ZEA

About

ZEA started as a Dutch band in the mid 1990s before gradually becoming the solo project of Arnold de Boer, who has been the sole force behind it since 2008. Rooted in folk and world music, the project has built up a quietly impressive catalogue over the decades, from the early Transformed Dreams releases like Kowtow To An Idiot and Insert Parallel Universe to a run of albums on De Boer's own Makkum Records. De Boer is also a guitarist and vocalist in the Dutch band The Ex, which gives you a sense of the restless, adventurous spirit he brings to ZEA. In recent years the project has taken an intriguing turn toward Frisian, the minority language of the Dutch province of Friesland. The first Frisian language album came out in 2017, followed by a collaborative live recording with pianist Oscar Jan Hoogland and then a second Frisian record in 2022. A 2021 documentary called Lage tonen, brede groeven portrait De Boer's work and earned a nomination for best short documentary at the Noordelijk Film Festival. The album We are still each other's only hope followed in 2023.