Zorras

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Zorras were a multimedia performance troupe based in Edinburgh, Scotland from 20072012. They
emerged from the city's alternative poetry and music scenes in 2008, and performed at some of the
most renowned international counterculture locations and events. Zorras were part of the queer,
transsexual, transgender, feminist and crip cultural movements. They created artworks that explored
issues of language, sexuality, gender, race, class, mental health and ability.
Zorras' founding members were Sandra Alland and Y Josephine. Other collaborators included Ariadna
Battich, Nathan Gale and Gord Disley. Alland wrote and performed the text, Josephine wrote and
performed the music, and Alland and Battich created films.
Zorras were most known for their live performances, where they often added video to their fusion of
music and poetry. Some of Zorras' most distinguishing elements were the use of sound poetry, cajn
and megaphones; they also implemented guitar, props and bilingual (English-Spanish) storytelling.
They produced one CD ("We Apologise For Any Inconvenience", 2009) and one EP ("Doctor Says",
2012), both with the indie label Minor Assault Records. Zorras founded Cachn Cachn Cachunga! in
2009, a performance and visual art event curated by Alland.
In autumn of 2009, ultimatemetal.com said of Zorras: A very unique mix of poetry, music, stories and
just plain weird. The poetry was sharp and funny, the placement effective, the visuals fitting; a rather
unforgettable experience.[1]

Contents

1 Background
2 Works
3 References
4 External links

Background
Sandra Alland and Yudnara Josephine met in November 2007 at Who's Your Dandy, a queer and trans
literary event founded by Alland in Edinburgh and given a 4-star review by The Skinny in December
2007.[2] Alland was reading her poetry at the event, and Josephine was singing and playing cajn with
the (now-defunct) Contrabajo. According to Diva[3] and The F Word (magazine)[4] interviews in 2009,

the two artists were taken with each other immediately.

The duo's debut performance as Zorras was in January 2008 at The Golden Hour at Edinburgh's Forest
Cafe. Following this event, they began to perform widely throughout the city, including at Itsy's
Kabarett (Voodoo Rooms), Cocoon Counter Culture Festival, Bongo Club, Roxy Arthouse, Noisy
Nights (Traverse Theatre) and Edinburgh Queer Mutiny. They often worked with Equality Network
and Scottish Transgender Alliance to give artist talks and performances at various Scottish LGBT
events.
Zorras produced a CD in July 2009 (We Apologise For Any Inconvenience), which was highlighted in
San Francisco's Curve[5] in their January/February 2010 issue: a more experimental take on spoken
word performance than your average word-spitter. Zorras deliver their musical stories bilingually,
mixing text, sound poetry, percussion, guitar, megaphones, singing and projected visual images. They
are still interesting on CD, mixing it up between more musical numbers like the guitar-folk 'Nest' and
more radio-dramatized pieces like 'Here's To Wang." I personally love the 'In the Details' spoken
interludes, humorous musings on the idiosyncrasies of the Bulgarian language.
Another US magazine, the on-line AfterEllen.com, said of them in March 2011: "(Zorras) do a great
job of injecting humor into their poetry and are the first spoken-word group to have actually captured
my interest."[6]
In 2009 Zorras also began to collaborate with other artists, including Ariadna Battich, Nathan Gale and
Gord Disley. Working with other artists helped to elevate their work to a new level of integrated
performance. Battich's videos featured in many of Zorras' performances.
Between 2009 and 2012, Zorras's reputation grew throughout the UK, Europe and Canada. Soho
Theatre presented their work as part of a co-production with Oxford Playhouse and Chroma Journal in
2009. Zorras also featured at London's Bar Wotever, Jawdance (Apples and Snakes), Ladyfest, GFest
gayWise LGBT Arts Festival, Sage & Time, and Incite.
Zorras made their debut in Manchester in 201011 at Pussy Whipped and Debt Records Presents. In
September 2010, Ste McCabe from Dandelion Radio said of them: My favourite Edinburgh music
duo, full-stop. In Glasgow Zorras presented work at The Arches, Initial Itch (Flatrate Theatre), Words
Per Minute and Aye Write!. They also performed at Liverpool's Homotopia, Amsterdam's Queeristan,
Berlin's Entzaubert Film Festival and Caf D'Espacio in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. In 2011, they
featured at Edinburgh International Book Festival, as well as touring six Canadian cities.
Alland and Josephine's work with Zorras has been published in several literary anthologies in Scotland
and Canada, notably with Montreal's Matrix Magazine and Toronto's press press press in 2010.

Works
Performance Works
"Found in Translation" (2009) (Soho Theatre, produced by Oxford Playhouse and Chroma
Journal)

Albums
"We Apologise For Any Inconvenience" (2009) (Minor Assault Records)
"Doctor Says" (2012) (Minor Assault Records)
Anthologies and Magazines
"Crisis Book: An Anthology Thing" (2010) (press press press, Toronto)
"Matrix Magazine: New Feminisms" (2010) (Matrix Magazine online) featuring songs "After
Going Out" and "After the Phone Call"
"Maricn 1" (2009)
"Maricn 2" (2009)
"Maricn 3" (2011)

References
1.
Brand, Simon (9 December 2009). "Cocoon Counter Culture Festival". Ultimate Metal.
Archived from the original on 13 November 2013.
MacDonald, Hamish (12 July 2007). "Who's Your Dandy". The Skinny. Archived from the
original on 4 October 2012.
"Queer Tribe". Diva Magazine. 10 January 2009. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list
(help)
Atthakor, Wisrutta (10 January 2000). "Edinburgh Ladyfest 2009". The F Word: Contemporary
UK Feminsim. Archived from the original on 8 March 2012.
Cole, Margaret (1 January 2010). "Mini Reviews". Curve Magazine, pp 5455.
6. Jones, Mia (2 March 2011). "Your Weekly Women to Listen To: TLC, Making Friendz, Zorras
and more". AfterEllen.com, p. 2. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012.

External links
official Zorras website
Matrix: New Feminisms
Zorras on CD Baby

Categories:
LGBT-themed musical groups
Artist groups and collectives
Scottish musical groups