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Brought up on a staple diet of both retro classics; the Beatles, Bob Dylan and Elvis and the inescapable Spice girls, Boyzone and the cheeky girls; I eagerly Picked up my first guitar aged 8, it was actually my brothers guitar so I began to actually play when he went off travelling and I'd reached the tender age of 15...a bit of a late starter as far as songwriters go - or so I'm told. I began writing my own stuff which looking back actually sounds like a mix between Avril Lavigne and Dashboard Confessional - which as you can imagine contained a lot of screaming and emo-esque lyrics. After several years slaving away in my bedroom, with the help of influences like Laura Veirs, Belle and Sebastian and Anna Ternheim, my music began to tap down into my folk-indie roots - where my passion trully lies - hence what this page is all about. I gig around Swindon - which is my base...but I love to branch out to neighbouring cities like London and Bristol...I'm hoping even one day Melbourne...but we'll see how it goes - I wouldn't like to punch above my weight. My lyrics tell stories...not really my own stories but those of people around me. I like to think of myself as a medium for other peoples expression and its not as if I do this by choice, the songs just tend to flow out of me that way - and who am I to argue? So...this leads me onto my aim with this path...which is to create and perform music to as many intersted ears as possible. And, I'm currently doing this with the help of my beloved guitar and some wonderful people I have been lucky enough to meet on the way..

 

Further on in the set, a track like 'Sonnet of London' illustrates just why Swindon singer-songwriter Zoe Mead has been creating so much local buzz in recent months. The country-tinged style lends itself well to her vocal range and the song is as upbeat as any that you will find on the disc.

-Artrocker Magazine (on the Hilldrop records compliation CD - 'We are your friends')

I was immediately struck by how much her songs reminded me of Suzanne Vega, maybe not the vocals, but certainly in their style and structure. That's not to say she hasn't got a good voice, she has an amazing voice, delicate, yet unexpectedly powerful when required. The songs contain a wonderful space, space that leaves the listener hanging on every word and refrain and no song illustrates this better than the exquisite My Design. Definitely an artist that I will be checking out again.

-Dave Franklin (Green Man Music)

 

The crowd was small but eager, and enthusiastically responsive to Zoe's pleasant set of Amos -esque acoustic offerings.

-Tony Foster (bhone.co.uk)

 

 

 

 

Zoe will feature on the; 'We can be friends' album, launched by Hilldrop Records, September 2009

 

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