Zoé (band)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Zoé | ||
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| Background information | ||
| Origin | Mexico City, Mexico | |
| Genre(s) | Indie rock Rock en español Alternative rock |
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| Years active | 1997–present | |
| Label(s) | Sony Music (2001-2004) Noiselab (2005-present) |
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| Website | zoetheband.com Zoé's Myspace |
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| Members | ||
| León Larregui- vocals Sergio Acosta- guitar (lead) Jesus Baez- keyboards Angel Mosqueda- bass guitar Rodrigo Guardiola- drums |
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Zoé is a mexican alternative rock band. They were formed at Mexico City in 1994, although they started to get stable members in 1997. The band is a success in México and Latin America, specially with their two last records: Rocanlover and Memo Rex Commander y el Corazón Atómico de la Vía Láctea.
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[edit] Biography
Zoé's history begins in Mexico in 1994, just as one of the decade's most important music styles was appearing in the United Kingdom: Britpop. Mainly inspired by this movement, with slight influences from Seattle's grunge, Zoé would go through a period of changing line-ups and varying styles before stabilizing in 1997, with León Larregui (guitars and voice), Sergio Acosta (guitars), Beto Cabrera (drums), Ángel Mosqueda (bass), and Chucho Báez (keyboards). By this time, a clear influence from The Beatles can be perceived, alongside the mentioned britpop and grunge stylings, and certain reminiscences to The Stone Roses and The Charlatans.
[edit] 1998 - 2004
Facing a lack of spaces to showcase their music, Zoé relied upon self-organized concerts, the Internet, and a self-published demo. All of these efforts, plus a good deal of positive word of mouth helped them gain popularity in Spanish language radio stations in the USA. They signed their first recording contract in 1998, but nothing came of it, and once again they decided to rely on themselves. They released independently a "debut" album in 2000, which attracted the attention of Sony Music, who in turn took over distribution of the album. Some of the most popular songs from this recording were Asteroide and Miel. Following the success of this album, some of their songs were included in the soundtracks of movies like Amar Te Duele, Ladies Night, and The Dreamer.
In November 2003, Zoé launched their second album, produced by Phil Vinall, who had previously worked with the likes of Placebo, Elastica, and Pulp. This new album was titled Rocanlover, and the main singles were Peace & Love, Love, and Veneno. By this point, their musical style was clearly defined and easily recognizable, as was their style of mixing Spanish and English in their lyrics.
[edit] 2004 - Present
Zoé left Sony in early 2004, the band kept on working and touring during the whole year without the support from a label behind them and started to create a big following with the self promoted singles "Love" and "Veneno". In early 2005, the band started working on new songs for their next album. By mid-2005, the band recorded the song Dead with their own resources and the decision was made to go indie. Some major labels in México were very interested in signing the band, but Zoé, tired of their bad past experiences, surprised everyone and signed an indie deal with Noiselab, a fast growing independent label from México. New songs to complete the EP named The Room were produced, the EP became an instant hit, receiving a Gold Award for more than 50,000 units sold. Some new songs were recorded in English, and some producers like Alan McGee have expressed interest in taking them to the UK and Europe. The release of the EP was followed by two Sold Out shows at the Metropolitan Theater in México City and a tour in the country.
The first six months of 2006 were crazy for Zoé, they kept doing strategic shows like the Vive Latino Festival and devoted themselves to the production of their third studio album. In January the band went to Manzanillo to start preproduction with British producer Phil Vinall, February was followed with shows and more preproduction in México City, March was used for basic tracking at Sonic Ranch Studios in Tornillo, Texas, in April post production and more shows, the songs were mixed in May and the album was finished by early June.
Memo Rex Commander y el Corazón Atómico de la Vía Láctea came out in July 12, 2006, making it's debut at the # 1 spot in Mexico's charts, an incredible achievement for any artist in Mexico. The first single of the album, Vía Láctea, has some rotation in local music channels like MTV or Telehit.
The succesful album "Memo Rex Commander y El Corazón Atómico de la Vía Láctea" got a Gold Award for more than 40,000 units sold in just 4 weeks after being realased, as well the album has received very good reviews on behalf of the specialized press.
This September 1st, Zoé performed in Mexico's National Auditorium; a sold out show in one of the most important stages for music in México.
Zoé's popularity has been growing slowly but steady for years, and they're becoming more and more popular in their home country, Latin America and the U.S. , as well as outside the alternative circles.
[edit] Discography and singles
[edit] Studio Albums
- Zoé (2001)
- Deja te Conecto (2001)
- Asteroide (2002)
- Miel (2002)
- Rocanlover (2003)
- Peace and Love (2003)
- Love (2004)
- Veneno (2004)
- Memo Rex Commander y el Corazón Atómico de la Vía Láctea (2006)
- Vía Láctea (2006)
- No me Destruyas (2006)
[edit] EP
- The Room (2005)
- Dead
[edit] Compilations
- Grandes Hits (2005)
[edit] Trivia
- Zoé frontman León Larregui has stated in interviews that the music of Caifanes and Soda Stereo has greatly influenced his lyrics.
- Current Vaquero member Rodrigo Guardiola has taken over drum duties for Zoé at the moment. He is one of the most active and respected young video directors in México.
[edit] External links
- Zoé - Official site featuring lyrics, videos, and information.
- Zoé on Myspace
- Zoé - lyrics from LyricWiki.org (part of the MediaWiki.org project)
