Artist Interview: ZENA

By Rosie Burgess | December 8, 2023

Words by Binki Elsbury

Photos by Lorien Hughes

Secondary-school bullies, cigarettes, and bed bugs: that’s what I had associated with the artist ZENA. The person I had come to know peripherally: occasionally bumping into her at gigs, university, or as I rushed through Broadmead running an errand. Her debut single, Bedbugs, came as a surprise, not for a lack of promotion, but because her name had been circulating so much around friends that I had assumed she had already had music out that I’d somehow missed. Everyone seemed to know ZENA or knew someone who knew her, so I caught up with the Bristol-based artist on a crisp Friday morning to see what all the friendly commotion was about.

We made our way, casually, to Wanted Records, tucked just beside the Bristol Camera Shop and to the right of the St Nick’s Market food court. I asked ZENA if she was much of a vinyl head, but she refreshingly shook her head between sips of coffee, saying, “I’m not much of a music snob.” Neither was I, and we fumbled over how to properly use the record player, leaving no genre unturned as we got into ZENA’s musical journey, like children who had just discovered iTunes on their new iPod shuffles. Listening to Bedbugs, you can hear the remnants of that pre-smartphone era with a Kate Nash twang to her vocals and lyrics that read as if they had just been posted to Lily Allen’s Myspace.

The records ZENA enjoyed listening to included:

The Specials/ The Specials
Black Messiah / D’Angelo and the Vanguard
Court and Spark / Joni Mitchell
Original Pirate Material / The Streets

As someone who can’t answer exactly what they do, ZENA has instead relied on the words of others to define her sound. “I’ve been told folk, I’ve been told neo-soul, I’ve even had punk because of songs like Prissy Polly,” she explains, “I’m just a singer.” And having been featured in publications such as New Wave Magazine and Warm Sounds, it’s clear that there’s a space in Bristol for someone who is as eclectic as the city itself, especially if you carve out a hype for your live performances. Prissy Polly – one of her more rebellious tunes, has garnered the attention of Green Stage Events, who recorded a live session of the track for a growing word-of-mouth audience hungry for music despite her limited discography.

ZENA also has a relationship with South-Bristol-based creative collective VooKoo, headlining a party for them during the Bedbugs release, who have told me they are keen to keep supporting the new artist and grow alongside each other. This kind of localism and DIY ethic is at the core of Bristol’s scene, with ZENA just as likely to play in your back garden as she is to grace the stage of venues like Jam Jar.

Having sufficiently rinsed Wanted Records without buying a single vinyl, we headed towards the Arnolfini, a gallery deep in the Harbourside, to grab a coffee and warm up. I was surprised that she hadn’t frequented this end of town, but she explains she spends much of her time negotiating nosey neighbours and noise complaints out in Fishponds, a running theme for BIMM students. Having moved from Devon, ZENA reflects a large demographic of young people moving to the city, jumping into a house filled with random students plucked from the Facebook marketplace and navigating the balance between work and music. “I used to help out in the office of this charity,” ZENA lends me an example, explaining that “people used to ring up with the most sobering stories.”

Suggesting that she quit that job after getting overwhelmed by the plight of her fellow human; it’s that sensitivity you can hear carried over into her music. After hearing her anthem, Prissy Polly, at the Jam Jar in support of Kaleida Wild, she’s not even letting a secondary-school frenemy get away with it. A crowd favourite combining the doo-wop of Lauryn Hill with the angst of a noughties indie, I can’t help but think that there is something so deliciously 2007 to her approach.

After claiming a table in the bustling café, we spoke about Bedbugs, described by ZENA as a track detailing the itch we get when we realise that we don’t have much control over our lives, money, and relationships. It’s a song she feels she would sing on an empty beach with no one around to hear, a quiet introduction to her music compared to her high-energy live set. She explained that she didn’t have much of a plan to release the song either, feeling that she owed it to herself and her live punters to send the message that she was still just getting started. We spoke of insecurity as an emerging artist on the scene, especially as a woman, with ZENA speaking candidly about the cliché of the singer-songwriter getting up on stage in hopes of a receptive audience, feeling that she does so to tackle her self-confidence head-on.

“That’s why I end up talking about wees and poos on stage,” she laughs, “to break the ice in what can be quite an awkward exchange.” I’m reminded of the plethora of open mic nights around Bristol and the anyone-can attitude of the city, suggesting that ZENA wants to continue releasing tunes that feel just as accessible as the Bristol scene.

ZENA tells me we can also look forward to a headline gig in the new year, so I hint at some future releases. “I want to do the songs justice, but I’m also aware that I can’t hold on to them forever,” ZENA reiterates,erhaps slightly unnerved by the strong association people already have with songs that haven’t yet been tracked. The pressure for a neatly managed release schedule and a continuous reel of content is something artists like ZENA are ambivalent about, whilst at the same time aware of the mechanics of business that emerging artists out of Bristol are already a dab hand at. Her attitude reminds me again of those female artists from the late 2000s, learning on the job as buzz builds around them simply from being themselves.

After rolling a cigarette, ZENA changed inside the toilets of the Café for our shoot. It’s still an alien experience for the singer-songwriter, explaining that she doesn’t usually feel comfortable in front of the camera, so we quickly moved between locations to capture the bustling city behind. Bristol is a city she feels comfortable in, with passers-by not even batting an eye as she clambered atop Prince Street Bridge to view the Harbourside. ZENA had found the fun in front of the camera, so we scurried to find a boat that would let us on deck to cause more raucous. Luckily, a commercial boat parked by the M-Shed let us onboard, albeit unenthusiastically, to capture ZENA as the artist serious about being unserious and as a person with her feet firmly planted within the city’s story.

Tunes I would stick on if I were in a ZENA mood:

Foundations / Kate Nash
Smile / Lily Allen
Ghosts / Laura Marling
Stars In Their Eyes / Just Jack
Bed Bugs / Zena

Make sure to keep an eye out for Zena’s next headline in the new year!
@zenaaaahmed on Instagram