There is an ethereal mist surrounding Sons Of Zöku that completely sets them apart from their peers in psych pop/rock today. Could it be their Australian roots? The remoteness and the otherworldliness also found in bands like King Gizzard and Tame Impala? Who knows, and also who cares really; the important thing is that they are here, and that we can dive into their wonderful tranquil pool of soothing multi vocals, reverb, and fuzz.
Like other contemporary psychedelic indie colleagues Upupayama, Vampire Weekend or Wolf People, Sons Of Zöku have found a natural way to merge ancient folk vibes from all over the world into their mellow psych songs. From the pastoral flutes of the Irish fields to the Tuareg blues of the African desert, or the sitar song of India, Sons Of Zöku respectfully borrows, forges new connections, and morphs it into their own sound.
Another strong vibe that radiates from Endless is that it is more than just a piece of music, it presents itself as a portal or a shrine through which we might find more than just music. When they chant “meet me on the other side if you will” you feel the willingness to take their hands and transcend to a lighter state of being, leaving troubles behind, clearing the mind of clutter. Mindfulness in indie rock form, just the thing we needed in this hurried bustling world. Sounds vague? Nah, you just need to spin this album a few more times…it will come to you.
I reached out to the band and found Portuguese born Ricardo Da Silva (vocals/guitar) at the helm, willing to provide the answers to my questions. An image unfolds of a strong collective with a unified vision that will very probably take them across many seas and hopefully even to Europe. But let’s meet them first and get to know Sons Of Zöku:
Hi guys, how is Sons Of Zöku doing these days? What is the last thing you did that gave you an energy boost?
Pretty exciting to see our second album Endless getting ready to be released, looking at all the amazing art work on vinyls and things like that, it’s pretty exciting. Also getting invited to play gigs like supporting Minami Deutsch in Perth and in our hometown, things like that always give us an extra boost.
Can you introduce the band to the Weirdo Shrine?
Of course, Ric (me) on vocals, guitar and electric sitar, Ica on flute, keys, vocals and everything percussion, Jordan Buck on Bass and so much more behind the scenes, Hannah Yates on vocals, bongos, congas, electric guitar and keys, Oscar Ellery on electric guitar and sitar and Eddie Hannemann on drums.
What are your musical backgrounds?
I started playing guitar and singing with my friends in Portugal, they had a band and I used to come around and watch them play and thought was the greatest thing ever. Eventually they told me if you can learn a song then I would be in the band, I took it literally and started practicing, I still sucked but eventually they let me join because we were all best friends. When I moved to Australia that was always the idea, to create a musical family. With time and watching each other’s bands and projects the band started taking shape, first me and Ica, then Jordan, then Hannah, Oscar and Eddie. A few different members in between but I won’t bore you with that.
Where are you based, what is the scene like, and how has it influenced your sound?
We are based in South Australia, Adelaide. The music scene is really diverse, lots of different styles and sounds. It’s a great place to live, has a bit of everything, ocean, hills, countryside, a bit of desert.
What can you tell me about the new album and its path to enlightenment? How should we listen to it in regard to its message?
To us, Endless represents our path to enlightenment individually and as a band. We are all in our own journeys to find purpose which brings us closer to happiness I guess. This album sings a lot about that, songs like Earth Chant sing lines like ”air is all I got, my god is air” or “when here and now we eternally bound” talk about to truly live is to simple breathe and in the moment so cliché yet so hard to achieve, or a song like Hunters, “we strong enough never to drown at sea, just weak enough never to make it to shore” or “we walked and sailed for days at once to a place where all the clouds were gone, to find nothing we found everything still we try and try and try, but words got in our way” and “ many years gone by but we still try searching for something we can’t be sure”, the struggles of becoming a successful band, to find our shore. Yumi, “here we are all form enlightened, here we are the void in spite of” or simply “the arrow is your guru”, what you aim to do in life is your purpose, guides you. Kuhnoo, ”will we ever bloom to bear our own weight”, Nu Poéme, “say what you feel say what you want for once”… so many examples I could give you but at the end of the day we would like to believe that music transcends all that, and that the listener will find their own meaning out of it.
Endless is your second album, what difference in approach did you guys take when creating it?
Sun was more of a collection of songs over the years as a band, Endless is more a representation of the band at a specific moment in time, a time where we are ever-changing in our personal lives and musically. It was a more calculated effort to say what we feel and less stream of consciousness type of writing.
What can you tell me about the non-music influences that inspired you to make the album?
We truly believe art is life and living, getting ideas in terms of music and sound from other artists is a big part of music, but to turn it into art and something meaningful to us, life and how we feel is the most important thing to us. We have lived, and we are living, that is the biggest catalyst in our songwriting.
Who are some artists that you really hold dear at the moment?
Mdou Moctar, Les Filles de Illighadad, The Perks of being a wallflower soundtrack, North Americans “Going Steady” album, Air, Vashti Bunyan, also I swear I have on repeat Raly Barrionuevo “De Alberdi” song and Nicholas Britell “Little’s Theme” from Moonlight motion picture soundtrack.
What does the future look like for Sons Of Zöku? And when can we expect a European tour?
Right now the plan is to release Endless into the world and then to see how our European fans receive it, but we definitely have them in our sights and we can’t wait to meet them all soon.
What should the Weirdo Shrine reader do immediately after reading this interview?
Follow Sons of Zöku on Spotify then put your headphones, ear pods or whatever, press play on any of our songs and go do something, bike ride, the dishes, cooking, jog, lay down, meditate, whatever, just let us be the soundtrack to whatever is happening in your life. If you like it, privately share it with a friend or loved one, that’s what’s all about.
From: https://weirdoshrine.wordpress.com/2024/01/25/review-qa-sons-of-zoku-endless-2023-copperfeast-records/
