Music Review and Interview with Zo
Zo is a singer, songwriter and recording engineer hailing from Ecuador. He was noticed as a talent at the age of nineteen in 2012 by one of Pretty Ricky’s recording engineers, Hector Camacho. That same year he was offered the opportunity to work with Pretty Ricky as a recording engineer in BlueStars Studios.
This track, Feeling Love, is a mid-paced acoustic pop song. After a brief introduction, the song progresses with strummed acoustic guitar and subtle lead guitar. Vocally, it starts with the title hook: ‘I’m feeling,…feeling love…’, which immediately latches in the memory. Zo has a strong and distinctive voice with a large singing range that gives character to the music.
Rather than a verse section as such, Zo alternates the vocal melody over a similar chord progression which works well. As the title suggests, the song is about falling in love and the lyrics articulate the helplessness of infatuation: ‘All I know I can’t go one more day…I’m lost in your hot, burning flame….’.
Overall, this is a well written, performed and produced pop track that shows a real gift for crafting melody. Zo is a talented vocalist/songwriter and the production is of a high quality, with some effective use of reverb and delay effects. I look forward to hearing more music from him in the future.
Listen to Zo’s FM Broadcast for “Feeling Love”
By Alex Faulkner
I’m 34 and a freelance music journalist, as well as a composer and producer. I’ve written reviews for UK newspapers and music websites. I run my own blog, reviewing the best new bands and artists . I’m very passionate and knowledgeable about music and that shows in my writing.
Exclusive Interview with Zo!
Zo grew up in Ecuador, Ambato. He was born on August 20, 1992 in Ecuador. He was always involved in music, dance, and arts in general. At the age of 12, 2005 he came to the United States. He´s passion and dedication to music, allowed his talent to be noticed at the age of 19, 2012 by Pretty Ricky’s Engineers, Hector Camacho. That same year, he was offered the opportunity to work with, Pretty Ricky, as a recording engineer in BlueStars Studios. Gaining experience at the age of 20, he decided to start his own Music Production Company called, MasterLab Records. As a singer, rapper, song-writer, dancer, and producer, he is known by his stage name Zo.
Exposed Vocals: How did you hear about Exposed Vocals? What made you decide to sign up?
Zo:
I received an invitation on Twitter, and I liked the idea of it.
Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?
Zo:
I grew up in a little town call Ambato, in Ecuador. My Sister, Karina raced my Brother, Frank and I since I was two years old. I love her to death! At the age of eleven, the fist album I remember purchasing was ¨The Eminem Show¨ witch inspired me to be a Rap Artist, even though, I did´t understand English. I found it very ironic how things worked out. Then, my next three albums were ¨Linking Park – Meteora,¨ ¨Pop A Roach – Getting Away With Murder,¨ and ¨Black Eyed Peas – The Elephunk¨ After those Albums, my passion for music was unconditional. I got involved in to breakdance because of the good music I had, and my Brother, Frank also purchased a good album. It was ¨Sean Paul – Dutty Rock.¨ This music sparked the passion of dancing in my life. Later on that year, at the age of twelve, I came to the United States for the first time to meet my parents. They came to United States first. Living all my friends, family and my entire life behind, I felt into a period of depression, and as always, I used music to scape from reality. My Chemical Romance and Simple Plan were the next two albums I punched, but I already had a lot of Rap, and Reggae music downloaded. Many of the artist I discovered were, 50 Cent, Dr Dre, MIchael Jacson, Natch Scratch, Z-Pu, Morodo, El Chojin, Porta, Arma Blanca, Stephen Marley, Damian Marley, and all the Marley Family.
In 2005, my Brother, Jonathan Introduced my to ¨Kanye West – The College Dropout¨ witch inspired me to become a producer at the age of eighteen, and ever since that moment, I´d never stop making music.
My friend Matt Massaro, Introduced me to Jay Z, and that´s another level. One level that I would like to reach.
I never went to school to learn how to make music or anything like that. I just learned how to produced music because I felt like doing so, it´s my passion. The one thing that is going to be the beginning of my dreams. All those artist, till this day, haves inspired me to become a great artist, including the ones that are now on the radio like, Daft Punk, Drake, Nicky Jam, Tony Dice, J Balvin, Arcanjel, Rihanna, Beyonce and last, but not list, Ariana Gande. She is so beautiful!
I guess is destiny because I just followed my dreams, and I want to provide a good life for my family, so I work very hard to make good music.
Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?
Zo:
I´d always wanted my artist name to be something simple, but also looked good on a big chain. My first artist name was given by one of my cousins. He named me ¨Lil Jam Jam¨because I was always jamming to music; I wanted something more short. So one day, as I was listening to Z-Pu. I saw how cool a ´Z´ looks in a chain, and I decided to have something similar, but smaller. I came up with ¨Zo¨ It was short and it looked good on a chain LOL, so my artist name I owe it tot Z-Pu.
Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?
Zo:
I did, for some time, but I believe is time to start making money with my music. That´s why, I decided to start my own music production website www.masterlabrecords.
Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?
Zo:
The best tip I could give to any band or artist, is to be original, to be different. Nobody likes a wan to be artist.
Exposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?
Zo:
LOL!! Yes, yes I had, but thats because I don’t have time to practice my performance on stage. I would love to practice all my dance moves on a studio till I become a pro.
Exposed Vocals: Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?
Zo:
No, I haven´t had the experience of touring yet, but I´ll like to though.
Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?
Zo:
Is easier for me to write a song when it comes from a personal experience, but I can also do one with out it, or out of someone else´s experience. I usually start with the course, and then I proceed to the verses.
Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?
Zo:
Yes, my website is http://masterlabrecords.com
My SoundCloud https://soundcloud.
Exposed Vocals: What are some really embarrassing songs that we might find on your mp3 player?
Zo:
None, all my music is carefully selected. I would be an amazing A&R if I have the opportunity.
Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?
Zo:
Fist, is the health of my family. I would make sure my family is in great shape. Then, I´ll help my family come out of debt. Finally, I would buy gifts for all. The rest would be invested on my music career.
Exposed Vocals: Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?
Zo:
Not much, only softwares like Pro Tools and FL studios, thats it!
Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?
Zo:
I´m currently working on it.
Exposed Vocals: If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why?
Zo:
I would like to perform with all of the artist I mention before, The place don´t really matter, but the my favorite are Daft Punk, Damian and Stephen Marley, Kanye West, Nicky Jam, Z-Pu, Natch Scratch, Eminem, Arcanjel, J Balving, 50 Cent and Ariana Grande!! 😀
Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?
Zo:
I´m working on a couple, but theres one special rock song I want to finish.
Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?
Zo:
Dancing, Drawing, Learning Producing Tips, Downloading VST´s and Plugins, Learning how to hacked stuff, and Always Listening to Music.
Exposed Vocals: Do you remember buying your first album? Who was it? What was going through your head?
Zo:
To be honest, I don’t know how in the world I end up buying ¨The Eminem Show,¨ It just happened, but I loved every minute of it. Even though I did not understand a word he sad.
Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?
Zo:
Is a must! I must do it! Theres no excuse. If is important for you, you´ll find the way. If not, you´ll find an excuse.
Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2015?
Zo:
More good music, and the probability of a great opportunity.
