Enter a world of wow with zowy; press photo courtesy of Pete Madden.

There is a kind of inherent magical power in the connection to the creative spirit and vision. Even the most prolific artists in their own medium rediscover themselves and their respective talents through allowing and willing themselves to be open to the intuition of the self. There are many ways to describe these generative practices. From adages that range from trusting the process, getting out of one’s own way to reckoning that it is all about the journey and not the destination, a marathon and not a race, etcetera — the emphasis is placed upon the praxis. The way we find our inner muse, that glimmer of inspiration, capturing that guiding light like a firefly whisked into a ventilated jar like a lantern to light a newly discovered path…these are the ways in which we find new degrees of creativity, or maybe it is the study of how creativity finds us.

Discovering these new degrees of artistic fluidity is multidisciplinary artist Zoë Wyner who presents their latest inspired endeavor titled zowy, announcing the upcoming release beware magical thinking for Lost Sound Tapes. A singular set of visions brought to a radical realization with an assist from Brad Krieger at Big Nice, the Providence, RI tunesmith collects and condenses anecdotes, aphorisms and the expanses of intuition into a cavalcade of illustrious curiosities. Wyner pays homage to the scrappy denizens of the DIY ethos on the punchy arpeggiated synth waterfall of “underdog”, to the impassioned fury of "found" that soars through the celestial stratospheres and burns like an inextinguishable bonfire of purpose pure and true. The title track is an exercise in the alchemy of reminiscences, a sprinkling of magical realism, where charged objects and sentimental memories are delivered a in a mix of percussive woodwinds and expressively dissonant chords.

Presenting the debut of "harbored" coupled with visuals Zoë sourced from the Prelinger Archives, a parade of latent perceptions and thought streams enter a consortium of confrontations and inner conflicts complimented by an assemblage of vintage film clips. The power of zowy can be heard in the articulation and punctuation of the percussion that sounds like a rhythm section thundering down a labyrinthine corridor of connecting hallways, like a minotaur charging down the twists and turns to face off with a valiant protagonist. As Wyner arranges a romp of classic cinema cuts that match the action of “harbored”, the clashes of interpersonal intricacies are told with appropriately orchestrated tension and pacing that grooves with gusto and struts to the staccato of unabashed sincerity.

Zoë provided some insights on the creative processes at work for the new project, zowy:

The writing process for this project was entirely different from how I’ve approached music in the past. Typically, I’d come up with a melody or a bass line and then flesh out the rest of the song either on my own (for my last solo project), or collaboratively with others. Then I would rehearse extensively prior to recording. Writing for beware magical thinking was a much less prescribed process. At the time, I had access to a home studio which I would pop into during my bits of free time throughout the week. I would usually start by programming a drum beat, and then would record as I wrote from there — sometimes redoing takes but almost always committing to the idea(s) I had generated that day.

The zowy sessions; courtesy of the artist.

Some of the songs built up here and there, little by little, as I found synth sounds I liked or as a melody came to me; others came together quickly, going from start to finish within the course of a day or two. Once they were nearly there, I brought this little collection of songs to my friend Brad Krieger at Big Nice Studio where we worked together to put the finishing touches on the tracks and did a rough mix over the course of one (wine-fueled/extremely high-energy) session. I really love the fluidity of writing this way, working the songs to near recorded completion as I’m creating them. It has allowed me to push my own boundaries aesthetically and sonically, and add layers upon layers without worrying up front about what live performance would entail.

zowy’s beware magical thinking will be available January 12 via Lost Sound Tapes.

PREMIERE | zowy, "harbored"