Scottish singer-songwriter Iona Zajac releases her debut album, Bang.
Bang is a striking debut, packed with complex emotions, heavy relationship stories, and even heavier life moments, delivered with sharp cleverness where rock, alt-folk, and spectral pop collide.
“I don’t think I necessarily approached this album with a plan, but if you look at songs like ‘Bowls’, ‘Dilute’ and ‘Anton’, they’re like sisters in different stages of processing something bad. They were written in very different periods, ‘Bowls’ expresses a more general feeling of anger about violence towards women. While ‘Dilute’ came from my own experiences as a teenager and ‘Anton’ more specifically hones in on stories of relationships and intimacy. They’re the heaviness that anchors the album that exist alongside playful moments that I hoped would provide a thread of how surreal a lot of my ways of processing things are. I think it’s a very Scottish thing, processing sadness through humour.”
Iona Zajac
While pulling from her own experiences, Iona also reflects on womanhood, capturing the liberation that comes with finding your voice and encouraging others to speak their own truths.
“It’s very important as a female artist that I appeal to young women with my work. I write a lot about my own experiences; the good, the bad and the ugly. I mostly write with a nuanced hand but also lean into being necessarily on the nose. I had some bad experiences as a teenager and one of the most therapeutic ways of dealing with this has been through songwriting. There’s an angry song that I play live and I can’t count the amount of young women that have approached me afterwards, often emotional, about how that song spoke of their experience, too. That’s what it’s all about to me; reaching out to people and leaving them with something to think about. As a recording artist I feel a responsibility to speak to, and speak out for others, and hopefully in turn empower, and shake things up a bit.”
Iona Zajac
Bang lives up to its title, every track landing with impact, provoking a feeling, a moment that lingers.
“It’s a big thing to release a debut album, especially one that’s so personal and heavily loaded. I’m definitely ready to unleash the beast, it’s not weighing me down anymore. It’s thanks to these songs for helping me let things go.”
Iona Zajac
Check out Bang here.
Upcoming live dates:
25 March – Fremantle Prison, Freemantle, Aus (playing with The Pogues)
17 March – Hindley St Music Hall, Adelaide, Aus (playing with The Pogues)
29 March – The Forum, Melbourne, Aus – (playing with The Pogues)
2 April – Byron Bay, Bluesfest, Aus – (playing with The Pogues)
3 April – Byron Bay, Bluesfest, Aus – (playing with The Pogues)
5 April – Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Aus – (playing with The Pogues)
6 April – Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Aus – (playing with The Pogues)
8 April – St James Theatre, Wellington, N (playing with The Pogues)
9 April – Christchurch Town Hall, NZ – (playing with The Pogues)
11 April – NZICC Theatre, Auckland, NZ (playing with The Pogues)
Find Iona Zajac on Instagram | Facebook | Spotify