Minneapolis-based trans artist, producer, singer, and rapperZORA (she/her) recently announced her remarkable, entirely self-produced debut album,Z1. The album will be releasing onJune 17th via Queer, indie record labelGet Better Recordsin celebration of both Prideand Black Music Month, and today she shares another incredible track.
The 22-year-old artist shares the electric “All Around The World” today. Following previous singles “RUNNITUP” and“Happiest I’ve Ever Been,” “All Around The World” is a pop anthem, made specifically for trans people. ZORA explains that she wanted to write a song"that we could dance to, rejoice in, and just celebrate being us. With today’s climate, there are so many times that we only hear about trans people when we’re dying or at risk somehow, and I wanted to create a song to remind us just how powerful we are, and to remind the masses that we’re not going anywhere." Space for existence and celebration is extremely important to ZORA right now, as hundreds of anti-trans bills are sweeping the nation. Tying in with serious themes surrounding mental health throughoutZ1, “All Around The World” is a tribute of perseverance through the darkness.
About ZORA
ZORA joined her family’s long lineage of classically trained pianists at the age of 6, dreamt of a career in opera and musical theatre, and began writing her own music by the age of 14. Her love of music, however, flourished outside of the classroom, as she attended her father’s late night DJ sets, helping him curate his playlists, with artists like Lauryn Hill, A Tribe Called Quest, and Janet Jackson.
In later years, ZORA applied to a vocal jazz program in high school, and was ultimately rejected and placed into a music technology class instead. This class that she initially hated is ultimately what unlocked her love of synthesizers, vocoders, Logic Pro X, music software, and even choreography. She began to quietly self-release her own music, picked up the electric guitar in homage to her newly adopted hometown’s Prince, and began to bring her alt-pop dreams to life.
ZORA aims to spread awareness, positivity, and freedom of expression through her music. It is ZORA's central belief that people are only truly happy when they’re able to be exactly who they are, at all times. ZORA implements these messages in her lyricism and hopes to be able to impact the lives of others in a positive way, no matter how widespread.
