Meet Zëta Ræ

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Zëta Ræ. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Zëta below.

Zëta, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?

I’ve always been stubborn and strong-willed, and I think that’s something you need in order to pursue music. But my resilience is something I’ve built over the years. When you’re chasing something that truly matters to you, it’s inevitable that you’ll face discouragement, fear, and self-doubt. That’s where community becomes crucial. I honestly don’t think I would’ve come this far without the support of my family and friends.

Cultivating discernment has also been key in my journey—learning to be selective about the people I surround myself with, and the things I choose to internalize. There will always be people who don’t understand or agree with what you’re doing, and that’s okay. What matters is learning to filter out the noise while still being open enough to take in constructive criticism. It’s a balancing act, and one I’m always working to improve.

But, like anything in life, the more you practice it, the easier it gets. For me, resilience has come from failing, embarrassing myself, and then picking myself up and trying again. It’s a cycle I’ve come to embrace.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

My name is Zëta Ræ, and I’m a singer, songwriter, producer, instrumentalist, and visual artist based in Nashville, TN. I’ve been releasing and performing my music since 2020. My sound is primarily alt-pop/rock, but I draw influences from a variety of genres, including soul, ambient, jazz, hyperpop, and more.

I’m really excited to release my next single, 24, on January 10th! I wrote it on my 24th birthday, and it’s all about coming to terms with the present moment. Being in your 20s comes with so many expectations—versions of yourself, past and future, that never quite come to fruition. It can be difficult with reckon with. The song captures that feeling: it’s sad, hopeful, shoegazey, and very 90s-inspired. The lyrics are some of my favorites I’ve written, and I can’t wait to share!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

As a singer and songwriter, learning how to produce has really elevated my creative process. Tuning and comping vocals has helped me understand my voice more deeply and connect with it as an instrument. Choosing sounds and building parts in a DAW has completely changed the way I approach songwriting. I think it’s important, as a creative, to find new tools and techniques to keep things fresh and push boundaries.

As an artist, the two things that have helped me the most are managing my ego and creating for the sake of creating—and those two things are closely linked. I find my ego often shows up in the form of self-doubt: judging myself, questioning my work, feeling like I’m not good enough. But judgment kills creativity. It’s not that judgment isn’t important, but it’s meant to be applied later in the process. Every good creation starts with the courage to make something that might be bad. That’s where creating for the sake of doing it comes in.

Being an artist is about balancing your creative impulse with the desire to offer something well-crafted to the listener. It’s a fine line between the two, and learning how to navigate that is key.

Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?

Definitely my family. My mom and dad have been incredibly supportive from the start. Both of them are musicians, and they passed that passion down to me. They gave me my drive, my tenacity, my kindness, sensitivity, bravery—so many of the qualities that shape me as an artist. They’re also amazing hype-men and coaches, always there to give advice and lift me up when I’m feeling down.

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Image Credits

Photos by Lindsey Webb and Jesse Paul

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