Music We Love

Zee Avi got her start on that most modern of music venues — YouTube. The 23-year-old songstress was born in a tiny village on the island paradise of Borneo where she lived until 12. From there she moved to Kuala Lumpur in nearby Malaysia. But it wasn’t until she hit the internet that her music took off.

 

When a friend missed her first-ever live show, she posted a webcam video of herself on YouTube. Her friend urged her to keep it up, just to see what would happen. The rest of the story played out like a rock ‘n’ roll fairy tale. The video was discovered by a member of the band the Raconteurs, who showed it to his label. Within months, she was headed to LA to record her self-titled first album, which was released in May 19, and then out on tour with singer-songwriter Pete Yorn. With her buttery voice and world-weary sharp as nails lyrics, her music combines old-school soul, jazz and scat, with the breezy vibe of her native South Pacific — including the occasional ukulele cameo. Check her out for yourself…

 

 

photo by Autumn Dewilde via Myspace