Boar Music Interviews: Zibra

On a February Thursday afternoon I met Sam Battle, the lead singer from London-based four-piece Zibra (signed to Epic Records), ahead of their support slot in the evening with BBC’s Sound of 2015, Years & Years. From outside the venue we headed to an “angsty” pub in the centre of Digbeth, Birmingham, where despite the noise from locals I was able to complete an interview with one of this year’s most exciting upcoming bands.

Boar Music: Hi Sam!  Thanks for speaking to the Boar today. Firstly, how did the band get together, as I’m aware you were previously a two-piece?

Sam: There was a guy called Cal in the band playing drums and over time it didn’t work after adding our synth player Russ. Then 6 months later Ben and Ross joined. It was about moving forwards and we were signed after our debut track ‘R.I.P.  (Rest In Peace)’ was put up on the blogs.

BM: What were you doing before you made the band?

S: I was in and out of other bands playing guitar and I wasn’t singing… singing took a while to learn. I had a mixture of jobs from fixing synths and fixing bikes in Halfords to being a chef at one point too. I also went to University for a year and a half and studied Chemistry for 5 months realising it wasn’t for me and that I wanted to pursue music.

BM: Why did you decide to call the band ‘Zibra’?

S: It just sounded good. You say Zebra, but stick an ‘i’ in it and it sounds odd. But some people call us ‘Zebra’ when it is pronounced ‘Z-i-bra’.

BM: How would you describe your sound in 3 words?

S: Glitch, Indie, Pop

I used the synths instead of using plug-ins, which is not what a lot of artists do.

BM: What has been your best memory in the band so far?

S: Playing the Saint Raymond shows and the Koko London show in February were the first two big ones where we got feedback from the crowd.  They were actually listening and we didn’t have to force them to get a reaction.

BM: Your experimentation with synths and keyboards is very different to other bands, why did you choose to create music in this unconventional manner?

S: I started off playing guitar mainly, and then through doing electronics and stuff I began making money by fixing synthesisers and through that we ended up using the synths, liking it and then eventually recording it. Also because my computer wasn’t very good I used the synths instead of using plug-ins, which is not what a lot of artists do. I kind of liked having that different approach of slicing and dicing things up because the computer was too latent to record. When we ended up with the sound we got we were quite happy.

BM: ‘Chlorine’ has been getting a lot of playtime of Radio 1 and is full of electronic clashes and chunky synth grooves, what is the track about and what inspired you to write it?

S: The first thing we came up with was the initial singing melody and that was with me for a year and a half…maybe two years…and then I decided to sing and add some high, cut up voice. One day Russ said it sounded like I was singing it in a swimming pool because of the reverb used and then we just decided to write it about swimming pools. We went through a fair amount of songs, at least three, with that melody and this just felt right.

BM: What is your process in the studio? Do you write together as a band, or are each of you responsible for different things?

S: It usually starts with Russ or me coming up with an idea and from there it becomes realised into a fully formed song, which we then take to the other guys who add their parts to put it all together.

 It sounded like I was singing it in a swimming pool…and then we just decided to write it about swimming pools

BM: You are currently in the studio working on your debut album with producers Mark Ralph and Simon Katz who have been responsible for some marvellous tracks (Clean Bandit, Youngblood Hawke and Years & Years), how is it working with them?

S: They have came along and made it sound better. The initial foundations were already there as most of the recordings of tracks were done in an old people’s home, where I live. Most of the stuff was mainly conformed and put together by the producers.

BM: Having been recently signed to Sony Music, are there pressures to conform and has creative freedom suffered?

S: I felt it slightly suffer. But I started with the goal of wanting to get into a situation like that to discover how to make it work for Sony and me. I knew we would have to make music that would make it work for both parties… I don’t want us to be fighting the label and making odd stuff that nobody will understand.

BM: Your upcoming EP ‘EP1000’ is released in March, what made you release these four tracks in particular?

S: We filmed videos for the two tracks ‘Heartache’ and ‘Chlorine’ and while we have been working on our album we discovered that the sound of the other two tracks ‘Suit & A Tightened Tie’ and ‘Monday’ really matched the others. We also want the EP to progress onto the album and ‘R.I.P. (Rest In Peace)’ didn’t seem right for the EP so we are holding on to it for a little big longer.

I just want to take it as far as I can when it comes to a realisation of making music we actually like.

BM: When can we expect to hear a full-length album?

S: I think at the moment it just depends on how we do. There’s going to be one EP now and then maybe another, and then we’ll see how it all goes down. It is not completely finished yet, but it is pretty much there. We are happy with it but it is not as brash and it is a lot more realised. We are also working to get it to a point where there are no filler tracks, so fingers crossed that is the case.

BM: As a band you are very DIY, where did of psychedelic colours and VHS for your videos come from?

S: It was a non-conscious decision to use VHS. I realised that I’m not a Video Director and I can’t stand out in that area. So we used VHS to set ourselves apart and got in touch with these guys called Youth Hymms, who specialised in this and we learned the ropes from them. We are going to take this look of videos as far as it can go until someone says we can’t.

BM: What is the craziest thing you have done on tour?

S: There are a fair few things…previous projects have been a bit sketchy. But I did jump on Santigold after running onto the stage…I got pulled out. I wonder if she remembers me…I hope she does.

BM: Who would you as a band like to collaborate with?

S: Vinnie Jones, he’s not even a musician, but I ‘d love to have him in one of our music videos one day. But music wise Philip Oakley from The Human League would be awesome as he has a really good sound and ability to write songs. Captain Sensible would also be a great guy to collaborate with.

BM: What are your ambitions for the band?

S: Do as much as possible. Stay true to ourselves and not let people turn us into something. I just want to take it as far as I can when it comes to a realisation of making music we actually like. Cliff Richard loves listening to his own songs and it would be really good to sit and listen to ours too being proud of what we have achieved.

Zibra are currently doing some spot shows around the country, so follow them on Twitter at @ZIBRAZIBRAZIBRA to keep an eye out for them. You can download their debut EP, ‘EP1000’, on iTunes now.