Known on the Toronto scene as a singing drummer and studio backup vocalist, Ackah is now forging a solo path with fierce determination and a trunk full of creative ideas. In late 2020, she released her debut album, The World Inside. In May 2023 release of a second full-length, This Hen, a contemporary roots album steeped in classic country. 

Zoe’s work resists any attempt at genre pigeonholing. Stylistic eclecticism is rooted deep in her musical soul and her unique and agile voice has many faces. “I have been in every type of singing situation you can imagine, and that has given me the flexibility to follow my imagination,” she explains.

While studying for a Master’s Degree at York University focusing on choral conducting and classical composition, Zoe raised her three children and developed her love of Jazz and Classical music. “I basically sang in every choir in the school – chamber choir, concert choir, women’s choir,” she recalls. “Music was my solace then, in one of the most intense times of my life, as a single mother raising three kids, two of whom were diagnosed with autism.”

Her family situation precluded recording or performing, and meant that, in her words, “for 11 years, I could only sing the songs I’d written into the kitchen sink!” This period reinforced the importance of music in Ackah’s life, however, and helps explain her prolific musical output.  

Prior to academic study and maternity, Zoe paid extensive dues on the Toronto scene, working as a drummer and vocalist in bands ranging from noted all-female reggae combos Women Ah Run Tings (Zoe was a co-founder) and The Sweet Sensation Band to Pan-African artists like Aron Nitunga, Lizzie Mahashe and groups Osabirima and Shaza. Her first collaborations in recent years was a power duo with reggae great Carl Harvey (Toots and The Maytals). She is a musician with a great breadth of knowledge and abundant musical chops. 

Zoe’s focus is already directed to newer songs and recordings. “My goal is to record 50 songs and put out three or four more records in the next five or six years. My real joy in life is creating music and recording it. I love both the creative and the technical side of the work!”