Emerging from the busy streets of New York is the latest indie pop-rock sensation, Zoe Ko. Taking inspiration from female artists such as Hayley Williams of Paramore, Avril Lavigne, Gwen Stefani and Kesha, Ko is ready to take the world by storm with her unique and sassy style.
Ko has gained nearly 45k Spotify listeners and over a million streams on her single ‘Lovesick in Public’ in just over a year, putting her on the path to becoming the next internet sensation. Today, she released her debut EP ‘Baby Teeth’, which showcases her fierce femininity and all she has worked hard for.
“I think so much of the project is coming of age and coming to terms with your past,” Ko said. “I love the phrase baby teeth in the image of holding on to baby teeth as a metaphor for your childhood and what you’ve gone through.”
Working with Johnny Shore, the main collaborator and executive producer, Ko was able to quickly write and record each of the five songs on the EP. Ko even sang the background vocals in a fake French accent throughout the entire track.
“The first song we wrote together was ‘Tangerine,’ and then the second song we ever wrote together was ‘Petri Dish,'” Ko said. “We wanted to have the music videos ready for them and everything. So that’s kind of why we did it so early on and prematurely.”
Each track on the EP has a corresponding music video. In the video for ‘Pink Noise,’ Ko reflects on her struggles to recreate the iconic blood-pouring scene from the movie Carrie.
“It was very hard to clean up but it was worth it for the fun shot,” Ko said. “We made this like syrupy mixture, so it’s like very gooey and it also like hardened so fast and we didn’t have a shower on set. My white thong that I was wearing that day was fully stained red. I was a little red for a week.”
Aside from ‘Rib Cage,’ none of the other tracks were love songs, which Ko says she is proud of. Instead, the songs are self-reflections of both her personal experiences and universal female experiences as well.
“Every song is really internal and a process of different traumas and past experiences in my life,” Ko said. “It’s a lot of self-reflection, but it’s paired with this incredibly upbeat and sassy, kind of cheeky energy as well.”
The pop star has discussed her experience of being bullied in high school multiple times. Her experience inspired her to create ‘Baby Teeth,’ a universal anthem for girls to stand up against those who have wronged them.
“The project itself is just all-encompassing of who I am, who I was, and like what I’ve gone through,” Ko said. “It’s the perfect beginning to my story as an artist and solidifying like what I have been through up until now.”
Song Analysis
“The tangerine itself is a metaphor for being positive and looking towards the light at the end of the tunnel. The verse explains my childhood and how I was raised, and my experiences growing up in New York. It’s about having a positive outlook. Though a lot of shit has happened, or whatever has gone on in your past you have to be positive.”
“‘Pink Noise is honestly just a feminine rage song. I was just very fed up one day and I really liked the term pink noise. I like the idea of coining that as women’s voices being really loud and being unfiltered. It’s literally just about the various lovely female experiences that we all have. It’s like talking about like how we wear uncomfortable shoes, stab our eyes with eyelash curlers, smile more for men and just like 1000 things that we go through.”