Start Listening To: Zo Lief
Blending shoegaze haze with cinematic pop flourishes, Zo Lief invite listeners into a world that’s both intimate and expansive.
Zo Lief make music that shimmers on the edge of reality, lush, dreamy and tinged with something darker beneath the surface. The UK-and-Netherlands-based duo of Laura Chen and James Attwood have been quietly building a sound that's as steeped in nostalgia as it is unafraid to evolve, pulling from chamber pop, shoegaze, garage rock and beyond. Their second EP Hypnosis leans into that duality: dreamy yet driven, delicate yet heavy, rich with sonic detail and emotional tension.
As the band prepare to take their immersive live show further afield, we caught up with Laura and James to talk creative chemistry, emotional catharsis, and what’s brewing in the Zo Lief world behind the scenes.
For those unfamiliar with your music, can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and about the music you make?
Hi! We’re Laura Chen (vocals, guitar) and James Attwood (bass, guitar, synths) and together we form a psychedelic dream pop band called Zo Lief (‘so sweet’ in Dutch). Our music sits somewhere between chamber pop and garage rock with a doze of 90s shoegaze. With roots in the UK and The Netherlands, we divide our time equally between both countries.
Hypnosis is such an evocative title. Was there a specific moment or mood that sparked the name, or did it emerge as a feeling that tied the EP together?
The very first song that made it onto this EP was ‘Hypnosis’. As time went on and we wrote more music, the other tracks also had underlying lyrical themes that resonated with this idea of being spellbound by something or someone, and being in a trance, so it made sense to call the EP ‘Hypnosis’. The word looks and sounds quite enigmatic too, and calls to mind so many connotations. It was really fun to explore it as a concept, both in terms of songwriting and visuals.
There’s a clear contrast running through the EP “heavenly and heavy,” as you’ve described it. What draws you to that space in between?
Our eclectic music taste. It was definitely a conscious decision to explore heavier guitar sounds, and delve deeper into the darker side of our music taste; bands like Queens Of The Stone Age and The Raconteurs (which we were listening to a lot at the time of writing). It was a welcome surprise to see how seamlessly these heavier moments fitted into our sound and added a rougher edge to the EP, as well as the image of our band.
The production on Hypnosis feels incredibly rich and cinematic. What was it like working with James Bagshaw, and how did his influence shape the final sound?
Through working with James Bagshaw on our debut EP, we learnt a lot about recording and producing our sound, which meant that we could go on to produce this second EP ourselves. We were still missing his signature touch and great talent for sound design, so sent over the tracks for him to add his final magic in the co-production and mixing. The addition of his collection of instruments and recording gear gave the EP the analog edge we sought after, but couldn’t recreate in our own little home studio (aka living room).
“Stop The Party” and “Love At The Launderette” feel like they belong in the same dreamworld, but have very different energies. How do you balance whimsy with melancholy in your songwriting?
The moods of our songs are as eclectic as our music taste. We like to take the listener on a journey through different emotions. From the get-go we set out to create a world that people can escape in. This is totally circular and we try and reflect this in every way, from the songwriting to our image and the visuals we put out. It also just happens organically, depending on our state of mind. At one moment we might feel like writing a light-hearted playful tune, and the next something more poignant.
Laura and James, being both musical and romantic partners, how does that dual dynamic influence your creative process? Where do you challenge each other most?
We are (almost) always completely on the same wavelength in establishing the overall vibe of a song, which is most likely because we’ve got such strong chemistry as a couple. It also helps that we pretty much listen to similar/the same music, and often together, so we know each other’s references and influences. The writing and recording stages are where we challenge each other to achieve the best version of our individual contributions possible, from melodies and lyrics, to instrument parts.
“You (A Burden)” feels particularly raw and grounded amidst the dreamier textures. Can you talk about the emotional place that track came from?
It was immediately clear that this song required a more straightforward approach in terms of instrumentation, to match its hooky chorus. This included a repeating bass line and less intricate guitar parts to reinforce the catchy vocal melody. James had just acquired a baritone guitar and we used the instrument’s low tuning as a writing tool to present an eerie tonality. The staccato, stabbed chords keep the song moving yet focussed, making it feel less floaty than its companions. Lyrically it’s quite punchy and blunt, but wrapped up in a poetic blanket. It’s an introspective torch song fuelled by frustration. It describes finding oneself putting up with someone who’s a force to be reckoned with. Although they weigh you down, and are intolerable at times, you refuse to acknowledge them as a burden, because despite everything, there’s a glimmer of hope that this person is worth bearing.
“Pinch Me” injects a brighter tempo and energy into the EP. Do you find tempo shifts help guide emotional pacing, or are they just instinctual?
We like to listen to EP’s/albums in full and want the artist to take us on a journey with them. Same goes for gigs. When we go watch other bands live, we like to be kept on our toes and be surprised by what they’re going to play next, how they will change up the mood. Tempo shifts are engaging so we like to play around with this when deciding on our recorded tracklist and live setlist; to traverse the listener’s attention into a different direction.
You’ve toured widely across the UK and Europe, how do you translate such studio-layered, atmospheric songs into a three-piece live show?
We started out as a studio project, so it was initially a bit of a puzzle to see how we could take the songs to stage and how they would translate in a live setting. Playing live as a three-piece, we try to cover as much ground as possible in terms of recreating the recorded layers into single parts on the instruments we have in the band, which is guitar, bass and drums. Getting a drummer was crucial in bringing energy and dynamics to the live performances. We’re lucky to be joined by two very talented drummers, with Jake in the UK and Sweder in The Netherlands.
With the EP out now and more shows on the horizon, what kind of space do you want to create for audiences at your gigs?
We want to bring our visual identity to the live shows and for it to be an extension of the world we’re building around our music. We want it to feel like a space where people can escape into and get lost within, in whatever way they desire.
How has your experience touring with bands like Temples and Lo Moon shaped your approach to performing and connecting with audiences?
Watching other bands and how they present themselves and their music is a great learning opportunity for any band starting out. There’s no real handbook on how to be a touring musician or how to put on a show, so getting first-hand experiences being able to support and work alongside other artists, is invaluable. Growing up listening to these bands mentioned and then going on to share the stage with them continues to amaze us and will probably forever remain surreal.
What do you love right now?
Being fortunate to be able to play so many different kinds of shows and meeting people that our music connects with; hearing and seeing their responses. We’ve especially been loving playing some new material live recently and testing them out on a crowd.
What do you hate right now?
That music and the whole landscape around it, is becoming very binary and there seems to be less of a platform for artists doing something in between.
Name an album you’re still listening to from when you were younger and why it’s still important to you?
This one’s extremely difficult! If we must choose, we would probably both agree on an album by The Beatles: Revolver (James) and Abbey Road (Laura). At the moment we’re on a huge Beatles hype again, having watched their documentaries and the recent Wings film in cinema. Some of our favourite guitar and bass playing and tones are on these albums, and it’s super interesting listening to their recordings in stereo. They made such unique and clever production choices.
Finally, the Zo Lief sound feels rooted in nostalgia but looks ahead. Where do you see your sound evolving next, and what’s already brewing behind the scenes?
We already have lots of new music written that we can’t wait for people to hear. Sound-wise it’s classic Zo Lief, but each time we’re heading in a slightly different direction again. We’re always trying to develop and experiment. We won’t give anything away yet, so you’ll have to come to a show to hear it.
