Zorras Biography
photo by Robert Piwko (GFest 2009)Scottish-Canadian poet Sandra Alland and Belgian-Venezuelan musician Y. Josephine formed the multimedia performance troupe, Zorras, in Edinburgh in 2007. They quickly became known for their unique bilingual mixture of text, sound poetry, percussion, singing, guitar, megaphones and projected images.
Zorras inject passion and humour into both personal experiences and cutting observations of our troubling times. The images enhance the performance onstage, sometimes becoming the main focus of the show. The result is strangely alluring musical stories.Zorras are dedicated to collaboration and experimentation, and have worked with many artists and collectives, including: Ariadna Battich, Nathan Gale, Gord Disley, Ania Urbanowska, b)other Collective, Iván Martín, thiscollective (for which they adapted a Brian McCabe poem), Screen Bandita and LAL.
In July 2009, Zorras released the CD, We Apologise For Any Inconvenience (Minor Assault Records). The CD has received excellent reviews throughout the UK and North America. In May 2012, they released the EP, Doctor Says. You can buy both CDs at indie book and record shops in Edinburgh, Toronto and Cobourg (which is a really swell thing to do), download tracks from indie distributor CD Baby, or order directly from Zorras.
Both Alland and Josephine have published their writing internationally in various anthologies, journals and magazines. Alland has exhibited her films and photos internationally. Zorras have also collaborated on three volumes of a hand-made, limited-edition poetry chapbook, Maricón.
Zorras organise and curate Cachín Cachán Cachunga! and Zorras Present An Edinburgh Zine and Small Press Fair.
SELECTED PERFORMANCES:Edinburgh: Versecore, Zorras with Sabrina Chap (The Third Door), Edinburgh Book Festival 2011 (Unbound/Words Per Minute), ConVersify (Edinburgh University/Scottish Poetry Library), LeithLate Festival, Click Clack Club, Elvis Shakespeare, Electric Tales (The Stand), Converge (Edinburgh Peer Group), Noisy Nights (Traverse Theatre), Inky Fingers, Neu! Reekie! (Scottish Book Trust), Queer Mutiny, The Eruption of Kilauea and Other Treasures (Screen Bandita/Filmhouse), Autonomous Centre of Edinburgh (with Ste McCabe & Stella Zine), Edinburgh Festival 2009, Cocoon Counter Culture Festival (GRV), Itsy's Kabarett (Voodoo Rooms), Muse-ic (Bongo Club), The Wailing Banshee (Banshee Labyrinth), Roxy Arthouse (with ShellSuit Massacre & Wounded Knee), Poetry at the..., VoxBox, Ladyfest Edinburgh, Scottish Transgender Alliance: Engage with Europe Conference, Forest Cafe and The Golden Hour.
Glasgow: Scratch (The Arches), Aye Write! Festival (Golden Hour), Words Per Minute, Spangled Cabaret (Rio Cafe), Glue Factory (thiscollection), Initial Itch (Flatrate Theatre), Stereo, The Arches (with If You Lived Here You'd Be Home By Now), Manifesto Kabaret (Tron Theatre)
London: Hot August Fringe (RVT/Wotever), Jawdance (Apples & Snakes), Soho Theatre (Oxford Playhouse/Chroma Journal), Are You Sitting Comfortably? (Fox & The Teller/Abney Park Cemetery), Bar Wotever, Sage and Time, Incite! (Camden LGBT), Museum of London (Write Queer London), Express Excess, Ladyfest 10 (So She Said), GFest 2009 and 2010 (Cochrane Theatre), Well Furnished, Farrago Poetry (RADA)
Aberdeen: Women Art Revolution (Belmont Picture House), Suffragette City (The Tunnels)
Manchester: Debt Records Presents... (Fuel Cafe), Pussy Whipped!
Liverpool: Homotopia (Unity Theatre), Stanley Theatre
Other UK: Moor Music Festival (Skipton), SHOUT Festival (MAC, Birmingham), Zorras with CN Lester, Ariel Silvera & Jo Clifford (Oasis Youth Centre, Dumfries)
Berlin: Entzaubert Queer Film Festival
Amsterdam: Queeristan 2012, ADM
Gran Canaria: Cafe D'Espacio
Canada: Grey Borders (Niagara Artists Centre, Saint Catharines), Facing Out at Toronto Women's Bookstore, Toronto New School of Writing (LAL studios), Art Bar (Toronto), Thrive (Artel, Kingston), Casa del Popolo (Montreal), 22 Kings Gallery (Cobourg), Gallery 101 (Ottawa)
SELECTED WORKSHOPS/TALKS
-“Multimedia & Collaboration Arts Workshop” (Queeristan, Amsterdam, May 2012)
-“Multimedia & Collaboration Arts Workshop” (Equality Network, Aviemore, March 2012)
-“Gender Diversity Arts Workshop” (Scottish Transgender Alliance, Dumfries, February 2012)
-“How to Organise Events” (LGBT Youth, European Trans Conference, Edinburgh, September 2011)
-“Poetry, Music & Video: Beyond Random Multimedia” (Inky Fingers, Edinburgh, March 2011)
-Everyone In: LGBT Black & Minority Ethnic Project (Equality Network, Glasgow, October 2010)
-LGBT Forum on Race, Religion and Belief (Equality Network, Perth, February 2010)
-Engage with Europe Conference (Scottish Transgender Alliance, Edinburgh, February 2010)CDs
We Apologise For Any Inconvenience (Minor Assault Records, Edinburgh, July 2009)
Doctor Says (Minor Assault Records, Edinburgh, May 2012)SELECTED RECORDINGS
-SoundCloud (includes selected newest recordings) click here
-“After Going Out”, “After the Phone Call” (Matrix Magazine's New Feminisms, Spring 2010)
-myspace recordings click here
-free download of “After Going Out” on Riot Grrrl Berlin's Compilation 3 in support of Pussy Riot
Sandra Alland Curriculum Vitae
Y. Josephine Curriculum Vitae
