Bobbyisms: Zenith Myth on top of the world
I write about random things a
lot. I write a lot about random
things. Sometimes, however, fate
puts together some of the most
random stories you'll ever hear.
Take the story of Zenith Myth, Canadian Mike Edwards' new prog rock project that marries modern rock and rock textures with a classic rock element. After living married in Los Angeles, Edwards found himself turning to music to cope with the literal and emotional displacement he felt after divorce.
Throwing himself deep into music, he recorded an incredible debut album with a remarkable list of guest musicians, including Grammy Award—nominated Meshell Ndegeocello, Mike Bloom (guitarist for Julian Casablancas), Brandon Wars, Paul D'Amour (Tool), Gilden Tunador, Jordon Zadorozny (Blinker The Star, producer), Melissa Auf der Maur and Broken Social Scene's Sam Goldberg.
The result is a stunning work, a vessel that overflows with style and texture and spills out across genres like classic rock, trip-hop, industrial and garage to create something truly experimental, a progressive rock album that actually progresses in theme and nature.
"Last year I got divorced and I moved to New York for a year, to get a change of pace in my life a bit," Edwards recalled, thinking back on the start of the journey. "I found myself in upstate New York and I decided what better way to put my energy into something than to make a record? I started out with very modest intentions and one thing led to another and my friends chimed in and said they'd love to help."
"I was really lucky. A lot of them are good friends, like Melissa I've known for years because I used to live in Montréal. She offered to do a song or two and laid down an incredible bassline on one of the songs. Sam from Broken Social Scene is an old buddy from Toronto ... it's a very family-oriented record in that regard — all the people that played as guests are my very close friends."
The one exception, Edwards explained, was Ndegeocello. Often credited for starting the American neo-soul movement, Ndegeocello is an artist that can't be pinned down to a particular style or direction musically.
"She was living literally across the street from me in New York," Edwards explained. "I bought a few of her records so that I could find out who my neighbour was, and then when I was doing (the title track), I thought, 'Whoa, I need a black, soulful, Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon kind of vocal for this piece.' She agreed to do it once I told her my philosophy and what I was doing, I was really happy about that."
According to Edwards, working with so many artists was a surprisingly painless ordeal — all of the artists in question were happy to take direction and really collaborate on the music, contributing instrumentation and vocal lines throughout. The respect for the project itself extended not only from the guest artists but from Edwards himself; his appreciation and respect for the contributions to his record are as apparent as his love of a wide range of rock sound.
"Jordon (Zadorozny) and I really hit it off, the guy was magic. I would play a part for 10 minutes and he would take the best bits and process them in a way I was happy with, and it was automatic. There was no discord, we really gelled in a way that was inexplicable, one of the best times I've ever had in a studio."
Now complete, the self—titled album is widely released on October 25 and represents 47 of the best minutes you're going to spend listening to music this year. Edwards calls these nine songs a breakup album, but it honestly feels more like a beginning; while the record may have spawned out of heartbreak, it leaves behind a feeling that there is more to come.
"I don't even know if I would have made a record had I not been searching for something else in my life. I always fall back on music, but this was different — I thought, 'I'm going to create something out of this difficult time.' People often say that art is created at the lowest moments, in some of the most difficult times, and Zenith Myth came about because of that very thing."
To learn more about Zenith Myth or to listen to the record in full, visit zenithmyth.com. One can dare to hope Edwards will soon bring his rock show to London, however in the meantime if you like what you hear, consider dropping Edwards a line on Facebook or on Twitter @zenithmyth.
And for more of the latest music news, views and streams, follow me on Twitter @fsu_bobbyisms, on Tumblr at bobbyisms.com, or by checking out the conversation in the Music Recommendations thread in our FSU social network. Have another great week, I'm out of words.
Take the story of Zenith Myth, Canadian Mike Edwards' new prog rock project that marries modern rock and rock textures with a classic rock element. After living married in Los Angeles, Edwards found himself turning to music to cope with the literal and emotional displacement he felt after divorce.
Throwing himself deep into music, he recorded an incredible debut album with a remarkable list of guest musicians, including Grammy Award—nominated Meshell Ndegeocello, Mike Bloom (guitarist for Julian Casablancas), Brandon Wars, Paul D'Amour (Tool), Gilden Tunador, Jordon Zadorozny (Blinker The Star, producer), Melissa Auf der Maur and Broken Social Scene's Sam Goldberg.
The result is a stunning work, a vessel that overflows with style and texture and spills out across genres like classic rock, trip-hop, industrial and garage to create something truly experimental, a progressive rock album that actually progresses in theme and nature.
"Last year I got divorced and I moved to New York for a year, to get a change of pace in my life a bit," Edwards recalled, thinking back on the start of the journey. "I found myself in upstate New York and I decided what better way to put my energy into something than to make a record? I started out with very modest intentions and one thing led to another and my friends chimed in and said they'd love to help."
"I was really lucky. A lot of them are good friends, like Melissa I've known for years because I used to live in Montréal. She offered to do a song or two and laid down an incredible bassline on one of the songs. Sam from Broken Social Scene is an old buddy from Toronto ... it's a very family-oriented record in that regard — all the people that played as guests are my very close friends."
The one exception, Edwards explained, was Ndegeocello. Often credited for starting the American neo-soul movement, Ndegeocello is an artist that can't be pinned down to a particular style or direction musically.
"She was living literally across the street from me in New York," Edwards explained. "I bought a few of her records so that I could find out who my neighbour was, and then when I was doing (the title track), I thought, 'Whoa, I need a black, soulful, Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon kind of vocal for this piece.' She agreed to do it once I told her my philosophy and what I was doing, I was really happy about that."
According to Edwards, working with so many artists was a surprisingly painless ordeal — all of the artists in question were happy to take direction and really collaborate on the music, contributing instrumentation and vocal lines throughout. The respect for the project itself extended not only from the guest artists but from Edwards himself; his appreciation and respect for the contributions to his record are as apparent as his love of a wide range of rock sound.
"Jordon (Zadorozny) and I really hit it off, the guy was magic. I would play a part for 10 minutes and he would take the best bits and process them in a way I was happy with, and it was automatic. There was no discord, we really gelled in a way that was inexplicable, one of the best times I've ever had in a studio."
Now complete, the self—titled album is widely released on October 25 and represents 47 of the best minutes you're going to spend listening to music this year. Edwards calls these nine songs a breakup album, but it honestly feels more like a beginning; while the record may have spawned out of heartbreak, it leaves behind a feeling that there is more to come.
"I don't even know if I would have made a record had I not been searching for something else in my life. I always fall back on music, but this was different — I thought, 'I'm going to create something out of this difficult time.' People often say that art is created at the lowest moments, in some of the most difficult times, and Zenith Myth came about because of that very thing."
To learn more about Zenith Myth or to listen to the record in full, visit zenithmyth.com. One can dare to hope Edwards will soon bring his rock show to London, however in the meantime if you like what you hear, consider dropping Edwards a line on Facebook or on Twitter @zenithmyth.
And for more of the latest music news, views and streams, follow me on Twitter @fsu_bobbyisms, on Tumblr at bobbyisms.com, or by checking out the conversation in the Music Recommendations thread in our FSU social network. Have another great week, I'm out of words.
