Zoé

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Zoé is a Mexican alternative/psychedelic band. They initially formed in Mexico City in 1994, although membership started to stabilize in 1997. The band has achieved success in Mexico and most Spanish-speaking countries with albums such as Rocanlover, Memo Rex Commander y el Corazón Atómico de la Vía Láctea and Reptilectric.

History

Zoé's history begins in Mexico in 1994, just as one of the decade's most important music styles was appearing in the United Kingdom: Britpop. Mainly inspired by this movement^{[citation needed]}, with slight influences from Seattle's grunge, Zoé would go through a period of changing lineups and varying styles before stabilizing in 1997, with León Larregui (guitar and voice), Sergio Acosta (guitar), Alberto Cabrera (drums), Ángel Mosqueda (bass), and Jesus Báez (keyboards). By this time, a clear influence from The Beatles can be seen alongside the mentioned Britpop and grunge stylings and with certain resemblances to The Stone Roses and The Charlatans.

1998–2004: Debut album and Rocanlover

Facing a lack of spaces to showcase their music, Zoé relied upon self-organized concerts, the Internet, and a self-published demo. All of these efforts, plus a good deal of positive word of mouth, helped them gain popularity in Spanish-language radio stations in the United States. They signed their first recording contract in 1998, but nothing came of it—and once again, they decided to rely on themselves. They independently released a debut album in 2000 that attracted the attention of Sony Music, who in turn took over distribution of the album. Some of the most popular songs from this recording were "Asteroide" and "Miel." Following the success of this album, some of their songs were included in the soundtracks of movies like Amar Te Duele, Ladies Night, and The Dreamer.

In November 2003, Zoé launched their second album, produced by Phil Vinall, who had previously worked with the likes of Placebo, Elastica, and Pulp. This new album was titled Rocanlover, and the main singles were "Peace and Love," "Love," and "Veneno." By this point, their musical style was clearly defined and easily recognizable, as was their style of mixing Spanish and English in their lyrics.

2004–2007 The Room, Rocanlover, and Memo Rex Commander

Cover of the The Room EP.

Zoé left Sony in early 2004; the band kept on working and touring during the whole year without support from a label behind them and started to create a big following with the self-promoted singles "Love" and "Veneno." In early 2005, the band started working on new songs for their next album. By mid-2005, the band recorded the song "Dead" with their own resources, and the decision was made to go indie. Also by this time Beto Cabrera left the band and Rodrigo Guardiola joined in. Some major labels in Mexico were very interested in signing the band^{[citation needed]}, but Zoé, tired of their bad past experiences, surprised everyone and signed an indie deal with Noiselab, a fast-growing independent label from Mexico. New songs to complete the EP, named The Room, were produced. The EP became an instant hit, receiving a Gold Award for achieving sales of more than 50,000 units.^{[citation needed]} Some new songs were recorded in English, and some producers, like Alan McGee, have expressed interest in taking them to the UK and Europe. The release of the EP was followed by two sold-out shows at the Metropolitan Theater in Mexico City and a tour in that country.

Cover of Memo Rex Commander y el Corazón Atómico de la Vía Láctea.

The first six months of 2006 were quite active for Zoé; they kept doing strategic shows like the Vive Latino Festival and devoted themselves to the production of their third studio album. In January, the band went to Manzanillo to start preproduction with British producer Phil Vinall. February followed with shows and more preproduction in México City, and March was used for basic tracking at Sonic Ranch Studios in Tornillo, Texas. In April, postproduction and more shows; the songs were mixed in May; and the album was finished by early June.

Memo Rex Commander y el Corazón Atómico de la Vía Láctea(Commander Memo Rex and the Atomic Heart of the Milky Way) came out on July 12, 2006, making its debut at the number one spot on the Mexican charts. The first single from the album, "Vía Láctea," had some rotation in local music channels like MTV Latin America and Telehit. The album achieved gold record status after more than 40,000 units sold in four weeks after being released and has received very good reviews on behalf of the specialized press.^{[citation needed]}

On September 1, 2006, Zoé performed in Mexico's National Auditorium, a sold-out show in one of the most important stages for music in Mexico; also, at the Palacio de los Deportes, they performed along with Nick McCarthy, guitarist (and sometimes vocalist) from Scottish band Franz Ferdinand.

In November 2006, they toured with Gustavo Cerati and Los Tres in Mexico and the United States.

In November 28 2007 they recorded their first live CD/DVD, in the Palacio de los Deportes "Sports Palace", the CD version is available with the title of 281107.

2008–Present Reptilectric

On November, Zoé released their fourth LP titled "Reptilectric". It was produced by Phill Vinall. Its first single to be released with the same titled song "Reptilectric" and it hit radio stations on September 8. The scheduled release was November 11, but because of some internal problems with the distribution of the material, it was released on November 13. Reptilectric opened at number one in the Mexican charts and it was subsequently certified platinum for over 80,000 copies sold in that country.^{[citation needed]}

Awards and Nominations

Discography

Studio albums

• Zoé (2002)
  • "Deja te Conecto" (2002)("Let Me Connect You")
  • "Asteroide" (2002) ("Asteroid")
  • "Miel" (2002) ("Honey")
• Rocanlover (2003)
  • "Peace and Love" (2003)
  • "Love" (2004)
  • "Veneno" (2004) ("Poison")
• Memo Rex Commander y el Corazón Atómico de la Vía Láctea (2006)
  • "Vía Láctea" (2006) ("Milky Way")
  • "No me Destruyas" (2006) ("Do not Destroy Me")
  • "Paula" (2007)
• Reptilectric (2008)
  • "Reptilectric" (2008)
  • "Nada" (2009)("Nothing")
  • "Poli" (2009)

Compilations

• Grandes Hits (2005)
• Noiselab 001 (2002)
• Zoé Hits 01–06 (2006)
• "Beat Breaker (BN Loco remix)"

Live Albums

• 281107 (2008)

Trivia

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (July 2007)

• Zoé frontman León Lárregui has stated in interviews that the music of Caifanes and Soda Stereo has greatly influenced his lyrics.(According to La Banda Elastica Magazine)
• Current Vaquero member Rodrigo Guardiola has taken over drum duties for Zoé at the moment. He is one of the most active and respected young video directors in México.
• Zoé appeared in the 2005 movie Sueño with the song "Whatever". The directorial debut of Renee Chabria.

External links

This article needs references that appear in reliable third-party publications. Primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject are generally not sufficient for a Wikipedia article. Please add more appropriate citations from reliable sources. (July 2007)

• Zoé (official site)
• Zoé at MySpace
• Zoé - Feature Interview (9/2007)
• Zoé at Rock en Espanol (Zoe @ RockEnEspanol.com)