Zoë Johnston is a British singer-songwriter (1976– ), who grew up in Nottinghamshire.[1] Johnston is best known for her vocal contributions to Faithless, Above & Beyond, Bent, and Delerium.
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Zoë Johnston made her debut in 1999 when she was featured on a number of tracks from Neon Heights' house album A View from the Heights.[2][3] At the same time, Johnston was writing for Bent's debut album Programmed to Love. She wrote the song "Private Road" on which she performs guitar and vocals and co-wrote the song "Swollen", which the British actor Sir Michael Caine later proclaimed to be "one of the most romantic songs in chill music I've ever heard".[4] He included the track on a self-made chill-out compilation CD entitled Cained and chose it for the BBC Radio 4 programme "Desert Island Discs" which aired on 20th December 2009.[5] Almost without exception Johnston has written all of her own lyrics and vocal parts even when collaborating with other acts. She has a degree in journalism and film. She is also a photo-realist painter.[6]
Her vocal contribution to "Swollen" caught the attention of Faithless member Rollo Armstrong who initially believed her voice had been sampled from a recording in the 1940s. This led to Johnston singing on the Faithless album Outrospective, released by BMG in 2001.[7] She performed for eighteen months with the group throughout their world tour to promote the album.
Johnston has also performed with Paul Heaton of The Beautiful South, Sleepthief, Delerium, and Above & Beyond on their singles "Good For Me", "No One On Earth" and "You Got To Go" on record label Anjunabeats. She has been part of Above & Beyond album Group Therapy, released in June 2011.[8]
Zoë Johnston's solo album Happenstances was released on 27 November 2006 by Shiva Records.[9] The album includes an original version of one of Johnston's best known tracks — "Crazy English Summer", from Faithless album Outrospective. The album was re-released on the Favourite Records label in 2008.