Mark Zian
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Music
Press
With his nasally voice, oddball song content and gentle approach to songwriting it would be easy to write off Mark Zian as a Daniel Johnston imitator but there is enough going on here to rise above such a simple comparison. Zian’s greatest strength lies in his ability to create a sonic atmosphere that compliments the quirky lyrical side of his songs such as electronic squelches in I Am Not A Robot or the subtle rising and falling melody of A Swim In The Ocean, which conjures up feelings of floating in the sea. His decision to team up with Woodford associate Jeremy Hindmarsh to clean up the original master pays off in spades with a lush and full sounding record throughout. The amazingly simple but beautiful hidden song at the end of the album (which actually transforms into a musical palindrome) is a testament to this young man’s creative talent.
TREVOR WINTERS - Rave Magazine
Discography
Me and Mark Zian (2007: Independent)
1. Intro
2. A Story is told
3. Chloe
4. Birds on paper
5. Ducks Parade
6. Life on Mars
7. Telephones and Bicycles
8. The Old Man
9. Flock of Birds
10. A Day at the Zoo
11. If apes ruled the world
12. Rubics Cube
13. Dust on my shelves
14. Air Jazz Quartet
15. Lies Cost money too
16. Love Song
17. Mythical Made-up Creature
18. Thats life
19. Go (Daniel Johnston Cover)
Is this Ok? (2009: Independent)
1. I am not a robot
2. The Darkside of elephants
3. Hearts on Sleeves
4. Carrier Pigeon
5. Love Written in Chinese
6. A swim in the ocean
7. Sleeping with fish
8. Hugs for Party Drugs
9. Fires in Forests
10. Soup
11. I feel like Crumpets
Photos
Bio
Mark grew up as a typical, working class, Australian boy. The son of immigrant parents, his father a telephone technician and his mother a, now unemployed, systems analyst. Mark was not an imaginative or creative child, focusing on the traditional subjects of Mathematics and English rather than art or music. Growing up Mark continued to walk his beige line, eventually embarking on a career in accountancy. However somewhere within this story another Mark was born.
Mark Zian was born in a bedroom surrounded by photographs, half filled notebooks, an abundance of dust and an acoustic guitar. Mr Zian plays whimsical folk/indie stories with a style that is both quirky and refreshing and he is influenced by artists such as Grandaddy, Bob Dylan, Joanna Newsom and Sparklehorse.
Mark’s first album ‘Me and Mark Zian’, was recorded with a broken 8 track and a series of Dictaphones, with a limited 50 copies being released to both friends and foe in February 2007.
Now in 2009 Mark has released his second album ‘Is this ok?’. It is a story of young love encompassing 11 folk/pop songs featuring Robots, Elephants and a savoury/sweet bread snack. ‘Is this ok?’ also shows a more full and professional sound for Mark Zian.
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