VOX is Amplifying Voices With Pride throughout the month of June in celebration of Pride Month. We’ve teamed up with artist Torrii Wolf to host a series of interviews LGBTQIA+ artists that inspire courage and acceptance.
Join us in recognizing the great impact the LGBTQ+ community has had, and continues to have, on the music industry and learn from these extraordinary voices.
About Kaleena Zanders (she/her/they): Armed with supernova vocal prowess and an explosive stage presence, Kaleena Zanders is one of the fastest emerging stars in music. Earning comparisons to ’90s House vocalists like CeCe Peniston and Robin S – and even Whitney Houston – Zanders existence brings the genre back to its queer, Black orgins.
In her short career, Zanders has collaborated with the likes of Breathe Carolina, Dropgun, Morgan Page, SNBRN, AC Slater and Loud Luxury, to name a few, and has released tracks through the most notable dance labels, including Spinnin’ Records, Armada Music and DIM MAK. She has taken the mic at major festivals including Coachella, EDC and Snow Globe, and has been highlighted as the cover star for editorial playlists for both Spotify and TIDAL.
Zanders’ biggest hit to date, “Stronger Than I’ve Ever Been,’’ premiered in a Toyota spot during Super Bowl LII. The track scored syncs with the 2018 Winter Olympics, America’s Got Talent, Fox and VH1, among others. It was even featured as the theme for the Women’s US OPEN with Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka.
Next up, Zanders is focusing on the release of her debut EP, everything we have is misaligned. The 4-song collection kicks off with an April 2021 release of “on paper” a car cruising indie retro track that guides you through the most perfect imperfections of a relationship. This upcoming EP can be compared to Beyoncé's Lemonade in the way that it will visually and uncomfortably tell a cohesive story about her 10 year relationship alongside the music, taking influence from the movies The Truman Show & Pleasantville. Her most recent releases combine the musical titan’s effortless genre-bending abilities with socially conscious lyrics that reflect present times, with topics like owning your female power (“SET ME OFF”) and the music industry’s drug problem (“REMEDY”).
In her free time, Zanders flexes her visual abilities through Go Off Studios, a production house she co-founded with fellow Los Angelino VenessaMichaels.
About Torii Wolf: Torii Wolf (they/them) is a queer, non-binary artist who believes in music’s power to transcend. And when people hear Wolf’s arrestingly moving voice and wide-ranging musical style, they immediately drop into the emotion of the song and connect on levels that transcend genre, gender, time, and space.
“I like how music can be a bridge to the spiritual world,” says Wolf. “I want to use my music to build a safe space for people to feel.” To feel anything—to feel excited, or safe, or unsafe, or shocked, or uncomfortable. Music has a power to bring all these feelings forward in a safe way.