For ZEE-2, the dancefloor is more than a place to play music; it is a space for connection, cultural exchange and freedom. The London-based East Asian DJ duo, made up of creative consultant Zoe and singer-songwriter and producer Saïna, have built a distinctive identity around high-energy, genre-blurring sets that move through UK Funky, Afro-Electronic, Latin Club, Jungle, Funky House and wider global sounds.
What began as a shared love of underground nights has quickly developed into something far bigger. From a sold-out headline show at Colour Factory and appearances on BBC Radio 1Xtra to sets across Tokyo, Hong Kong, Lisbon, Madrid and beyond, ZEE-2 are becoming part of a growing international movement reshaping what contemporary club culture can sound and feel like.
At the heart of their world is red room, their own party platform created to champion emerging DJs, diasporic communities and Asian creativity. It reflects the same philosophy that runs through their sets: inclusivity without tokenism, curiosity without boundaries, and a belief that the best nights are the ones where people feel free enough to lose themselves in the music.
After joining House of Solo for our 10-year anniversary celebration, ZEE-2 sit down with us to discuss their journey so far, building a global community, the evolution of red room, bringing unexpected Asian sounds to the dancefloor, and where they hope to take the project next.
Firstly, thank you both for playing at House of Solo’s 10-year anniversary celebration. It was a special night for us marking a decade of the magazine. What was it like being part of the celebration, and how did the energy in the room feel from behind the decks?
We feel very grateful to be a part of the anniversary! There was a very friendly energy in the room – everyone was vibing!
ZEE-2 is known for bringing the warmth and energy of a house party into a club environment. When you played our anniversary event, what were you reading from the crowd, and how much did that influence where you took the set?
Since it was still early and pretty chill, we started at a lower BPM with some Afro and Tribal House. As more people arrived, we slowly brought it up, introducing UK Funky and Latin House to get the floor moving. You know it’s time to bring the energy higher when hips are moving.
For anyone discovering ZEE-2 for the first time, take us back to the beginning. How did Zoe and Saïna become ZEE-2, and at what point did you realise that the chemistry between you could become something much bigger?
Four years ago, Zoe came up to Saïna after a live show and said she wanted to “come to every single performance” – and she did! After spending so many nights discovering underground, multi-genre events together, we figured: why not give DJing a shot ourselves? It was an instant connection and to this day, our workflow is seamless because we think alike, work alike and truly believe in what we’re creating together.
You come from quite different creative backgrounds, with Zoe working as a creative consultant and Saïna as a singer-songwriter and producer. What does each of you bring to ZEE-2 that the other perhaps wouldn’t naturally bring on her own?
Zoe handles most of the creative side – from styling to designing flyers. Saïna covers the technical and production end, bringing musical knowledge to how we build our sound. But together, our strengths in visuals and social media marketing work yin and yang to make us a perfect unit.
Your sound pulls together UK Funky, Afro-Electronic, Latin Club, Jungle, Funky House, Baile Funk, UK Garage and other global sounds. With so many influences available to you, what makes something feel unmistakably like a ZEE-2 track or a ZEE-2 set?
A typical ZEE-2 track is built for the dancefloor – bass-heavy and rooted in global sounds. Recently, we’ve been sampling Asian elements like monk throat singing and even a traditional Japanese sea shanty to create a contrast with the heavy electronic sounds whilst staying connected to our own cultures. It’s been fun experimenting with sounds you don’t expect to hear on a dancefloor.
There seems to be a real conversation happening between London club culture and sounds emerging from Africa, Latin America, Asia and the wider diaspora. What excites you most about where global club music is heading right now?
Global club music is such an exciting space and it constantly pushes us to evolve. Travelling for shows gives us so much inspiration from what we hear on the ground. For us, it’s all about doing the research and bringing those sounds into our sets authentically so we can help champion these genres and introduce them to new crowds.
Inclusivity is an important part of ZEE-2, but rather than simply talking about inclusivity, you seem to build it directly into the atmosphere of your parties. What does creating a genuinely inclusive dance floor mean to you?
You’ll find every type of person at our parties. Looking up and seeing strangers become friends, dancing like no one’s watching and just feeling free through our music – that’s honestly all that matters to us.
That philosophy also sits at the heart of red room, which celebrates global underground music and diasporic and hybrid identities. Why was it important for you to create your own night rather than only performing within other people’s spaces?
From day one, red room has been about highlighting up-and-coming DJs. We’ve been fortunate to build traction online and sell out our shows so we’re passionate about using that platform to support underground artists and represent our diasporic communities.
red room has grown from your own party concept into takeovers and collaborations with different DJs, collectives and venues. As it grows, what are you trying to build around it beyond simply putting on a great night?
We’ve been thinking a lot about how we can continue to grow red room beyond just throwing a great party. A big part of that is creating a space that champions Asian culture and creativity. Coming from cultures where creative careers can sometimes be overlooked or seen as ‘not a real job’, we want red room to be a platform that celebrates people who are carving their own paths in music, art and culture.
Ultimately, we hope to build a wider community, bringing like-minded people together, creating opportunities for collaboration, and making people feel proud of where they come from while having the freedom to express themselves.
You sold out your headline show at Colour Factory and have since taken ZEE-2 across London and internationally. Do you remember the point when you realised people were no longer just coming across you at parties, but were actively coming out specifically to see ZEE-2?
We’ve had people see us in the crowd and tell us that they travelled far, came solo or have been supporting us since the first show. Some even said they were inspired by us to start DJing themselves! Both surreal and heart warming. Knowing we’ve made a genuine impact on people, no matter the scale, means so much to us.
You’ve now played everywhere from London to Tokyo, Hong Kong, Lisbon, Madrid and across East and Southeast Asia, with the international side of ZEE-2 continuing to expand. How does your approach change when you’re playing to a crowd whose club culture and musical references might be completely different from London’s?
We always research the local scene and check out what surrounding parties are doing before a gig. But expect the unexpected. You can prepare for hours but sets don’t exactly go to plan – you have to be ready to pivot and read the room as you go. That makes it a fun challenge!
What do you think growing up and creating in London allows you to bring to audiences when you play in places such as Tokyo or Hong Kong?
London is such a diverse city musically and we’re exposed to so many different sounds and genre blends. It’s exciting to bring that perspective to places like Tokyo and Hong Kong, introduce people to sounds they might not have heard before, and experience that sense of discovery with them.
You’ve also continued to move through Europe’s club circuit, with recent dates taking ZEE-2 into cities including Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Geneva. Are you beginning to notice a global community forming around the kind of genre-fluid, borderless club music that you champion?
For sure! We’ve been blessed to share lineups with pioneers of the global club scene, and it’s been amazing to see how recognised the community is becoming. Being able to move around the world, connect with other artists and support each other makes it feel like we’re part of something bigger.
Your BBC Radio 1Xtra Global Discovery appearance with CassKidd was another significant moment. What did being given that platform mean to you, particularly when your musical identity doesn’t fit neatly inside one conventional genre?
It meant a lot to us that CassKidd had so much trust in us. He truly understood us – both as people and as artists. We hope the show was engaging and maybe even a little educational with some new sounds, for everyone tuning in.
Saïna, your own work as an artist and producer moves through R&B, electronic music and elements of Japanese musical culture. Do ideas from your solo work ever find their way into a ZEE-2 set, even subconsciously?
For sure! It’s given me more of an excuse to make remixes that I can sing on during ZEE-2 sets, connect with more dance producers and explore different sides of music creation. Discovering new sounds also keeps expanding my palette, which naturally feeds back into my production.
Zoe, your background is in creative consultancy. Has that influenced how you think about ZEE-2 beyond the music, particularly when it comes to visual identity, community building and creating an experience around the duo?
I definitely see ZEE-2 as a brand. Right from the start, we were constantly thinking about our visuals, our logo, our core theme, and how to stand out. My brain just naturally works that way – I can’t switch it off! But that focus on branding played a massive role in our marketing and really helped us build our name as DJs.
There are two people behind the decks, which means there are inevitably moments when you hear things differently. What’s the biggest musical disagreement you’ve ever had, and who normally wins?
We rarely have musical disagreements. We prep quite a bit before most sets, so we’re already aligned on our ideas before we step up to the decks. If a clash or a mistake happens live, it’s almost always just an accident. Who doesn’t make those?
Going back to back isn’t a contest. It’s about creating a synergy that makes the set flow. There’s no winning or losing between us.
As ZEE-2 becomes more established, how do you balance playing bigger rooms and reaching bigger audiences with protecting that intimate, slightly chaotic house-party feeling that has been part of your identity from the beginning?
For us, it’s less about the size of the room and more about the feeling we create in it. We want people to feel like they’re at a house party with their friends, even if there are thousands of people in the room. That sense of freedom, spontaneity and connection is something we never want to lose.
You’ve achieved a lot relatively quickly: sold-out shows, international touring, BBC Radio 1Xtra, your own red room platform and an increasingly global audience. What still feels like the big dream for ZEE-2?
There’s still so much we want to do. We’d love to take ZEE-2 to even more parts of the world, release our original music and build red room into an even bigger platform for artists and creatives. There are many producers we look up to, who we’d love to collaborate with. There are platforms like The Lot Radio and Mixmag’s The Lab; festivals like Glastonbury and All Points East, that would be a dream to be a part of someday.
Finally, House of Solo has just celebrated its first ten years, so we’d like to turn that question over to you. Ten years from now, what would you love to be able to look back and say ZEE-2 changed, created or contributed to club culture?
We’d love to look back and feel that we helped make club culture feel more inclusive while breaking boundaries. Whether that’s through the music we’ve introduced, the artists we’ve supported or the communities we’ve brought together, we hope we’ve created spaces where people feel free to be themselves and proud of where they come from.
