vocal sound. It features the original version of the Faithless
Faithless are an English dance music Band (rock and pop), band that formed in 1995, with its core original members being Rollo Armstrong, Rollo, Sister Bliss and Maxi Jazz. During the band's initial period of success, Sister Bliss and Maxi Ja ...
song "Crazy English Summer". One notable guest appearance is that of Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...
and Carlos Santana
Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of the Rock music, rock band Santana (band), Santana. Born and raised in Mexico where he developed his musical background, he r ...
band member Benny Rietveld, who performs bass on the song "Something More". The album was released without press coverage and Johnston did not promote or perform it at the time, nor has she since. In the absence of media commentary, it received favourable write-ups from internet reviewers who described Zoë as "a rare talent… she varies her voice in timbre, texture, tone, octave, and volume in a way that is intoxicating". Buyers who posted their views of the album praised "the genius and brilliance of her lyrics", with one writer reflecting that "he songs
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads
* He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English
* He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana)
* Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...
never forced themselves into my consciousness. They simply lay there and made an impression that is indelible."
Track listing
Note: All tracks written and produced by Zoë Johnston. This album includes the original version (written entirely by Johnston) of the song ‘Crazy English Summer’ which was later adapted in collaboration with Faithless.
2005 re-release
Other projects
Johnston wrote and self-recorded vocal parts for the tracks "Leche" (2004) and "Inside Out" (2005) with renowned Faithless, Dido
Dido ( ; , ), also known as Elissa ( , ), was the legendary founder and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage (located in Tunisia), in 814 BC.
In most accounts, she was the queen of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre (located ...
and Spice Girls
The Spice Girls are an English girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Mel B ("Scary Spice"), Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"), Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"), Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"), and Victoria Beckham ("Posh Spice"). They have sold over 10 ...
linked percussionist Sudha
Sudha (Sanskrit : सुधा) is a Hindu/ Sanskrit Indian feminine given name meaning living water and also, in other variations, nectar.
Notable people named Sudha
* Sudha (actress), Telugu actress
* Sudha Bhattacharya (born 1952), Indian ac ...
. They were released on Sudha's solo album ''Anti-Freeze'' in 2009. She also wrote her vocals for instrumentals with house act Weekender ("Sunday Session" in 2000) and with Sleepthief
''Sleepthief'' is an American electronic music recording project formed by producer and composer Justin Elswick. Elswick began writing music for the album ten years prior to its release. The album was mixed, mastered, co-produced, and co-arranged ...
on "A Kind of Magic" (2009), "Reason Why" with Coury Palermo (2009) and "Alice's Door" (2018).
Zoë Johnston has a First Class Honours
The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure used for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied, sometimes with significant var ...
degree in Journalism, Film and Broadcasting and is a keen writer. She creates both impasto
Impasto is a technique used in painting, where paint is laid on an area of the surface thickly, usually thick enough that the brush or painting-knife strokes are visible. Paint can also be mixed right on the canvas. When dry, impasto provides tex ...
and photo-realist paintings and has undertaken a number of private commissions throughout the years. Her main focus is on figure painting and portraiture, but she has also been commissioned to paint creatures including celebrated racehorses
Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...
.
Discography
Studio albums
Singles
as lead artist
as featured artist
Guest appearances
References
External links
*
Official Zoe Johnston Facebook page
Shiva Records
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Zoe
1976 births
Living people
Trance singers
21st-century English women singers
21st-century English singers
Musicians from Nottingham