Interview: ZouZou Mansour of Soraia
Soraia is a hard rocking band out of Philadelphia who have just released their latest full-album, Dig Your Roots, and recently took to a new platform with StageIt to do a livestream record release show for fans during this time of social distancing (and concert cancellations). Frontwoman ZouZou Mansour sat down for an interview to discuss the roots of Dig Your Roots, songwriting and influences, and the near future for the band.
Dig Your Roots is an awesome album with catchy, clever tracks and a versatile range of styles – can you start by talking about some ideas you went into the studio with when you first started working on this record?
Well, we definitely had all the songs finished by January 2019, and were ready to band demo, then record by late February. We didn’t want to approach recording the album like we had on the last full-length, which was we had a lot of time to work out the kinks of the newest songs live on tour for at least 3-4 months for 2017’s Dead Reckoning. The songs were still very fresh, new, and open to possibility in my mind. Sometimes overplaying is a disadvantage in that you get used to the song a certain way—and I feel this time going in—there were a lot more production ideas that came shining through. Also, because we had worked with Geoff Sanoff (our producer on Dig Your Roots and Dead Reckoning) on our first album and a few subsequent singles, we had a comfort level with him that gave plenty of room for ideas and a deeper level of trust and collaboration. Also, we had learned to not be too attached to the songs in a certain light. We really kept the ideas flowing day-to-day with all the songs. It was very freeing and relaxing and ideas definitely flowed more.
Talk about the current lineup and the songwriting collaboration dynamic between you all.
I, ZouZou Mansour, am the singer and main lyricist on all the songs. Travis Smith, our bassist and main songwriter, has been with Soraia the longest – really since its inception. Brianna Sig is our drummer and Nick Seditious is our guitarist. Most of the songwriting is done one-on-one with me and Travis. There’s a comfort level and openness there which makes it easy to write together because we’ve been doing it for so long, but also grow as writers, together. He usually has about a thousand musical ideas, but it depends when he presents them whether or not they get written to by me at that time. I usually hear a lyric idea, or he brings a title line to the table. His tone and style of playing gives me lyric ideas almost right away–it’s magic. Brianna and I have written one song together on this record,”Don’t Have You”, which I’m also very proud of. Nick is the newest member, so he’s already had a time learning all our material. Honestly, we already brought new songs to everyone—and whatever we write, and whomever the original songwriters were, the band gets a hold of it and it changes the song. Everyone brings arrangement, parts, and production ideas to the table well before we demo it, and everyone has a hand in the creative arrangement of the song once it’s out of its original outline. We tend to jam on the song a while and then we all open up with a ton more ideas once the familiarity sets in.
“Wild Woman” feels like a wild ride, because it starts out with a Black Sabbath-esque riff, then opens into this very classic rock-style jam that also sounds new and original at the same time – it’s a great radio hit that’s also the track which is getting a lot of radio airplay around the country, what are some things that went into this track, and your thoughts on it taking off in popularity?
Honestly, the riff is what drew me in to write the lyrics, I loved it because it sounded so Sabbath-y! I thought about some of those songs like “Woman” by Wolfmother and how repetitive the lyric was and the main focus was on the riff and music and arrangement. I based my lyrics from a female preacher I had watched recently. The whole thing is just familiar but fresh to me—the lyrics are about empowerment in my own definition of that idea, and the music really takes me to a different place. There’s great arrangement ideas in there, too. It was an opportunity to really shine on the vocal for me, as well. I think it’s just a song that has it all. I hate to admit it, but I have our own song on repeat, and when I hear it in the car, I just DRIIIIVE FAST. It has that strange magic energy to it.
You’ve said that the cover of “Nothing Compares 2 U” joins the original Prince track with a Mott The Hoople vibe, and it’s a great reimagining of the song for such a unique combination. Did you ever think Prince/Mott The Hoople/Soraia was a sound you’d be going for in studio?
Not at all. It was much more how Geoff saw our interpretation of the song that led us to do it that way. Prince’s original version of the song is so soulful – so different from the version most people know by Sinead O’Connor. So we tried to keep that soulful vibe, too, maybe with our own unique take on the vocal. I wanted that to be more intimate and like I was telling the story to one person, and conveying the emotion and breakdowns on the lyrics.
Steven Van Zandt is a big supporter of Soraia, what’s it been like working with his label, Wicked Cool Records, and having him behind you guys? How did the connection first come about?
It’s been wonderful working with Wicked Cool and with Steven. Wicked Cool loved who we were, and let us be that, and also helped shape us a bit without betraying what we are. That’s unheard of with a lot of other labels, but they genuinely are nourishing rather than trying to make us adapt. It’s an honor to work with them for that reason. Also, there’s one-on-one attention there; you never feel unimportant or like you’re a cog in a giant machine. There’s that personal attention when your release comes. Steven has championed us for a while now, and it has brought opportunities and encouragement from all areas. He’s mentioned us a bunch in interviews and also supports us on a more continuous basis on Twitter and other social platforms. He’s brought an attention to us that’s undeniable with our play on his syndicated show and The Underground Garage, as well. But the inspiration and hands-on advice we get from him is where the real glory is. He gives us notes on our demos all the time. He’s a behind-the-scenes guy, but is very much involved in our advancement and any successes we have. Steven had heard a song I co-wrote with my old producer, called “Runaround”. He loved it and invited me to his office which turned into a 3 hour conversation about music and touring and what I really wanted to be in music. It was – again – an inspiring talk. He told me to write a bunch more songs, so we did. And the rest is history.
Hometown record release show takes on a whole new meaning when you’re practically not allowed to leave your hometown – how was the recent livestream concert experience?
It was equal parts a lot of fun, and frustrating! It was frustrating because we had never used that platform before (StageIt), so we had issues with the sound (we were trying to do full band rather than acoustic)—but our fans helped us get it together—so that part was really invigorating and fun! I really enjoyed talking one-on-one with them, and they all commented the choruses on some of the songs to simulate singing at the live show. I feel like although we didn’t have their physical energy right in front of us and couldn’t see their faces, we still felt their presence and really loved connecting with them. Honestly, we miss them so much. It’s tough to do a full energy show without them there, but we all managed well and I think there were still some really glorious moments in there, too.
Soraia has been compared to artists like Patti Smith, The Pretenders, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, and others from the Classic Hard Rock/Punk world – were you aiming for this particular CBGB-worthy vibe when Soraia first began, or is this just the style that came about when you all got together?
Honestly, I love CBGB’s and the whole story and time period behind that era of music and what it was all about, so although it wasn’t a conscious effort to sound like those bands, those are the bands I had on repeat forever—so it was inevitable, really. It wasn’t a conscious so much as a subconscious decision to be like them.
You have a gig with Joan Jett & The Blackhearts coming up (though postponed with the current pandemic situation), it must be quite the feeling to be continually compared to a classic legend then share a stage with them.
It’s a dream come true at the same time that it makes a ton of sense. We’ve been hammering on our craft for a long time—working on our writing and performing. We are cut from that touring stone mentality – and your odds get better for these kinds of things to happen when you keep going for it. “If you build it, they will come” kind of thing, I suppose. Also, in good news, the Joan Jett show was already rescheduled to later in May!
Back to Dig Your Roots, If you had to pick one favorite track that you’re particularly proud of, what would it be?
Two are tied for first place right now, and they are “Wild Woman” and “Superman Is Gone”. Those songs I spent a lot of time on the lyrics to get them right, so I’m super proud of what they became. I was iffy about them going in to record them, and what they because surpassed any possibility if they had no further collaborative input. Those songs are glorious as the result of the work in the studio, in my opinion. They really got the breath of life in them there. They were strong possibilities that turned into real success stories! They just needed that fine-tweaking.
What’s in the near future for Soraia?
Since our spring tour dates, for the most part, have been postponed or canceled, we are going to find more diverse and special ways to connect with our fans and reach out to a bigger audience, too, while we are quarantined. There’s a lot of restrictions at this time because of COVID-19, but there are immense possibilities of seeing and approaching things differently, too. The music won’t stop, and neither will we. In the meantime, we are already planning our summer dates with our booker, and soon will be rescheduling our current dates. Also, we already have written new material, and we’ll keep doing that as well. You can count on a number of summer dates being added to the ones we already have in place, and a full fall tour to follow.
Keep up with Soraia via: https://www.soraia.com.