Zowie

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Zowie
Also known asBionic Pixie
Born
Zoe Bridey Fleury

1986or1987(age 37–38)
Origin Auckland, New Zealand
Genres Synthpop, new wave, alternative rock
OccupationsSinger-songwriter, drummer
InstrumentsVocals, drums, guitar
Years active2007—Present
Labels Sony

Zoe Bridey Fleury (born 1986or1987) [1] [2] [3] better known by her stage name Zowie, is a singer-songwriter and drummer from New Zealand. She formerly performed as Bionic Pixie until 2010, and was also part of the rock duo The Bengal Lights alongside Maeve Munro.

Contents

Fleury began performing as Zowie in 2010 preceding the release of her debut single "Broken Machine", which entered the Top 10 on the Official New Zealand Music Chart. Her 2012 debut album, Love Demolition, peaked at number 31 on the New Zealand Top 40 Album chart. Zowie has also toured as an opening act for artists including Katy Perry, The Kills and Peaches.

Early and personal life

Zoe Fleury was born in New Zealand and grew up in Auckland. [4] [5] She is the daughter of musician Johnny Fleury. [5] She began playing drums at the age of 11, [6] and later went to school to study drumming, joining various punk rock bands and experimenting with screamo music and lyrics. [7] She was a student of Northcote College. [5]

Career

Career beginnings

While studying at the Music and Audio Institute of New Zealand, Zowie formed the punk rock female duo The Bengal Lights with Maeve Munro. [6] [5] The duo recorded an EP but did not release it. [5] After finishing school, Zowie continued to work in the band as well as study the music business by working at Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group. [6] She later began writing her own music under the name Bionic Pixie, a character she created "by accident"; she first performed with the stage name in 2008. [7] She released the electronic song titled "Toss the Coin" and was a performer at the 2009 Big Day Out in Auckland.

2010–2011: Debut as Zowie

In January 2010, Zowie signed with Sony Music Australia. [7] On 6 September 2010, Zowie released her debut single, "Broken Machine", produced by Michael Patterson. [8] The single was released exclusively in New Zealand and became a local success, where it peaked at number 9 on the New Zealand Singles Chart. [9] "Broken Machine" spent a total of 12 weeks on the chart. [10] Following the success of the single, blogger Perez Hilton named Zowie "one of the Top 5 Artist to watch for in 2011". [11] [8] [12]

Zowie's second single, "Bite Back", was her first single to be released outside of New Zealand, receiving a digital release in both Australia and the United States in April 2011. It failed to chart in the United States, but spent over 20 weeks on the Australian Dance Chart peaking at number 2. [5]

In March 2011, Zowie toured with Mark Ronson and The Business. In May, she joined Katy Perry on the Australasian leg of her California Dreams Tour, performing 11 shows across Australia and New Zealand. [12] [13]

In anticipation of her debut album, Zowie released her first promotional single, "Smash It", on 16 September 2011. [14] It was featured on the ABC show Pretty Little Liars later that year. [13] In 2013, "Smash It" was also used as the theme song to season 2 of New Zealand comedy show Super City. [5] A music video for the song was released in October 2011, featuring Zowie in various costumes and lighting. [15] Zowie's third official single, "My Calculator", was released on 11 May 2012 in the United Kingdom. [16] She worked on the song with songwriter Henrik Jonback. [5]

2012–present: Love Demolition

Zowie developed her debut album, Love Demolition , over a period of two years while traveling. She worked on the project in numerous countries including the United States, Australia, Sweden, England, and New Zealand; several of the album's tracks were recorded in Los Angeles. [5] The album was written in collaboration with numerous songwriters including Jimmy Harry, Henrik Jonback, and Jonas Quant, among others. [17]

Love Demolition was officially released on 11 May 2012 in New Zealand, where it debuted and peaked at number 31 on the Official Top 40 Albums charts for 1 week. It also spent 7 weeks on the Official Top 20 Aotearoa Albums charts, peaking at 7. [18]

Musical style and image

Zowie sometimes designs her own outfits and has been known to perform with different stage personas. [19] [20] Zowie describes these as "characters" and "alter egos", and stated in a 2010 interview that she was "not the girl on stage". [3] She has described her Zowie stage persona as being "from the year 3000", [21] and is inspired by 80s and 90s fashion and anime aesthetics. [21]

Zowie's music has been described as electropop, synth-pop, and "edgy electronica" with a "punk-rock attitude". [12] [21] Her voice has been compared to that of Kesha and Katie White of The Ting Tings. [22] [17] In a 2012 interview, Zowie said that drumming is her "main love" and she tends to start her song-writing process with the beat. [21] She has cited artists such as Nine Inch Nails and Gary Numan as inspirations, as well as the stylistic elements of new wave, synth-pop and rock. [23] [21] On her musical style, Zowie has said she enjoys "industrial" and "super dark" pop elements and wanted Love Demolition to be "dark and pretty." [20]

Discography

Studio albums

TitleAlbum detailsPeak chart positions
NZ
Love Demolition 31

Singles

Official singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name
TitleYearPeak chart positions Certifications
(sales threshold)		Album
AU Dance NZ
"Broken Machine"2010—9Love Demolition
"Bite Back"20112—
"My Calculator"2012——
"Feel Inside (And Stuff Like That)" Flight of the Conchords charity single—1
  • NZ: platinum
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

References

  1. ↑ "Zowie tickets, concerts, tour dates, upcoming gigs - NZ Herald Events". NZ Herald . Archived from the original on 17 November 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  2. ↑ "APRA AMCSOS NZ Song Catalogue Search". APRA AMCOS . Archived from the original on 11 December 2025. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  3. 1 2 "Zowie's altered ego" . NZ Herald . 15 December 2010. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  4. ↑ "Zowie". DASH MAGAZINE *. Archived from the original on 12 December 2025. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Heard, Stephen (28 November 2014). "Zowie". AudioCulture. Archived from the original on 4 August 2025. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 "Zowie unveils her split personality (+video)" . NZ Herald . 17 May 2012. Archived from the original on 21 February 2025. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  7. 1 2 3 "INTERVIEW : Zowie". auspOp. 16 March 2011. Archived from the original on 10 March 2014. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  8. 1 2 "Smash hit in Zowie's 'Smash It': Behind the scenes". MSN NZ. 2012. Archived from the original on 30 March 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  9. ↑ "Zowie - Broken Machine". charts.nz. Archived from the original on 12 December 2025. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  10. ↑ "Zowie - Broken Machine". australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on 17 January 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  11. ↑ "5 New Musical Acts YOU'VE GOT To Know In 2011!". PerezHilton.com. 1 February 2011. Archived from the original on 4 February 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  12. 1 2 3 "Katy Perry picks Zowie for shows". Stuff . 31 March 2011. Archived from the original on 22 June 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  13. 1 2 Anderson, Vicki (27 April 2012). "Five female musos you should know". Stuff . Archived from the original on 2 June 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  14. ↑ "Smash It - Single". Apple Music . Archived from the original on 12 December 2025. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  15. ↑ "New music videos: Zowie, Beyonce, Gaga & SuBo" . NZ Herald . 7 October 2011. Archived from the original on 12 December 2025. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  16. ↑ "Listen: Zowie - 'My Calculator'". Popjustice. 11 May 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  17. 1 2 Anderson, Vicki (22 June 2012). "Zowie poised to take on international stars". Stuff . Archived from the original on 12 December 2025. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  18. ↑ "Zowie". Official Aotearoa Music Charts . Archived from the original on 12 December 2025. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  19. ↑ "Zowie: Love Demolition". NZ Style Collective. 27 June 2012. Archived from the original on 23 February 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  20. 1 2 Jones, Bridget (14 May 2012). "Zowie Releases Album Love Demolition". Stuff . Archived from the original on 18 June 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 Russell, Erica (3 July 2012). "Self Destruct: An Interview With Zowie". Electrocutie Music Blog. Archived from the original on 23 February 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  22. ↑ "Zowie - Smash It (HD Video)". Best in New Music. 6 October 2011. Archived from the original on 17 January 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  23. ↑ "Zowie Speaks! (Interview)". The 13th Floor. 11 May 2012. Archived from the original on 19 February 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
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