Zuko Sian Releases New Single 'Spill A Little Tea'
Recorded in a small home studio in Bethnal Green, Spill a Little Tea was born out of intimate sessions that often began with a warm camomile tea and long conversations before the mic was ever switched on. The single infuses jazz-inflected melodies with warm hip-hop production, underscoring Zuko's signature "Burgundy red" vocal tone" rich, expressive and unflinchingly honest.
"Spill A Little Tea" in fifteen minutes after a falling out with a friend. At the time I had also just experienced a break up. "I've always believed in calling things out because I care, but not everyone wants honesty. The song is about standing by your truth, even when people don't like the version of you that speaks up".
The track's hook " "You can say what you want, what you want about me but all I ever did was spill a little tea"" captures the song's emotional pulse: the courage to speak truth in a world that prefers comfort over confrontation.
The accompanying music video, directed by Jade Laurelle, reimagines Paul Delaroche's 1833 masterpiece The Execution of Lady Jane Grey" one of the national gallery's most haunting paintings. Together with cinematographer Bea da Gama, the creative team meticulously recreated the scene, from handcrafted sets to authentic period costumes to the very lighting tones of the original painting. I sat in my living room hand crafting the broche on the executioner's shoulder; the chopping block is made out of foam.
"I wore a gown worn by Helena Bonham Carter in the 1986 film Lady Jane. The costume company Angels initially sourced a different dress, but upon fitting, it didn't feel quite right. When the lady went to look for a different option she came back with Helena's dress. It felt like a full circle moment" a resurrection of history and a tribute to every woman who's been silenced."
The visual is not just a music video, but a moving art piece " a meditation on betrayal, power, and the ongoing struggle for women's autonomy.
"While Delaroche's painting wasn't feminist in a modern sense, it highlighted a woman destroyed by structures of male power," Zuko explains. "That story still echoes today " in laws, in cultures, in daily life. Spill A Little Tea is my way of saying: we won't be silent anymore."
"Spill A Little Tea" in fifteen minutes after a falling out with a friend. At the time I had also just experienced a break up. "I've always believed in calling things out because I care, but not everyone wants honesty. The song is about standing by your truth, even when people don't like the version of you that speaks up".
The track's hook " "You can say what you want, what you want about me but all I ever did was spill a little tea"" captures the song's emotional pulse: the courage to speak truth in a world that prefers comfort over confrontation.
The accompanying music video, directed by Jade Laurelle, reimagines Paul Delaroche's 1833 masterpiece The Execution of Lady Jane Grey" one of the national gallery's most haunting paintings. Together with cinematographer Bea da Gama, the creative team meticulously recreated the scene, from handcrafted sets to authentic period costumes to the very lighting tones of the original painting. I sat in my living room hand crafting the broche on the executioner's shoulder; the chopping block is made out of foam.
"I wore a gown worn by Helena Bonham Carter in the 1986 film Lady Jane. The costume company Angels initially sourced a different dress, but upon fitting, it didn't feel quite right. When the lady went to look for a different option she came back with Helena's dress. It felt like a full circle moment" a resurrection of history and a tribute to every woman who's been silenced."
The visual is not just a music video, but a moving art piece " a meditation on betrayal, power, and the ongoing struggle for women's autonomy.
"While Delaroche's painting wasn't feminist in a modern sense, it highlighted a woman destroyed by structures of male power," Zuko explains. "That story still echoes today " in laws, in cultures, in daily life. Spill A Little Tea is my way of saying: we won't be silent anymore."
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