Interviews

Zenyth

Emma Murphy 25/09/2009

It's Monday and we're filled with that fast approachingm dreaded back to work on Tuesday feeling, and in their wisdom Ten Feet Tall decide the best time to hold a gig is between the hours of 9-12 on this deathly quiet Monday evening(7th of September). Zenyth take the stage at around 11 and are greeted with a crowd that include myself and about several other people so not the most organized gig on Ten Feet Tall's behalf. Already missing their rhythm guitarist Richard due to a stomach bug the rest of the guys Paul (vocals), Chris (bass), Chud (lead guitar) and newly introduced Karl (drums) have to work extra hard to impress a dwindling crowd. Chris gives the band a brilliant rhythm section led mainly by his prominent and interesting bass lines, Paul with his grasping voice and enthusiasm works the rest of the band up and masters an energetic presence. Although missing their rhythm guitarist having had the pleasure of seeing seen Zenyth perform live before I know they are capable of sounding allot tighter and when Chud and Richard are teamed up they are inventive in their guitar playing and Karl the newest recruit gives the impression of a long standing member. The guys led on by Paul had fun in the face of adversity and did not seemed fazed by the lack of audience numbers. Zenyth are hosting a night in the Welsh Club on October 6th to promote the release of their new EP 'Fall' due for release on October 12th. Zenyth have done incredibly well over the last few years, a rare DIY band and their hard work seems to be paying off and when more success comes their way it will be derived from nothing but hard work and commitment from this talented Cardiff band. In an all too familiar music industry Zenyth are a talented band to watch out for.


With their latest EP 'Fall' to hit the likes of HMV and ITunes on October 12th I caught up with Cardiff based band Zenyth just before their gig in Ten Feet Tall and had the pleasure of asking the lively lads a few questions.

Your latest EP 'Fall' is out on October 12th, compared to the two previous records how does this differ?

Chud-Its definitely more commercial, more chilled out in a way.

Chris- We tried to improve it from the last EP, make it more different, everything has been done better right down the art work which has been done properly and professionally this time.

I read that you guys were deported from the USA that's quite rocks 'n' roll what happened there?

Karl- Smuggling oranges in again!

Chud- We were due to play a festival over there, I had a guitar pedal in my bag and I was stopped put in an interview room, kept there for ten hours actually much longer than that and pretty much interrogated on why and what I was doing in the America.

Paul- Basically we paid £400 for the flights, they were concerned that if we were students how we could afford to pay this amount of money? And although we were not being paid for playing this festival the venue was making money and therefore we would need working visas which we didn't have it was all a bit small print really.

Chris- We spent ages in this room, sleeping on the floor; they eventually sent us onto a hotel, came back to the airport the next day and came back to the UK.

Paul- They literally they took our passports, took fingerprints from us, it was like a proper interrogation, if we ever want to go back even for a holiday we have to get working visas which is mad, our guitarist (Richard) came very close to being arrested as he wasn't happy with the treatment we received.

With the surge of new bands coming through at the moment what do you think sets Zenyth apart?

Paul- We are not a niche band, we feel our music won't date as much as allot of bands out there.

Chris- Allot of bands out the moment seem to have horrible guitar sounds and I think there are allot of bands who have just jumped on the band wagon of what is popular at the moment. It's also difficult being a band from South Wales as there aren't allot of places to play in Cardiff so we have to travel allot compared to bands from many other places.

Karl- I suppose the flagship point that Cardiff had was The Point and now that's closed its difficult to generate interest in Cardiff bands, difficult to gather a fan base if your constantly travelling all over.

The classic question then! Who are the influences that inspired you to make music?

Chris- When we first started we were very much influenced by classic rock but there is a big difference in our sound now from when we first started. We still got appreciated for the stuff we were playing but we realised that we were never going to make it being if we stuck to that kind of sound.

You have had a number of drummers, are you now finally settled with Karl?

Chris- It's always been hard for us to find drummers, our first drummer was someone we had known for years from college and then the couple after that have been brought in from outside like Karl but he is fitting in really well.

Karl- I've been in the band since April now, I think the reason being because I drive and that makes actually double the amount of drivers in the band!!! Plus I have my own gear so it's a perfect recipe for Zenyth.

Who would you most love to go on tour with?

Paul- I'd go on tour with Led Zeppelin, the stuff that band got up to back in the 70s was ridiculous, and it would always have to be an Old Skool band though.

Chris- Guns 'n Roses

Karl- Probably the Rolling Stones as you would be permanently on tour and would never go home.

What's next on the agenda for Zenyth then?

Chud- At the moment we are gigging and promoting the latest EP, sending it out to magazines and radio stations just trying to get as much coverage a possible.

Chris- We're kooking to get back into the studio probably about February time to do a new record so mainly promoting 'Fall' and writing new material

Paul- Just plugging away really trying to plug 'Fall' and more gigs we do the more practice we get for next time around.