AZN PRIDE
Bite-sized she may be, but Malaysian Zee Avi’s talent and set of jazzy-folk pipes are anything but little. Mellifluous and unique, her voice has taken her from YouTube (where she was discovered by Patrick Keeler of The Raconteurs) right to the top of the Billboard charts, which means that these days, Zee’s sharing stages with Pete Yorn and chillin’ with Jack White, yo. We got Zee to share her thoughts on this charmed life…

We love the story of how you got discovered. Tell it to us again.
Patrick Keeler – the drummer from The Raconteurs – discovered me on YouTube, and then he directed my videos to his manager, Ian Montone, who contacted me and got one of his guys to send me an email that basically read that they wanted to keep in contact with me and possibly give me a record deal. My jaw dropped and then I rolled off my bed.

Lucky you! So how’s it like to be among bands like The White Stripes?
It’s crazy! I mean, last December, Jack White came to my birthday party. I had to keep checking over to see if he was still there. I think he feels weird about that kind of stuff, but he’s really nice! I was like, “Do you know who you are?! Just so you know, you’re Jack White!”

How’s it been working and living in the States?
It feels really great. Everyone’s really appreciative of what I do. I mean, as a musician, you’d want everybody to relate to your work and like it. The response so far has been overwhelmingly great.

Tell us about your debut album: how much of it was conceptualised by you?
Well, my record company worked with me, rather than for me. I’m very lucky to work with people who feel like family. I had a lot of creative control over it, but this was my first album, and because I didn’t really know anything, I trusted them. But we discussed it together, which is what I loved. This album is a hint of what’s coming… I think!

Check out the full interview in the December issue of JUICE, out now at these spots.
www.zeeavi.com

Text: Dianna Tai
Interview courtesy of: Universal Music