Zulu Pearls
Berlin, Berlin, Germany | SELF
Music
Press
Zulu Pearls is afkomstig uit het creatieve broeinest dat Berlijn heet. Frontman Zach Van Hoozer vond er leden uit zowel de Verenigde Staten als ons eigen land, eerder spelend in onder andere de David Gilmour Girls. Deze week verscheen hun debuutalbum No Heroes No Honeymoons, in Nederland te verkrijgen via het immer plezante De Konkurrent. Of gewoon online via bandcamp. Op No Heroes No Honeymoons weinig heel nieuws onder de fel schijnende zon, maar wel prettige gitaarmuziek dat doet denken aan de oude Strokes (weet u nog?), wat Arctic Monkeys, de door ons al eerder aangeprezen The Fresh & Onlys en dan met een soort Kurt Vile-achtige sound er overheen. Melancholische pop met een ruw randje. Als voorprogramma warmden ze zalen op voor onder meer The Big Pink, The Noisettes, The Veils, Marnie Stern. Tot zover de wapenfeiten, tijd voor muziek...
...bijvoorbeeld nieuwe single Magic Tricks, prima gitaarpopnummer van nog geen drie minuten. Meer van dat dus op No Heroes No Honeymoons. Drie nummers gratis te downloaden via de al eerder genoemde bandcamp van de groep.
No More Heroes is vooral een plaat van Zach Van Hoozer (goeie naam) in samenwerking met producer Nick Anderson. Met een wederzijdse waardering voor jaren zeventig muziek en een afkeer voor moderne gitaarrock voltooiden de twee het album op eigen kracht, tussen hun bardiensten en andere baantjes in. En laat het grote geld nu maar binnen stromen..
Binnenkort op toer, dus pak vooral een van die Nederlandse liveshows mee. De Randstad durven ze niet uit schijnbaar, maar die komen vast nog eens terug elders in het land.
Live data
16 juni Amsterdam - Winston
17 juni Haarlem - Patronaat
18 juni (middag) Dordrecht - Urban Explorers Festival
18 juni (avond) Rotterdam - Exit - kickingthehabit.nl
Was lange währt, wird endlich gut. Die Songs auf „No Heroes, No Honeymoons“, der ersten Zulu Pearls-LP, sind schon länger fertig. Nun haben sie endlich einen Weg aufs gute alte Vinyl gefunden. Um diese physische Manifestierung zu feiern, werden die Jungs heute im Festsaal Kreuzberg vor dem We Are Scientists-Konzert eine kleine Sause machen.
Der Sound der Band ist angenehm entspannt, jenseits jeglicher Hypes wird hier nach dem unprätentiösen und doch gefühlvollen Popsong gesucht. Das Ganze klingt reif, ohne langweilig zu sein, zeitlos, nicht altbacken. Geschrieben und aufgenommen wurden die Songs von Zach von Hoozer, den es aus Washington D.C. nach Berlin verschlug, wo die One-Man-Band mittlerweile zum amerikanisch-deutsch-holländisch-schwedischer Vierer gewachsen ist. - Stylemag
Zulu Pearls And The Very Idea Of Truth
During the making of the1976 thriller Marathon Man, Dustin Hoffman (who played the protagonist) had an on-set conversation with Sir Laurence Olivier (who played the villain). Hoffman's career was in full bloom, having already played leading roles in The Graduate, Midnight Cowboy, and Lenny. He was a full-fledged movie star. But Olivier was a legend. Hoffman revered Olivier and Marathon Man was the opportunity to win the respect of an idol. According to Hollywood lore, the conversation went something like this ---
Hoffman: I feel like I'm going crazy, I've been up for four days straight.
Olivier: Why?
Hoffman: I'm about to play a scene where my character has been awake for four days straight.
Oliver: My dear boy, why don't you try acting?
It's a brilliantly funny line, but also highly instructive about the the expansive license of the artist. You might wonder what this story has to do with the music of Zach Van Hoozer and his band Zulu Pearls. Allow me to explain.
As a mixing engineer, my job is to vivify the intent of the artists who hire me. Mixing is as much an interpretive art as it is a technical science. In sorting through the raw tracks of the record that would become the first Zulu Pearls record, I was struck by the high drama in Zach's songs. Each song was a storm; in some respects recalling The Smiths' Strangeways Here We Come. The music seemed almost "windswept" and the lyrics seemed to be portrayals of lust, treason and things going wrong. Lovers twisting in sweat-soaked sheets, lovers climbing out of windows, lovers scurrying down fire escapes.
At the core of it all was Zach's young, vibrato-laced tenor, sinister melodic sense, and mischievous sense of humor.
All this drama made me wonder about (and worry for) the kid behind it all. Each song is sung in first-person subjective! I mean, Zach had clearly been through some serious shit. As we set about the mixing process for the next few days, Pearls songs pouring from the speakers, I began to feel sorry for him. He had obviously suffered a lot. Poor guy. As we sat across from each other in the studio during a break between playbacks, I had to ask.
Chad: Man, do you have, like, a super-intense love life?
Zach: No. I just like songs.
And with that, he smiled a faint smile. I felt like a fool. It occurred to me that, in this exchange, I was Hoffman (the naive idealist) and Zach was Olivier (the seasoned vet). The problem with this analogy is that Zach is probably ten years younger than I am. It's not right. I should know better.
I had fallen for the eternal illusion of art: "This is good, therefore it must be true." But can't fiction be just as "true" as non-fiction? Working with Zach got me to re-examine these notions. I was reminded about the authority and legitimacy of the imagination. That's the nicest thing I could say, really.
Unless, of course, he lied.
Chad Clark
Silver Sonya Studios
Spring 2007
- Chad Clark (Beauty Pill, Silver Sonya Studios)
Discography
"Keep It Cool" on MotorFM 100.6 (Berlin)
Zulu Pearls- No Heroes No Honeymoons (LP)
2011
Zulu Pearls- Zulu Pearls (available July 24, 2007 via ECA Records)
Zulu Pearls- Ways To Wind You Up (Internet Release)
Photos
Bio
English:
Beneath the surface of any throw-away pop culture landscape there are always hidden gems waiting to be found. Zulu Pearls are a gem of a band. DIY but not Lo-Fi, nostalgic but not retro, Zulu Pearls capture the cynical romanticism of the 21st Century's first twenty-somethings with a spirit and swagger both familiar and fresh. Melancholic pop melodies and relentlessly minimal arrangements driven by over-it lyrics and a rhythm section with equal parts swing and
power make Zulu Pearls an instant contender.
“No Heroes No Honeymoons” is Zulu Pearls’ first full length LP. Most tracking of the album took place in the back hallway of D.C.’s venerable Inner Ear Studios unbeknownst to anyone outside of primary songwriter Zach Van Hoozer and producer Nick Anderson (Aloha, Title Tracks). With a mutual appreciation for seventies records and a distaste for modern guitar rock, the two completed the record on their own in between bar shifts and day jobs. Mastered by guru Chad Clark (Beauty Pill, Smart Went Crazy), the result is a refreshing mix of earnest production and direct songwriting that will quickly slide its way into the heart of your record collection.
In the Spring of 2009, Van Hoozer swapped capital cities for the hedonistic streets of Berlin. Within months the newest incarnation of Zulu Pearls had already begun carving out their own niche in a city dominated by electronic DJ culture. The band have since graced the stage at Berlin live music institutions such as Postbahnhof, Lido, West Germany, White Trash and Bassy as well as put on a series of self organized parties at bars and galleries including Lokal, Stellas Hangar and Antje Oeklesund.
Van Hoozer’s current band of pearls consist of members of the David Gilmour Girls, and the Harakeerees. Former collaborators include members of Cursive, Engine Down, Strike Anywhere, Dead To Me, The Dismemberment Plan, Aloha, Title Tracks and Hollywood. Zulu Pearls have supported a wide variety of international touring acts including The Big Pink, The Noisettes, The Veils and Marnie Stern.
Deutsch:
Unter der Oberfläche der Pop-Wegwerfkultur findet sich gelegentlich auch ein
Juwel. Zulu Pearls sind solch ein Juwel von einer Band. DIY aber definitiv nicht Lo-Fi und nostalgisch ohne retro zu werden, verbinden Zulu Pearls die zynisch-
misstraurische Romantik des 21. Jahrhunderts mit Arsch und Seele, ohne dabei altbacken oder wie schon tausendmal gehoert zu klingen. Melancholisch-poppige Melodien und Rhythmussektion, die gleichermaßen Swing und Energie zu vereinen weiß, machen Zulu Pearls zu einem besonderem Leckerbissen.
"NO HEROES NO HONEYMOONS" heißt das erste Album der Zulu Pearls. Der Großteil der Aufnahmen fand im hinteren Korridor von Washington D.C.'s
ehrwürdigem Inner Ear Studios statt, welches jedem, außer Haupt-Songwriter Zach van Hoozer und Produzent Nick Anderson (Aloha, Title Tracks), kein Begriff sein dürfte. Mit einer gemeinsamen Vorliebe für 70s Platten, und einer ebenso gemeinsamen Abneigung gegenüber modernem Gitarren Rock, vollendeten die beiden die Platte im Alleingang, zwischen Bar-Schichten und anderen Jobs. Gemastert wurden die Aufnahmen von Chad Clark (Beauty Pill, Smart Went Crazy), und das Ergebnis ist ein erfrischender Mix aus ehrlicher Produktion und direktem Songwriting, welcher sich schnell einen Platz im Herz deiner Plattensammlung sichern wird.
Im Frühling 2009 hat Van Hoozer die Haupstadt gewechselt, hin zu den hedonistischen Strassen Berlins. Nur wenige Monate später war die neueste
Inkarnation Zulu Pearls bereits dabei ihren Platz in einer von Elektro DJ Kultur dominierten Stadt zu festigen. Seitdem sind Zulu Pearls in mehreren Berliner
Musikmekkas aufgetreten, unter anderem im Postbahnhof, Lido, West Germany, Bassy sowie auch auf selbst veranstalten Parties und DIY Shows.
Van Hoozers jetzige Band von Perlen besteht aus ex-Mitgliedern der David Gilmour Girls, und der 60s-Garagepunks the Harakeerees. Ehemalige Kollaborateure sind unter anderem Mitglieder von Cursive, Engine Down, Strike Anywhere, Dead to Me, The Dismemberment Plan, Aloha, Title Tracks und Hollywood.
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