#zarcia

Zarcian Tundra painting, using Artbreeder.com

Where does your love for music come from? My mom was really passionate about choral music; she was a music teacher and the choir conductor/master for the school and the church choir. I was and still am very close to my mom so I reckon that love and appreciation for music comes from her. I basically grew up in church so I was constantly surrounded by music. Not forgetting that my two older sisters had their own group when we were younger, that also furthered my love for music, I use to idolise them. How did you end up choosing Jazz as one of your genres of interest? Long before I knew what jazz music really was, I heard songs by the Glen Miller big band and Ella Fitzgerald and I fell in love with the promise of freedom of expression that this music seemed to offer. One could basically sing about anything and the music sounded free and I wanted be a part of that movement. Long after I started singing Jazz standards in various bands did I come to learn that this is actually called Jazz music and even after studying this music I had and still have difficulty calling myself a jazz musician. How do young audiences receive your music seeing as youth culture embraces genres such as hip-hop, kwaito and house? I must confess that it suprises me at times to see so many “young” people come through to my performances, but I’ve learned that at the end of the day people respond to sounds and stories that they love and not to genres. I have had performances at primary schools where the children actually listen and we know how honest children can be… How did your education in music influence your sound? My education just gave me a deeper understanding of what it is that I am doing and in that way it gave me the ability to “broaden” my sound a bit more. I got to work with musicians from different genres and artists from different disciplines and that enriched and gave my sound a lot more depth, focus and maturity. We think it's quite important to highlight the versatility of Zarcia the musician. What other genres of music are you involved in? I am part of a gospel trio called Luwe. I can try and describe our work as a contemporary soft rock feel, with a whole lot of traditional African and at time Jazzy sounds. I am also part of a blues/folk outfit called Look Out Kid. Our sound is just that, bluesy/folk/rock in colour. Tell us about how you became the lead vocalist for Look Out Kid and the concept behind this band. Andrew Orkin, the founder of Look Out Kid, and I studied together at Wits. We have always enjoyed working together and it helped that we just had this natural almost instant musical chemistry and that we both loved the Blues so much. When he started the project he contacted me and asked me whether I wanted to do vocals on the project, it was an obvious yes from me and the band grew. As Andrew put it: “The band aims to bring a sense of the organic to an often overproduced world with sounds that range from the dirtiest of Blues to the most delicate of Folk.” Apparently Look Out Kid's album is downloadable for free online. Why did you decide to go this route and how can people access the album? There are still a few free copies available at http://lookoutkid.bandcamp.com/. Our initial project was a “love” project so we decided to have the first 200 copies as a free download. What's in store for you as Zarcia, Look Out Kid and Luwe? Any future plans? Upcoming performances? For Zarcia, the next “natural” step feels like it should be an album and that’s what I am currently working on. For Look Out Kid, Andrew is currently studying in New York and the rest of us are performing and promoting our EP and hope to do a full album soon. Luwe is also currently working on an album and have a music video that's just come out. We've also been busy performing and been really blessed to be doing performances on various TV shows. If people want to keep in touch with Zarcia, Look Out Kid and Luwe where should they go? For Zarcia they can go to www.zarcia.co.za, Facebook www.facebook.com/ZarciaZacheus and Twitter www.twitter.com/@zarcia_ Keep up with LookOutKid on Facebook Page www.facebook.com/lookoutkidband and our Twitter page is www.twitter.com/@lookoutkidband Luwe's Facebook page is www.facebook.com/luwemusic and our Twitter page is www.twitter.com/@luwemusic

Born in Eldorado Park, Johannesburg, South Africa, Zarcia began music in church at age 9 by singing in the church choir. Age 13 she auditioned and landed a role in her first professional stage production at the Gold Reef City Theatre, called “My Girl”. She later went on to sing for various gospel & jazz bands. She has also recorded and/or performed with Joyous Celebration, Pastor Benjamin Dube, Patrick Duncan, James Okon, Mpumi Dlamini, Dave Koz, The Johannesburg Festival Orchestra, Feya Faku, Andile Yenana and Sidney Mnisi, amongst others. Zarcia’s charisma, charm and chilled demeanour on stage are infectious and make her a well rounded performer. Her blend of Gospel, Jazz and African elements is soulful; fresh and makes her performances quite an experience‟. During a master class with Professor William Riley (vocal coach to Stevie Wonder, Celine Dion, Faith Hill, Laura Fabian, Rosanne Cash, to name a few) he said of Zarcia to have “the perfect technique which can see her performing for days on end without any vocal damage and many different vocal colours which makes for quite a versatile performer...”