When I saw Zee Avi’s name on the cover of Brushfire Records’ holiday album, I had no idea what to expect. I was blown away to hear a woman with such a beautiful voice. Now I was delighted to read that her debut album is due out on May 19.

You can listen to her own recordings on her YouTube channel. That’s also how people from Brushfire found her. The recordings are not of very good quality, but that only goes to show how the performance itself matters so much more than the quality of the recording when new artists are presenting themselves. There’s something about this Internet age that someone from a small town on Borneo can get a recording contract with a US label in no time. And that’s very good, it only means we get more talented artists.

This is Zee’s “electronic press kit” on YouTube where she talks about her upcoming album and musical influences, among other things.