Despite a difficult context, the French alternative rock band LA ZOY has recently unveiled their first self-titled EP! On this occasion, the band took the time to answer a few questions for Distrolution Merch. To learn more about the band's latest news, we invite you to discover our interview below!
Hello, La Zoy! Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions! Can you quickly introduce your band to our readers?
Thank you for contacting us!
LA ZOY is a French alternative rock band that blends classic French rock influences (Thiéfaine, Louise Attaque) with more recent ones (Lysistrata, Pogo Car Crash Control).
Great energy on stage, about sixty gigs under our belt and a great eagerness to get back to live performances!
Group photo credit: Béaxgraphie
How do you manage your band in such a particular context (global pandemic, lockdown, no concerts...)?
First we get depressed, especially since partying or sitting at a terrace to change our minds has become complicated.
Then we react, we are fortunate to be united and surrounded by motivated and supportive people, which allows us to focus on creating content without getting too down!
You released your self-titled EP a few months ago. Can you tell us a few words about this EP?
It's the band's first EP. It was recorded in 2019, following two years of concerts all over France and mainly in the Paris region.
We recorded everything live with a great producer/sound engineer named Hugo Cechosz, in his Stereobox Studio in Paris! The mastering was done by Edouard Bonan and the artwork for the cover and merch by Aksel, the graphic designer who has been with us since the beginning.
We wanted to keep the energy we give off in concert, so all the instrumental takes were done in three days. The vocals and backing vocals were then recorded at the singer's place, in a relaxed manner!
We then mixed the 5 tracks in 5 days, in a focused but relaxed atmosphere. The days started at 8am and ended around 6pm, from the moment we brought out the whisky!
How does your writing process usually unfold?
It's very simple: Baptiste, the singer, comes with a song and chords, and the band arranges the piece together, or the composition starts from an idea of one of the members and the group builds on it before Baptiste writes the lyrics.
It's quite a democratic creation process and the group tries to ensure that everyone is satisfied, both in terms of lyrics and music.
EP artwork credit: Aksel Ilse
Can we talk about the artwork of your EP? What does it represent?
The artwork of our EP represents the totem animal that we find on all our visuals and our logo: a hippopotamus.
You should know that under its appearance of a big, quiet daddy sleeping in the water all day, it's the most dangerous terrestrial mammal in Africa.
It suits us pretty well: quite calm guys who become super fired up as soon as they hit the stage.
On the occasion of its release, you called on us for the design of your merchandise (cardboard sleeve CDs, t-shirts, posters, goodies...). Can you talk about your experience with Distrolution Merch?
Only positive things! It's our bassist, Simon, who was in contact with you, and both on a human level and in terms of product quality, we were delighted.
Very good advice, which adjusted as best as possible to our needs and our budget.
If you're hesitating, go for it!!!!
EP artwork credit: Aksel Ilse
In general, is there a merch item that you attach particular importance to? If so, which one?
The beer mat, because it supports the essential: beer!!!!
To conclude this interview, can we talk about your future projects?
A single accompanied by a music video is coming out in February. We've just finished shooting and it's going to be killer!
We did that on the beach, near Bordeaux, the water was 9 degrees and we went in...
Feel free to follow us on our Facebook page LA ZOY, on Instagram @lazoymusic, as well as on Spotify and streaming platforms, because what's coming is heavy stuff!!