Zoh Amba :: Eyes Full
Photo: Eléonore Hendricks
Photo: Eléonore Hendricks
It's been exactly two months since the release of Kingsport, TN-based tenor saxophonist, flutist, and guitarist Zoh Amba's ground-breaking singer-songwriter debut “Eyes Full”. A splendid shapeshifting songbook that eagerly explores the delightful depths of the invisible and intimate individuals sometimes overlooked and go unseen in the ongoing quest for political power and social media followers. After relocating to NYC, where they collaborated with the legendary, prolific percussionist Jim White, Amba poetically punctured a harmonious hole in the fabric of the city’s iconic avant-garde atmosphere where their holy hero Albert Ayler reigned upon the sonic streets, and cosmic clubs like no other, the young musician has returned to their tonal roots here in the South to continue investigating the creative core and romantic reality of being an artist during these radical times. While embedded in Appalachia and the alchemical academics that Amba has tastefully tethered to their work, the album and its visceral voice stretch its weathered winds over Bays Mountain Park & Planetarium, casting a spiritual shadow over the natural scenery below and the historic hikers who endlessly question the rocky realities of the Tri-Cities region. As a Tennessean born and raised not too far from Amba’s hometown, it’s not only refreshing to see someone so elegant express themselves through several different metaphysical mediums; it’s also a great pleasure to see someone represent the South with such an abstract appreciation that truly puts this more rural area on the melodic map. I suppose it’s always a surprise to hear about a specific person from a specific place, especially in music, and “Model City” is about as specific as it can get when referring to the subconscious symbolism of the South.
Photo: Eléonore Hendricks
“These songs feel like the words I was searching for all through my life, and just beginning. I will share so much more when the record is officially out. But so very grateful to share this first single today, and I hope it brings your heart so much love and joy. Love you all so much.”
Where the southern skies meet the blue pigment behind the calcified clouds, a weightless world peeks from behind the harmonious horizon, granting the gazers a few requests for a better future as we continue moving forward one step at a time. Marking their dynamic debut on the legendary Matador, Amba called on friends and creative colleagues Jim White, Kevin Hyland, Landon George, and engineers Heba Kadry and Jacob Clements, among others, to help sonically secure the spiritual space to make this poetic product possible. Featuring tracks like “Weed Eating”, “Dead End Street”, the album’s epic opener “OCD”, and “Child You’ll See”, Amba’s integral impact on indie music is not only fundamentally fresh, but also realistically vulnerable as they burst through the bite block, drawing blood, and continuing to establish vibrant verses and complicated choruses. Amba pours everything into these songs and leaves nothing on the tonal table, or in the rusting reservoirs located outside of Gate City & Dungannon Loop; the album truly feels like a savage selection of carefully curated complements to the human experience.
