Meet Zana Messia

Today we’d like to introduce you to Zana Messia.

Zana, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started writing music at 11 years old in order to cope with being a refugee child from Bosnia and Herzegovina growing up in Sweden.

I performed way before that, I discovered a love for dance and movement way early in kindergarten.

The desire to write was born at around 11 years old. It was my alternative to smoking cigarettes, stealing and doing other bad things I felt like doing in order to deal with all the pain I felt and that I couldn’t understand.

I grew up without a father and without an idea about what normal life was like.

Music became a much needed outlet and it gave me a platform, helped me make friends. It helped me express myself. I won my first record deal with Sony Music Sweden with the first song I ever wrote and recorded, at 15 years old. The contract never resulted in a released record but I got to meet and write music with some of the greatest artists and writers in the world.

I went on to move back to the Balkans in order to study the complex and intricate musical traditions of my home. I came to US for a six months music engineering program at Musicians Institute in Hollywood, in order to learn how to produce and engineer my own stuff. Before I had a chance to leave, my song got placed in the film The Lightkeepers, directed b Daniel Adams and it was shortlisted for an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song, This enabled me to stay in the US a little longer. I then got married. Then divorced, I was awarded the Jerry Moss (founder of A&M records) scholarship of $100.000 to study jazz performance at UCLA., under one of my favorite artists of all time, Kenny Burrell’s mentorship.

I released an independent all organic jazz album which celebrated all the music that influenced and shaped me. It had elements of Balkan music I had in my blood and American jazz and soul… It challenged the concept of genre in a way,

Right before my divorce, I suffered a great personal loss and it manifested itself as chronic pain in my body and I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I lost my ability to sing for about 1.5 years. In that time, I found Yoga and Traditional Chinese Medicine, which enabled a slow healing process and my return to music.

I have since then graduated from UCLA, performed on stage with Stevie Wonder and Mariah Carey, been featured artist in FIFA World Cup, written music for several award-winning films and started work on my new album, entitled 11:11. First single was released in June of this year. Video here: https://youtu.be/jUUVdB3ibq4

11:11 is an exploration in sound and music genre where 11 songs are produced under my name Zana Messia, in a pop/RNB style and then the same 11 songs are interpreted by my alter ego punk-rock-soul band The Midnight Mission. A video explaining my concept can be seen here: https://youtu.be/AAIOxJ_Fk2o.

The new music video L.A. Minute can be seen here: https://youtu.be/DboLG7WxAmU (I’m planning to release it in November, prior to releasing my new EP.

I had amazing people working with me, Grammy-nominated producer Billy Mohler, Grammy-winning Stuart Schenk and many more. The future is exciting!

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The road has not been smooth! At all! Music has always been the therapy, the positive element in my life. The moment I found writing and discovered its’ therapeutic power, I had a strategy. Writing and performing has given me the strength to always keep pushing. It gave my fortunes and misfortunes a meaning. A reason to get up in the morning and write a song.

Music and yoga, which I discovered due to my health issues – became my two greatest blessings.

Can you give our readers some background on your music?
My music production company’ s main focus currently is to produce and release 11:11 materials, whether it is sound recording, videos, artwork, merchandise or live music concerts. The long term goal is to take on other artists and sign and develop new music.

I think I am aware of my story and the set of influences and experiences that make me uniquely me. I aim to inspire creatives and humans around the globe to reach within themselves and discover their own uniqueness. One of my core beliefs is that every human being is born with a gift unique to them. As an educator, I want to bring that uniqueness out in my students. This is very controversial in terms of traditional educational systems globally. We are always told to fit in and work towards the normative ideals. It is a shame. A child is capable of anything. In the words of one of my favorite poets: For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls.

For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them but seek not to make them like you.

For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth. (Khalil Gibran)

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I do not believe in luck. All possibility is out there and our free will chooses our path every second of every moment of our lives. Our vibration can be high and pure and directly manifest our beauty, or it can be low and we can sink into the denser reality filled with opposition and obstacles.

I believe as humans we always balance between the two. I believe true happiness and true success mean learning to enjoy the journey, the struggle, our own striving to be better. Falling down and getting up.

Grace happens when our own heart believes we deserve it, and we call it luck.

Contact Info:

• Address: 220 San V Blvd
• Website: https://zanamessiamusic.com/
• Phone: 3105931208
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: zanamessia
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZanaMessia/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ZanaMessia

Image Credit:
Pepe Manzano Photography, Yace Yase LLC, Lorenzo Belmonte

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