Present yourself to the readers
Zeitgeist Zero are a combination alt-wave rock and eerie macabre pop, fusing sultry female vocals with dark, twisted electronics and a determined attitude. We have been playing for over 13 years and are based in Leeds in the North of England. We have just released our third album Ghosts of Victory funded via an IndieGoGo campaign which raised over £4K in pre-orders from our die hard fans the Geist Army. The album was mixed by the legendary Steve Whitfield (The Mission, Terrorvision) and mastered by John Dent (Goldfrapp, PJ Harvey, Music Producers Guild Mastering Engineer of the Year 2015) and is available on mp3,CD and gatefold vinyl from our Bancamp store.
Who composes ?...How does it work in the band ?
Corin Zero is the main composer, he writes most of the music and records and produces everything in our own purpose built studio. He collaborates closely with Bex Noire (Bass), James Grave (Keys) and Matt Macabre (Drums) who each make their creative contribution.
Who writes the texts ?..What are they talking about ?..How does inspiration come ?
The music is generally written first and then passed to me (Teresa Dead). I take inspiration from the music and then write all the lyrics and create my own vocal melodies. The songs have a central theme and feel and around that the words evolve. They’re written from a deep need to express my thoughts, feelings and view of the world.
Why the name ZEITGEIST ZERO ?
‘Zeit’ is the German word for time and ‘geist’ means spirit. ‘Zeitgeist’ means spirit of the age, the Zero is a reflection on the cyclic nature of popular culture. We wanted something enigmatic that reflected the way that we feel out of sync with the current world zeitgeist. History repeats itself, time is cyclic and we like to take the best pieces from different genres and styles. We amalgamate them into our sound and image to make a familiar, yet new piece of art. We like to mix the old and new and are very interested in the timeless and classic: Style over fashion, classic over current.
What are your personal musical tastes and your influences ?
We have diverse musical tastes and we draw on this when we are writing. Over the years our tastes have expanded and we enjoy everything from hip-hop, metal to 80’s electro and early blues and jazz era swing. We like anything done with passion and originality. I think the more varied your musical tastes, the more that you can draw on and push boundaries. That is why Zeitgeist Zero’s songs vary so much. We try to never write the same song twice.
What's your opinion about the current music scene in UK ?
It’s difficult, as a lot of live music venues have closed in the UK, due to town redevelopment and new housing being built too close to existing clubs and bars. It’s also a difficult scene to work in, all but the very top bands are generally treated quite badly in the UK and the fees offered are often ridiculously low. Many venues and promoters don’t even give bands water to drink! In terms of gaining recognition, alternative music is generally ignored. There are however some good promoters, DJs and magazines in the UK, doing their best to support and promote underground talent.
