Adam Abdelkader Lenox a.k.a. Zouj
Single
2021
Germany
Zouj is an outfit we know you are destined to hear more from. Zouj is the Leipzig-based solo project of French/Morrocan/American producer Adam Abdelkader Lenox, a name you may be familiar with due to Adam’s work within Lingua Nada. Now, Adam has stepped out solo and has joined the City Slang Family. [Read more on Circuit Sweet]
Hi Adam! Will you tell us about your transition from Lingua Nada to Zouj, please? I know you’ve got inspirations such as Wahid Junior but how did you decide to go down that more synthetic path?
Hello! I think it’s more of an evolution of Lingua Nada than a transition from it. It’s not too big of a stretch since I wrote the majority of the songs and imagined “concepts” of Lingua so both are kinda done by the same person. See for Lingua, I would produce electronic pieces and then modify them to make them fit a “rock band” set up… But then I thought what if I don’t adapt my pieces to a rock set up, blast all my savings into a modular synthesizer and surround myself with something less cringe than male energy? That’d be Zouj. So, not too far from Lingua in a way.
But you know, all this to avoid saying a maybe higher truth: I had stacked a trillion of dumb electronic music ideas in a folder on my PC called “dumb electronic music ideas”. I worked on those, gave it a go, and here I am!
Photo Credit: Christoph Eisenmenger 
The atmosphere you create in your songs and videos automatically reminds me of FNaF world and so on. The dark in an array of all those bright colors. Is that how you see life? How much of it actually reflects your personality?
The colours and quirk dedramatised darkness, it makes it acceptable and ridiculous, doesn’t it? Also, it’s a good contrast, whatever is colourful would appear more beautiful in a horribly dark place because it’s comforting too. So yeah, just like those worlds that are being created around Zouj: I am half the time drowning in black matter and the other half of the time I’m doing quirky and funny shit and enjoy myself very much. It’s a good balance, I live well enough like this.
Will you tell us what your beautiful new single j0_0j is about and how it came together, please?
Of course! If Zouj was a Netflix series, j0_0j would be the pilot episode if you will. It’s one of the first tracks that I made and that’s the track that is the closest to what was in my head sonically. It set the style and standards for the other tracks to come.
It’s about the very unsettling feeling of not belonging anywhere due to cultural glitches and being reminded of it on a daily basis. See, people decide what I am whenever it arranges them, It’s been 25 years in my case and it’s really starting to seriously grind my gear. It’s going to take 6 paragraphs to explain it but every kid that carries a stamp of migration on their forehead or name due to their (grand)parents migrating will understand.
What do you think about the future of pop music?
I think it’s either gonna be super wild and exciting, or really apathetic and lame… But it kind of is like that right now… It’s been like that all the time actually (lol)
Can you picture us what the human race will be listening to in 2045?
Probably nothing. Absolute silence. Here’s why:
The human race, if it still exists in 2043, will probably be disintegrated and reduced to online avatars: Once we realize that racism, sexism, dogmas, and prejudices related to bodies are so brutally engraved in us, a new reform will be fought for and we will no longer be bodies but digital avatars of our choice, constantly interchangeable.
Which should solve some problems, right? But then we humans are such dumb creatures of habit that we will find some group to oppress because they are using the wrong smileys or don’t put caps at the beginning of their sentences in chat rooms. In 2045, out of shame for repeating toxic behaviors we had in the old world, we decide all together to pull to plug. We are avatars now, it will be completely painless and the soundtrack will be silent.
There’s a touch of Glitch feminism in my theory here, check out Glitch Feminism, a manifesto from Legacy Russell an exciting book that I have not read yet because I’m average smart and I only read the synopsis in the back of books.
You live in Leipzig as well as Franz Impler who made your video for j0_0j. Will you please tell us a little bit about the Leipzig music scene?
I don’t really know, I’ve never been in a scene. We do have a lot of awesome music though as people have the time to work their craft. You see we have cheap rent (not for long, this place is slowly turning into Berlin), big post-industrial infrastructures to things we like, and we can smoke in bars (it’s important). But in a nutshell, there is no music industry nor money flowing in this town but the list of rad, unique bands and musicians is long.
What are your plans for the rest of the year? (Is Lingua Nada still active? When are you releasing your Zouj album?)
Working on the record! I’m starting rehearsals soon together with Philo Tsoungui on the kit and Jan Rosenbauer on keys and electronics. I really want to play, even if it’s restricted festivals in front of people having a pick-nick, I just want to play, meet people, hang with my band…
Lingua is inactive and yet I did put the effort into a necessary lineup change, and it’ll be back sometimes, whenever! I can imagine it to be super loud and very noise rock, like when I was 19. Not that pop stuff we tried in 2019…
Lyrics: j0_0j
Tears of joy
My heroes are dead
They weren´t what they said
I don´t have a gun
But please don´t call the cops
They´ll treat me like a corpse
Run home where I´ll be safe in my skin
My life s´been trying to fit in
Most days something is stabbing in my spleen
Shed my skin
Try and find a better place to fit in
I´m no threat
But please don´t call the brothers
They see me as a traitor
Run home where I´ll be safe in my skin
My life s´been trying to fit in
Most days something is stabbing in my spleen
