Zs / on the record!


Zs is devoid of genre and unclassifiable. Since 2000, founder Sam Hillmer has remained its purveying constant and with the addition of loose-limbed, meditative percussionist Greg Fox, and virtuosic avant-classical guitarist and composer Patrick Higgins, the band has found its epochal lineup. Three supremely heavy sages who exchange their pulsating phraseology with a mind-blowingly telepathic bent. On the 6th of February 2018 they performed in A4, we had a pleasure to speak with Zs about few topics!

How did it happen that you are playing in Bratislava? Tell us more about your tour. 

Well, we've played in Bratislava two other times and I suppose it happened the first time because our booking agent reached out to someone here and then we came and it seemed to go well so then we were invited back. There is a group of presenters and musicians who keep inviting us back which is really nice, so we keep saying yes! But I also think generally we have a really nice time in this part of central Europe and we really enjoy the venues and audiences of other musicians over here so we are trying to come back.

Can you try to define your music? 

I think our music is not defined by genre, more by process and by the people involved specifically. I think what we all try to do is bring the kind of newest and most exciting sounds and techniques that each of us as individuals are developing into group context and work together to shape that into something original and enjoyable for all of us and that tends to result in music that is very difficult to classify but I think has consisted spirit of confrontation, exploration and inscrutability.

At the beggining of your carrier, was there any artist who inspired you?

- Jimy Hendrix.
- Guillaume de Machaut.

What means name of your band Zs? 

There is a very specific answer to this question. Zs is called because two letters are symmetrically inverted, Z and S are opposites and Z is also the final letter of alphabet and I think that pluralizing of that is very fascinating to me.

What are your further plans after the end of the tour?

- More tour. It's my life. I don't know if I'm really into it or I like it, It's just what my life is right now. Besides that, rest as much as I can when I'm not on the tour.
- The band is gonna be on tour until mid February and then we are working on this really big project with one visual artist. We will be workshoping that in March and then we will be back on the road in Europe in April. We will premiere this big project in June. Then again tour, so it's basically just working on new music and traveling and recording. We also have collaboration going on with guitarist Arto Lindsay so we will be touring with him in April. We will be at Rewire Festival. Soon we will also release our new record with Arto, so that is coming on the Spring. 

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