Two years ago Zoe moved from Berlin, where she lived many years, back to the island la Reunion, where she has spent most of her childhood.
in the middle of the pandemic, feeling secluded at times, she raised two street cats, began working on the record "Hermitage" and spent countless hours on writing and recording the songs.
It may be an album that contains many topics and feelings, but the title for the album mostly describes the overall process she went trough while thinking and meditating about life and living.
Your new album is called: Hermitage. Which is someone who lives in isolation or about Isolation itself. Why did you choose this title for the album?
I had been thinking about the title for a while but when I stumbled upon the word "Hermitage" it felt exactly right. Two years ago I moved to a small island and left behind the city life I had in Berlin.
It also happened in the middle of the pandemic, so at times, I felt a bit secluded. But it was also wonderful in so many ways. Life here is wonderful.
For me hermitage also means a time for thinking and meditating, and I definitely did a lot of that. And lastly, there's this lovely little creature called the hermit crab, which changes houses, or shells, several times in its life, and I can relate to that as I have been moving several times in my life as well. And I had chosen Reunion as my new little shiny shell.
We’ve been talking quite some time about the song „life is strange“ on the phone, which is one of my favorites on the album.
Life is strange
Just when you think you have it all
There’s a tingling in your bones
You want more
You climb up to the top
And then you say goodbye
One more time
How strange
The people in the park
They’re carefree and they love
Oh
You want some
But when you can’t arrive
Always thinking about
The next five
You’re outside of time
Life is strange
Life is strange
When you’re a stranger
Looking in
Would you tell us a bit about the meaning of the song and it’s background?
The idea for that song came to me when I was sitting on my balcony one night.
I was feeling a bit down I suppose and came to the melodramatic conclusion that life is, indeed, strange.
I thought about changing the lyrics several times because it's so raw and "to the point", but ultimately, changing them felt wrong. It is what it is.
But I guess the overall theme of the song is the feeling of alienation, of feeling like an outsider, which I think a lot of people can relate to in some way or another. It also talks about the endless pursuit of happiness and not being able to be in the moment. We often focus on what could be instead of appreciating what's around us.
Tell us a bit about your songwriting process. Do you know where the songs come from?
Do you write the lyrics first, after the melody, or both at the same time?
It depends. Sometimes melodies and words just come to me when I'm playing around on my guitar.
I find that those are usually the better ones, because they just come naturally.
Other times I will first create the instrumental part and obsess over that first, and only later will I write lyrics for it.
But I've also started songs where I had the lyrics first. Really there's no rule or process for me.
As to the question where songs come from: I really don't know but I find it pretty magical, the concept of putting something into the world that has not existed before.
You are someone that can dive in for hours into work (recording songs or painting, doing graphic designs) and I remember even when you were a kid did you have this incredible patience.
Is it your superpower?
Thank you, I guess? I don't know, I think when I love something then I can do it for hours.
Also, I don't like when things are done halfway, I can be a bit of a perfectionist at times, so I can forget about the time. But with music, it's often because I get lost in it. When you're in that flow, you don't really want it to stop because who knows if you'll be able to pick up where you left it.
Often I start working on something thinking "Oh, I'll just quickly make that change here" and then end up spending hours on the project, I get sucked right into it.
Would you say it’s more of a prophetic album or a dealing-with-the-past one? It also may be both, but sometimes I feel songs are either there because you embark on a new journey or you reflect about the path that brought you to this point in life?
It's a bit of both. There is reminiscing about the past - I think I'm a bit nostalgic in nature, but there is definitely also some wishful thinking in it and some hope for the future.
Has the making of this album changed somehow how you see life?
I wouldn't say that the album has changed how I see life. I think it's more the result of the hours I have spent thinking about life and living. Making the album just helped me to put it into words I suppose.
What part plays love is your songs or in the process of making music?
Isn’t it always about love somehow? The search for love inside oneself, the love for music, dreaming of finding someone to love.
Yeah, I guess it always revolves around love one way or the other: Both it's presence and absence.
Whether it's the love (or lack of) of another person, of yourself, of a place, a circumstance.
But I don't necessarily start a song, thinking I'm going to write about it. I think love is so central to our lives that it just always ends up being there, whether I was planing on it or not anyway.
I know you can be quite shy in public - could you imagine to play your songs live one day?
It's true, I am quite the introvert so the idea of putting myself "out there", physically and emotionally, I find it terrifying.
I also have terrible stage fright but I guess this is just something I have to overcome. Once you're up there, the fear starts to fade eventually.
What are your favorite songs on the album?
I'm not sure... I really enjoy singing "Perfectly Fine" and "Tiger Lily".
But then I also loved working on those horns in "In the Blood", the making part of it was really fun.
But ultimately I love all of them. I really wanted to make sure that I'm proud of all of them and I'm not making an album just for the sake of having an album.
Please share 3 of your favorites songs of all time
(and maybe a short explanation why?)
That is such a hard question. Of all time? Only three.. God. I need at least 5.
Link to the music:
(you can find her music also under the name ZOALA on youtube, Itunes, apple music and many more. Or on Instagram under the name: itszoalarming.
https://open.spotify.com/album/3BCGSR45uB2wpZKKjF92Jk?si=e003f8bddc6e4dff
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Bea Rubli is the owner of le Château Les Charmées in Bourgogne, France. She is a Mother, Visionary, Medium and a lover of nature and animals.
I visited her on her beautiful chateau and had the possibility to have an inspiring interview with her:
We talked about „the call“. "The call" each and every person holds in itself - the call to be close to ourselves, to our essence. The call to find our talents and show them to the world.
(The following Interview is also available on IGTV on Instagram: Vietopiathebrand)
Being a medium is a rather unusual or extraordinary job, would you tell us a bit more about your profession?
I hope that nowadays my job is not so extraordinary. For me, the job as a medium is something natural, something that I have already brought into this life - possibly as a gift, talent or opportunity to express myself in this life but also to do something for the world.
For many people this profession is still "different normal", extraordinary or maybe not yet integrated.
Bea, we have talked about "the call" from time to time in the 3 days I have been here.
We have talked about the fact that everyone has "a calling". But we also talked about the fact that it doesn't always have to be something "extraordinary". What do you understand by "the Call", which every human being carries within himself to a certain degree?
By "a call" I also understand "the call" that you carry within you to be close to yourself, with your powers and with your potentials.
It is something that you have brought into this life. It wants to be expressed and brought into a form that makes you happy and its something that you like to do.
But often it is idealized. We have a part in us that wants to be special.
In my understanding, we are all special or not special. You can't be more than special. This can sometimes distort the feeling for the call a bit. You might think my call has to be something very, very, very special. But for me, it's actually like feeling "this call" inside of you, towards yourself: who am I? Where do I want to go with myself?
This part is often very colored, by ideas or evaluations of other people, or things that you may idealize in this life. All this can take you off the track to yourself. You may then judge yourself and think: now I am only this or that, that is nothing special and therefore not a "real call".
"A call" is not something "superior", nor something that is more than anything else, but it is the part that you want to express in this life. In short, you want to express what makes you you.
So that means that not everyone has to be a famous superstar, or an actor, where maybe many feel, oh that would be my "big call", but if they had it, they might not be so happy with it.
Yes! I think it's like this, we are with ourselves and we are happiest where we are closest to ourselves. So even if you were successful somewhere, it could still mean that you are far from being close to yourself.
But we live in a world of many valuations: who presents something more special or more respected, or does something more special or more respected.
So many people are looking for that part in themselves, that makes them being valued by society, their parents etc.
"if you really want to find out what makes you happy you have to go and look for it in yourself: what makes me me?"
What do you think how do we find ourselves then? How do we find back to who we really are? Is it trough the voice of intuition?
What would help people in the process of finding their "own personal call"?
This is certainly a very complex question: What is the way to ourselves? How do we find out who we really are?
It is often a journey of discovery but also a journey into your own patterns and imprints, imaginations, what you bring with you and the influences that were formative for you.
As you rightly say, "intuition" definitely helps a lot, but often we are not trained to trust our intuition. We then think: oh this was just an idea and we devalue or doubt it again.
I believe that the intuition and the closeness to yourself holds the creative power, it is where you really do feel fullfilled.
Nevertheless, it is also important to really like yourself in your truth, whatever truth that may be.
Well, to like oneself is probably one of the biggest tasks in our life...
Yes, because it was already shaped, from home, what made our parents proud, what made us popular. Through all these influences, the way to yourself is sometimes not so easy. We all want to like ourselves, but we also wanted to be loved as a child. It often depends on how we were allowed to develop as a person.
We begin to ask ourselves what we like ourselves for in the first place.
You should give yourself permission to like yourself more often.
Thank you very much for this insightful conversation.
If you would like to give something to the people out there, what would it be?
I would like to tell people to like themselves for who they are and to always be aware that they are in the best possible place in their lives at any given moment, even if it doesn't always feel that way and often only comes true in hindsight.
Can you tell us what has been your biggest learning/realization in life so far?
First thing that comes to mind: My biggest realization in life so far is that I have the opportunity to learn something (new) every day and that I am very privileged where I live.
On the other hand, There are also many things I „learned“ that im now trying to „unlearn“:
Long story short: I`m constantly learning and also still learning to unlearn and deconstruct. I am still learning to look beyond the end of my nose, to question beliefs and to think critically, to sit with it even if it's unpleasant, to stand up for people and for myself. Our environment is on the brink - we have to realize that it’s now up to us to put the things right that we have destroyed. We have to start making responsible choices today!
As cliché as it may sound, everything has the power to be my teacher. I never want to stop learning.
What is your personal ikigai? The Japanese meaning for the reason you get out of bed in the morning or your sense of life.
„life itself gets me out of bed in the morning“ sums it up for me. Sometimes it’s the golden light outside, sometimes it’s my bladder, other times it’s the loveliest cat begging for food or the delicious smell of coffee or just the alarm clock. For me, it's the little things in life that count.
strong, sensitive and independent. How do these words resonate with you?
The older I get, the more I realize how strong so many people are! Each of them with their own story, each of them swimming in the same pond called life.
There are so many different conditions and horrible things are happening in this world.
Countless injustices and inequalities! Sometimes I wonder how some people manage to cope with all of this! On the other hand I also wonder how some people can be so ignorant and egoistic despite it all.
Sometimes I'm ignorant myself, for example, when I close my eyes to the terrible things that are happening all over the world. I think it's my duty as a privileged person to stand up for people and raise my voice to advocate for equality and freedom for all living beings. I want to be aware of my privileges and take responsibility.
It is important for me to be empathetic and sensitive towards people and all living beings in general, to listen to each other and treat each other with respect, and last but not least to be honest and sensitive towards myself.
I have zero tolerance for discrimination based on gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, skin color, appearance, disability, economic status, migrant status or better said I have zero tolerance for discrimination at all. I also have zero tolerance for violence of any kind, that’s where my empathy stops.
Independence is a big word! I don't know anything or anyone who is completely free of dependencies. For me it is more "as independent as possible" or even better perhaps "consciously dependent".
what meaning does fashion have in your life?
Somehow totally unnecessary nonsense and yet important!
It used to be so important to me how I look and what clothes I wear to make me look good, sexy, etc.
I didn't think for a single second about the fact that maybe children made my clothes, or that rivers are being polluted by chemicals, or how much micro-plastic eventually ends up in the ocean. I also find fashion decadent: Only privileged people can think about things like that. How many people freeze? Don’t have warm shoes or a warm jacket? They have have real problems and don't ask themselves if they should buy the new Gucci bag.
I don't want to say that I don't care about how I look these days. Of course I want to wear clothes that I like.
What I want to say is that it is much more important to me today that I wear something that was produced fairly and does not harm the environment. I want to be sure that the people who made my clothes are paid fairly! I want to wear something of high quality, something timeless and something that lasts.
If I shop second hand or buy clothes from a sustainable brands, I can justify that.
you live in a house together with your boyfriend and 3 more dudes. I know you grow a lot of your own veggies and you also like to do funny projects together, like recording atmospheric sound etc.
Tell us, how is it living like this?
It is extremely fun! Everyone has their own speciality. One takes care of the garden, another one does the maintenance around the house and repairs things, others cook and keep the house in a good shape. But in the end, everyone does a bit of everything. We have a good conversation culture at home and share everyday life together. But sometimes, of course, there are moments when you get annoyed and think: do I have to do all the work alone or what's up? But I think that happens automatically when several people live together. In the end, we always find a solution that suits everyone.
In addition, we do a lot of cool stuff together. For example, we founded Empty Space - an artistic platform. So visit www.empty-space.bandcamp.com and www.soundcloud.com/empty_space. I was finally able to come up with a pseudonym for myself, under which makes it easier for me to publish stuff.
I don't want to reveal more, so that everything remains a bit mysterious. So far, our online presence is still very modest, but we have many projects in the starting shoes.
your favorite quote or poem:
at the crescent moon
the silence
enters the heart.
- Chiyo-ni
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How beautiful: you're 19 years young and already care so much about mother earth and sustainability. What made you aware of this topic at such a young age?
I think everything started at the age of 18, when I did my Thesis about the Bohemian lifestyle. You may think it has nothing to do with the topic, but discovering this whole new world of people, who have real values and awareness about nature, made me find mine. I re-discovered a part of myself which I had probably given up in my early teenage years: my sensitivity. When I say I am a sensitive person, it means that once I’m aware of something, I cannot ignore it anymore! When I started seeing news about what was happening to our planet, I had no choice but to change. I decided that I don’t want to be part of a society that destroys Mother Earth. I started doing my own research and learnt that it’s not difficult to live differently and I finally found myself very passionate about the topic.
What is your biggest dream in life?
My biggest dream is to live a simple life by the seaside and stay connected with nature. I want to continue educating myself and people and encouraging them to live more consciously. I think once you truly appreciate Mother Earth, you respect and want to protect her.
You know, I read a book about minimalism and this changed the vision I had of my future. I realized that one can be fulfilled with little in life and that accumulating things won’t make you feel happier. I’m very passionate about fashion, so I thought it would be hard for me to buy less, but I found out that having a few but beautiful and high-quality pieces (like yours!!!) is way more valuable than having tons of clothes from fast fashion brands !
strong, sensitive and independent. How do these words resonate with you?
First of all, I love the fact that you put the words strong and sensitive together! For a long time I thought that sensitivity is a weakness: I was so wrong.
I grew up around very strong women who always pushed me to have goals and never give them up. My mother is my biggest inspiration in terms of independence. Being independent, financially and mentally, is the first thing I remember her telling me. Also, one of my closest friends always proves to me that no matter what you’ve been through, no matter how down you’ve been, you can ALWAYS get up and become stronger - I admire her so much !
Independence is very important to me when it comes to the idea of having a boyfriend. I see so many girls putting pressure on themselves thinking « I absolutely have to find someone » and I totally disagree with that. I think you should love yourself first, before you are be able to have a strong and healthy relationship with someone else.
And anyway: who said women need men? I saw a quote the other day «Women don’t need men, they need art » and I kind of like it haha!
What are your daily struggles and how do you work on overcoming them?
Being conscious about the environment had such an amazing impact on my life but also created insecurities. My problem is, that I want to do everything perfect ; living plastic free, being minimalistic etc. Obviously it is a step by step journey and I can’t change everything at the same time. However, I’m extremely frustrated to see that I still use plastic packaging, products with microplastics and so on. What really helps me, is to write down a list of every change I want to make in my daily life. With this, I’m sure not to forget anything and when one point is completed I can go on to the next one.
I also feel a lot of pressure from “being an adult and having responsibilities”. It’s hard to choose a career at such a young age, especially when you have a lot of different interests! Therefore, I started writing/saying daily affirmations like “I have time” or “I am confident”.
Remember to be kind to yourself. Do not compare yourself with others as everyone is different. Last but not least: I write down 3 things I’m grateful for every evening, which makes me appreciate what I have and reminds me of how lucky I am.
Nature ! I’m so lucky to work with nature’s creations, and as every shell is different I have special ideas for each of them. I always try to highlight the beauty of them and stay as natural as I can. Otherwise, Instagram and Pinterest are my favorite sites to look for inspiration. However I always have an idea before, but 5to be sure I’m not too much influenced by someone else’s work.
your favorite quote or poem is….
I do have a lot of little quotes I like to remember, but I think the one that says everything is : « The universe wants you to succeed » by Tatiana Ringsby. I’m slowly getting more and more into self-development and this quote resonates so much with me. I know that everything happens for a reason and you can grow and learn from a situation. I just trust my journey ☼
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I think everyone who knows you would say, that you have a balanced calm appearance, and that it has always been like that. What helps you to be calm and balanced?
My parents told me, that I was an even-tempered child. I know, I loved and still do love peace and harmony. Already at an early age I tried to understand my outer world through observation and perception without judging. (In my family I was seldom confronted with prejudice.) I was quite sensitive and often withdrew in imagination, I also felt protected and connected to the power within. Nowadays I am more and more understanding my inner world and gained on my pathway tools through experience and trust. I keep my inner harmony through meditating, prayer and staying in the moment. There is always something special about every moment I can experience.
What inspired you to work as a medium, a healer and to teach classes for developing such skills.
At my time it was hardship to find someone or something to help you to understand and develop your gift. For me, it is fulfilling helping others to enhance their unique sensitivity, their mediumistic skills and share the experience to be connected to the source or loved ones in the other realms. It is a wonderful journey, to discover your inner and outer resources and to tune in with the source.
We are born to remember where are we come from.
What has been your biggest lesson in life so far?
How can I say, this was the biggest lesson so far? It seems like a chain with different pearls, Some pearls where smooth and shiny, where others acute and unpolished. The deeper impacts where, the one who touched my heart, who inspired me and opened my compassion and consciousness.
Strong sensitive and independent. How do these words resonate with you?
Strong in the sense of keeping faith, yes, but imagining being confronted with unbelievable sorrow like losing a child I question myself; how can I be sure to be strong and not falling apart. We all may have our breaking point. I feel deep compassion and humbleness for people, who suffered and still radiate gentleness.
I know two dimensions of sensitivity. I was sentient, vulnerable and feeling between the lines and used to mediate over everything. I used to daydream a lot to withdraw from the real world. Nowadays I feel empowered to support others with my sensitivity
Independence is important for me, because I allow myself to follow my heart.
How important is a sustainability in your life?
For me there are different kinds of sustainability. Whatever we do, whatever we say whatever we radiate has an effect. So, sustainability in this sense means taking responsibility. Because what we do, say and feel and we didn`t do did not say did not feel has an effect on us, other human beings and to the world of plants, animals and the world within Sustainability has become a very important message. One pearl of wisdom came from my daughter, who creates sustainably clothing. There are wonderful people, who inspire through their example.
What would be your advice to women?
Be true to yourself and follow the call in you. Believe in you. Never limit your abilities or faith in your process. Keep your creativity and the connection to the source. We can gain pearls of wisdom from others, who inspire us and help us. There is a little proverb from Confucius. I
What is wisdom. « To know people». And «what is wise behavior? » «To love human beings. »
It is a beautiful way to see people trough loving heart and eyes. You feel connected and not separated.
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