Zoé Basha, the Dublin based French-American musician and composer known for her unique blend of traditional and original music, has released her fourth single “Worried”, from her upcoming debut album due 17th April.
Following singles “Love is Teasin’”, “Three Little Babes”, and “Dublin Street Corners”, “Worried” is about the external and internal suppression of female rage in hetero relationships; The fear of losing love, and the loss of yourself as a preventative sacrifice. Zoé explains “This song was written when I was staying on friend’s couch, following an eviction from a Dublin squat. I was feeling conflicted about the relationship I was in at the time. It had both a lot of good and a lot of challenges, and I was reflecting on why it was so difficult to talk about things and to find relief in this intimate relationship, when it felt so comparatively easy in my community.”
ABOUT THE ALBUM ‘GAMBLE’ – COMING APRIL 17th
Zoé’s forthcoming debut album Gamble blends folk, blues, americana, jazz, and Irish influences.
Zoé’s debut promises to be an intimate exploration of identity, grief, the deconstructing of societal norms, and the complexities of human connection, all delivered with a mesmerising voice that echoes the vulnerability and depth of her diverse influences. Inspired by the greats of times passed such as Billie Holiday, The Mills Brothers, Jimmie Rodgers, Joni Mitchell, Texas Gladden, Edith Piaf and The Steve Miller Band– as well as her peers in the contemporary Irish folk music scene, Zoé Basha savours the sounds of golden eras with contemporary nuance and shameless honesty.
Traveling by thumb, freight trains, and taking the scenic route with rust-bucket vans, Zoé Basha played music in the streets for years to sustain the journey. Of French and American origins, but with some pretty persistent traveling shoes, she was pulled between Ireland and the traveling life for the last decade. For a while, she had a persistent feeling that music wasn’t the most useful endeavor for the world, so Zoé turned to working in traditional French timber framing.
With her passion for music revived through trio Rufous Nightjar starting in 2020, Zoé moved all her tools, her own rust-bucket van, and her dreams back to Ireland. Now having recorded her first solo album with songs that tell the stories of these roamings – through adventures and musings of intimacy, sorrow, identity, celebrating the fleeting, and questioning the whole lot – she’ll be touring it throughout 2025, returning to the towns and cities of her travels.
‘Gamble’ is a collection that reflects Zoé’s distinctive style blending the rich storytelling traditions of Appalachian Mountain songs, the solemn ornamentation of Irish traditional music, and the rhythmic fervor of American blues and ragtime. The album was produced by Zoé, with mixing and mastering by Grammy Award-winning engineer Ben Rawlins. With a combination of guitar, fiddle, organ, upright bass, and a voice that’s often been compared to the sounds of old jazz records, the album is expected to cause a mighty stir in the world of contemporary folk music.
LIVE DATES:
March 23rd– (A performance of early jazz songs with trio) Dublin Jazz Co-op, The Cobblestone
**April 17th – Album Launch with full band at The Sugar Club, Dublin
April 18th– Sirius Arts Centre, Cobh, Cork
April 20th – Levis’ Corner House, Ballydehob, West Cork
April 21st – Prim’s Bookshop, Kinsale, Cork
April 24th – De Burgos Club, Galway
April 25th – The Glen’s Centre, Manorhamilton, Co. Leitrim
April 26th – The Duncairn, Belfast
April 27th – The Record Room, Limerick
May 1st – Fennelly’s of Callan, Co. Kilkenny
May 2nd – Bray Jazz Fest
May 3rd – Crane Lane, Cork City
May 4th – Skelper Quane’s, Tralee
Photo credit – Celeste Burdon