Zoe Ryan
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | SELF
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Zoe Ryan
Supporting Fahrenheit 43 at Curtin Bandroom
29 Lygon St, Carlton
Thursday 22 October
Acoustic singer-songwriter Zoe Ryan impressed in her first Melbourne show, at the Curtin Bandroom last Thursday 22nd October supporting Fahrenheit 43. Zoe’s initial nerves were evident but not intrusive, and early minor fumbles quickly gave way to musical precision and a truly impressive show marked by vocal strength and lyrical substance.
Opening with a honeyed version of Jason Mraz’s Halfway There, Zoe interspersed her set of original material with covers. Even the Mraz cover and a version of the Kooks’ Naive, had a special resonance. However, when Zoe began her first self written number Waiting, she proved that the addition of recognisable material was unnecessary to maintain audience interest. Her original songs were immediate and powerful, because they were so evidently heartfelt and personal; consequently invested with emotion. The lyrical content varied from high school graduation to messages of peace and activism – the latter never crossing the line to become preachy or overbearing.
Beautiful Mistake dealt with misguided love in a beautifully sensitive and self aware way. The self-declared Ben Harper-esqe Here We Stand showcased Zoe’s more stripped back and melancholy side. The minimal words and music kept their distance from one another, to haunting effect.
Penultimate song Face The World displayed Zoe’s ability to seamlessly couple Waifs-like storytelling with pitch leaps reminiscent of Ani DiFranco. Her closing song, dealing with change and distance, would fit comfortably into the long tradition of nostalgic backward-looking ballads.
For those of us who struggle with our awe at the ability of musicians to master both vocals and instruments simultaneously, Zoe offers no respite: she makes singing whilst playing guitar look an effortless task. She can hit the high notes with an ease reminiscent of Julia Stone’s ethereal vocals, producing shivers in the listener’s spine.
Zoe is a recent arrival to Melbourne from WA. On the basis of her Curtin show, we would do well to entice her to remain within our borders and to claim her as one of our own.
- Indigo4Music
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
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Bio
Zoë's musical beginnings go as far back as the pop songs she and her best friend wrote and performed in backyard concerts for family as early six or seven.
At the age of thirteen she picked up a guitar and began to construct what many would call ballads. This became more frequent over the years and she has grown up to discover that writing music is not only the passion of her life, but the core of it. From lyrical tales of leaving home to facing lifes' myriad of molehills, her songwriting is varied, passionate, emotive, raw, universal and honest. Each song reveals a part of her life experience that she has been able to not only openly share, but translate in a way that each and every listener can understand and relate to their own life experiences.
Having written and performed intermittently throughout the last decade, touring and releases in the near future are certainly on the cards.
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