From Malay to Zee, Zee Avi speaks a language most sincere

By Erin Lyndal Martin
Published: June 2nd, 2009 | 7:00am

Talk about a modern-day fairy tale: Zee Avi is quickly on her way to superstar status, thanks to the 21st century equivalent of fairy godmothers. In her case, it was YouTube and Jack Johnson that whisked the young Malaysian fashion student away from her life in London and out to L.A.

To make this tale even more modern, Avi is no empty-headed princess. In addition to her art, fashion, and musical skills, she is culturally rich and well-read. Raised in Borneo, Avi moved to Kuala Lumpur when she was 12, and spent her adolescence immersed in existential texts. "I read Sartre when I was 16 — so that's why most of my stuff is dark," Avi explains. She remembers poring over Kafka while her classmates read Sweet Valley High books, and recalls that existentialism was the first philosophy which made her realize she wasn't alone. Later, she found herself again in the visual art of M.C. Escher, Piet Mondrian, and Henri Rousseau — whose jungle-inspired paintings she likes because he'd "never, ever been outside of Paris, nor into a jungle. And this was the 1800s, so you couldn't exactly Google 'jungle' then."

Having amassed so many cultural influences by the time she began studying art in London, it was no surprise that lovely and diverse songs began to spill out of her. And, in most cases, right onto YouTube — where she was discovered by a string of musicians (like U.K. singer-songwriter Kris Rowley and the Raconteurs’ Patrick Keeler) whose support eventually passed her up the chain to Johnson’s Brushfire Records. Avi is still overwhelmed by the excitement of it all, especially having played South By Southwest this year. "I got to see Daniel Johnston standing just, like, five feet away. I didn't talk to him," she gushes excitedly.

So maybe Daniel Johnston isn't part of traditional fairy tales, but neither are songs about heroin, and yet, Avi magically makes that dubious genre charming on her song, "Poppy." Channeling Nina Simone at her most vocally rich moments, Avi laments, "The poppy took my baby away from me" over a catchy guitar riff and finger snaps. Elevating the drug-song art form, she reminisces, "He used to love German Expressionism films / Now he drinks until he falls." This balance of infectious melodies, poetic lyrics, and wise vocal stylings is what makes Avi's debut, Zee Avi (Brushfire Records), so winning. Avi's vocals in particular seem to come from another time — there are moments of Édith Piaf, splashes of Astrid Gilberto, and more contemporary Amy Winehouse nods on Morrissey cover, "First Of the Gang To Die."

Despite the wealth of musical influences that she acknowledges, Zee Avi lives up to its title, indisputably introducing listeners to Avi — not an arsenal of flashy post-production equipment. There isn't an insincere moment on the whole album, perhaps because music is catharsis as much as it is an art for Avi. "Music is my way of expressing myself. I would talk to myself, but I think singing to yourself is less insane," she laughs.

Such self-expression comes through linguistically in "Kantoi," a song Avi sings in "Manglish," a hybrid language of Malay and English. "That song is written in the way we speak, which is alternating between English and Malay in one sentence. And that song is not pure Malay, Malay, but it's a modern take on how everybody speaks now." The ukulele-based song is an especially memorable track for this reason, and it is a testament to Avi's delivery that the song's narrative emerges, despite the language barrier. Likewise, Avi's genuine nature lends her live shows a special warmth. "I feed on the energy from the audience and it's pretty great. Most of my sets have been really intimate and chilled out, and sometimes people mosh. Sometimes I joke around and say, 'Are you guys ready for some death metal? Fog machine, please!'"

It's doubtful that Avi's love of existentialism will go quite that far. More likely, it will fuse with the fairy tale that she's currently living to create her own breed of “happily ever after.”

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