Tweaks, ka Zoé Lawrence, is the multi-disciplinary artist, DJ and film director of Older Now featuring friends in 2020. As an artist their talent spans the creative field, it seems with Tweaks there really is no limit. When talking to the creative a real sense of authenticity becomes apparent, their work is grounded in appreciation and thoughts that are always in motion. Tweaks brings this refined and refreshing energy to everything they try their hand at. Whether that’s mixing enigmatic breakbeats for a sweltering Boiler Room set, splicing together an ethereal B-roll on their Instagram grid or running their very own production company, Seet Deh. Their upcoming project Move San, Let Gate is out July 22nd.
Your Instagram bio places you “mainly NY/LDN but also everywhere and nooowhere.” Where can we find Tweaks right now?
Well, right now I’m at London Heathrow Airport. I just missed my flight back to Miami. I’ve been a bit irresponsible with travelling these days, I do need to sit down somewhere soon. I have a lot of family around the world so I end up having to travel a lot to keep in touch but I just spent about a week and a half in the Netherlands with my fiancé. I was in Lille, France for the holidays with my cousin and her partner and in Paris for New Years with these two beautiful sisters who took me in a few trips back. I think my bio pretty much sums it up and I’ve been this way since I was a teenager. I went behind my mothers back at 19 and backpacked around Europe solo. I can't even remember if I ever confessed that to her or not. I learn a lot about myself during transit. I always have my most honest sit downs with myself on planes or trains so it’s important for me to always keep a space for movement.
You previously mentioned how your single Fusion Frenzy was written in a space where you were “tired of nature and deep in Jamaican country.” If not in nature, where would you say you find creative inspiration?
Public transportation, mostly.
Congratulations on launching your very own production company, Seet Deh! What is it you hope to achieve with this project?
Anything and everything, really. I like to think whatever dreams I currently have are drafts and I always think there’s room for more dreaming. I really like to zone in on the details and dream about the nuance. I think Seet Deh is a good place for the detail-oriented side of me.
You directed and starred in the short film Older Now alongside Hunter Schafer for HBO. For me, this ethereal footage captures the beauty of queer intimacy. What was the intention behind this film?
I guess I was just filming my life at the time. It was our first summer during the pandemic. We reminisce a lot about that summer. I was reeling in from a break up, falling in love, making family with the friends around me. We rented out this airbnb for the summer in Crown Heights and just chilled. Friends were always coming in and out. Matt was learning to box so he’d always have his gloves around and we’d practice with him. Hunter was getting back into painting so we’d have paint nights. I was always making music so my beats were always blasting in our apartment. It was a really goofy time in the middle of a very chaotic time. Looking back, we really made a pocket out of ourselves that summer.
Although it was not until the pandemic started that you decided to spare more time for music. Was the music industry always something you wanted to explore?
Not the music industry, per se. The music industry is probably the shittiest part about this whole experience. I just dealt with a major label who owes me money using MLK Jr day as an excuse on why they were lagging on a two-week payment. It’s dumb shit like that all the time. I could never depend on the music industry for financial stability. That’s another reason I don’t take the working musician role seriously. I’m not at all intrigued by the music industry and don’t want to subject myself to its abuse. I like to make music. Release it. Put no expectations on it and whatever response happens is fine because I was going to make it either way and I make money off other shit anyway. So no pressure to stream my music (laughs).
Your Boiler Room set last year was super impressive – even from footage of the event the energy is contagious. How was the experience of playing live to a crowd after being bound by the pandemic’s restrictions?
Addicting as hell. I DJed like 17 raves after that one last summer. It was great practice grounds and introduced me to performing. I also made soo much money. It’s a really a great skill for producers to pick up. It helps me make better music because I’m always hearing so many different genres. It honestly really changed my life and relationship to nightlife. It feels more interactive than before. The only thing that bums me out is that there's a lot of gatekeeping in the DJ world out of any medium that I’ve tried but I do think it’s a good skill to have, music connoisseur or not. We’re going to be listening to music for all of our lives, everyone should know their way around a controller.
Are there any current or upcoming projects you can tell us some more about?
Yeah, my next project Move San, Let Gate comes out July 22nd.
