We are currently living in weird times and what we used to know has totally gone out the front done. Months prior to the lock-down we used to be able to sit-down and having long conversations with artists and brand managers to find out about their future endeavors but now the only was we can keep safe and alive is to have virtual meetings and telephonic interviews which has taken away the human touch to conduct interviews but as they say “forward we go”
Dannywired had an opportunity to talk all things music and arts with Zoë Modiga who first popped onto our small screens on hit singing competition The Voice South Africa. Modiga who has a velvety smooth tone which haunts at your soul has been writing songs in her mother tongue to evoke a soulful storytelling of the human condition. Ever-so-excitedly, Zoë Modiga is counting down the days for her full body of work which is set to be released in 8 days with song like Intsha, Umdali and Lengoma featuring Tubatsi Mpho Moloi already available on all major download and streaming services. In conversation, we wanted to dig deep and know more about Zoë.
Tell us about your musical journey?
My musical journey has been interesting for me, it all started back home when i would hear all the music my neighbour would create and that eclectic sound call to me and when i joined a penny whistle group i know that this was for me.
What was the inspiration behind the single Lengoma?
Lengoma which was composed by BandaBanda who is also my producer was a weird one for me, when i heard the music i knew i had to write lyrics to it. Legoma which is my first offering and re-introduction to a new sound and new journey as she explores the traditional West and Southern African influences paired with communal celebratory feature an artist called Tubatsi Mpho Moloi. Lengoma plays on the word ngoma in both the spiritual and literal sense meaning song came from a space of wanting to heal. Currently we are in a weird space with all this gender based voilance, killing of black people in particular and the condition of the black lives. As a nation there is so much we have to deal with and i wanted to start the conversations.
The single is available on all digital music platforms.
https://geni.us/Lengoma
How do you choose the people you work with?
It has to come natural, i’m all about the energy and the vibe of the person also the person i work with needs to feel like family to me but most importantly, the music itself asks for it.
When can we expect a full body of work?
Thus far u have released 3 singles, Lengoma which was released last year, Umdali which was released this year and Intsha which is a song about 1976 but the full body of work is set to drop on the 26th of June which is super excited about.
How has the lock-down affected you?
Some days are better than others but i console myself with the fact that its not just me alone but we are going through it as a nation but i must say its interesting how we are doing things because this lock-down has made the space so impersonal – it is very lonely but we are working to get the word out there and the music out there. People now are consuming music a bit differently and it has lost the it has lost the element of feeling a persons energy right there next to you.
Are you using platforms like YouTube and private streaming services to host private concerts?
It’s so funny that you are mentioning it cause just today we were speaking about it and we are in that process and are doing our research. I’m happy that i got to be part of the Urban Sessions where i delivered an acoustic set and at least from that session we are able to generate revenue with the streams but doing it on your own is not that easy, there is a lot of technical elements we have to consider when one has to put on a virtual concert. I want to get my fans out of the element of consuming my music for free so that they themselves can see the impact they do for not only me but other artists when they consume their music with money. We rely on our fans to buy tickets for our concerts and since we can’t host events and don’t know when we will be able to do so again we need to find ways to deliver performances to our fans and have them attend our virtual shows.
Where to from here?
As i mentioned my body of work comes out on the 26th of June so look out for that and then we shall see where we go but there are a few projects on working on, still in the early stages to speak about. As for collaborations, it all happens organically for me.
ContactZoë Modiga
Facebook: www.facebook.com/zoemodiga
Instagram: @zoemodiga
Twitter: @zoe_modiga
TikTok: @zoe_modiga
