The duo Zana Messia & Angelized met years ago in Stockholm. They’ve been friends for a while, but their collaborative music journey took a significant time off as Zana moved to LA over a decade ago. But, like many an artist in the past couple of years, the spark was rekindled over the pandemic. They share a connection, one that you could ascribe to the kind of flow state necessary for each element to be so in place. As they themselves describe, there’s barely even a need for any vocal directions, the duo just float into and alongside each other seamlessly when composing.
If I had to describe it succinctly, ’11:11′, sort of combines the majestic and powerful vocals from a singer with prowess akin to an Amy Winehouse with the production sensibilities of a producer who relishes crafting soundscapes that are constantly flourishing, glimmering, and loaded with shimmering synth work. Each song is its own landscape, exploring wholly new grounds consistently. The funk infused ‘No Deal’ has you grooving alongside each bit and inflection with whole hearted glee. It’s got a cheeky humour within it also, rather snarky in its decrying of music labels and their narcissistic attitude towards ownership of music rather than respecting the creativity that goes within.
Tracks like ‘Photoshopped’ just exude brilliance across each aspect of their arrangement. It almost feels like constant vibrations being strung all over you, slowly and slowly till you start to get Goosebumps from its own progression. Topically, it’s an indictment of the times we live in as we move further and further into a digital, metaverse age. We lose touch of the things that make us human, the real life interactions that are integral to our humanity and happiness. It’s a magical journey that has you craving for moments in life that keep us alive and joyful.
Their album 11:11 was considered for 2022 Grammy nominations in 3 categories. By my account, 11:11 is one of the most imaginative and meticulously arranged pieces of pop this year. Truly imbibe each aspect of this record as it doesn’t go easy one bit.