“We like to reflect on why”: Free Zorba the Hooligan on Philosophy and contrasting violence and beauty
A band as complex and undefinable as their name, Free Zorba The Hooligan cannot be put in a box. One thing that can be said for certain is that their sound will make your ears bleed… with pleasure. Indulging in the music of Free Zorba, you become a part of something; A collective raw emotion that can only be described as philosophic rage. NOIZE spoke with Edd (bassist), Alex (guitar), Niko (vocals), Tom (drums) and Yohann (guitar) during their pre-show cigarette break before one of their many Paris performances.
According to Niko, Free Zorba’s sound is inspired by “dub and hip hop. We like turnstile for the catchy-ness, Deftones for the wall of sound. That kind of vibe…When we write what’s important for us is honesty, decibels, and just meaning. All the bands that we like are all known for being quite honest and having a message.”The band has a very diverse mix of influences Alex citing his as “a weird mix of Jeff Buckley and Show Me The Body.”
Something else that inspires Free Zorba’s songwriting is, in Edd’s words, “vulnerability”. “We like to reflect on why,” Niko began.
“ it touches on the human aspect of things. We try, at least in the lyrics, to figure out why we act the way we act in general and how one thing can lead to another, so that’s the philosophical aspect of it. I suppose the stage is quite sacred when we get up there and perform. It’s intense, we like it to be intense.”
The band has no problem looking within themselves for song inspiration. “In terms of the writing, it has to hit a nerve deep inside of me for it to really connect emotionally,” said Tom.
Free zorba the hooligan band - shot by sixtine cail for noize magazine
In what Edd described as “a long distance relationship”, the band is split between two countries, France and the UK. Free Zorba meets up about once a month to spend a weekend together, practicing, rehearsing, and writing. Though their time together is limited, the band still takes the time to get to know each other. “The first few weekends we had together were very intense,” admitted Edd. “Just rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. I think we kind of realized that ‘I actually like these people, let's hang out more’.”
“Everything that happens outside the music is equally as important,” added Niko.
Spending all this time together, the band discovered what makes them work together so well as a group; “Good human beings, good music”, said Niko. “No dickheads," Edd added.
“ I think we’re all very good at putting the ego aside and working out how we can make something that sounds new and fresh. I think it's very easy to fall into a trope, especially as a punk band. That’s the easiest way to go and it sounds good, but we want to be bringing something that people haven’t heard before.”
Free zorba the hooligan performing live at supersonic records, Paris - shot by sixtine cail for noize magazine
“There's gotta be deep meaning to what you do, because the whole ‘playing-rockstar’ thing is very superficial and very egotistical, whereas I think it's more like we connect to the people. I think we’ve already got a little community going in terms of different people who work with us like photographers, artists, and so on. And sonically as well, we’re quite loud, but we also always add a bit of beauty to it,” Edd explained. Going deeper into the idea of beauty within their loud sound, Niko said
“when i was a kid, watching horror movies, i would like it the most when you had some horrible shit happening but with some classical music in the background. That sort of contrast with violence and beauty is what we go for. So in our music, even within the loudest parts, you might find beauty in the middle of it.”
Another emotional predicament that inspires their sound is “war”. Niko explained “in philosophy you’ve got peace and war. It’s always one or the other, there’s no in between. The next EP is about figuring out why. Why do we end up choosing war at times? Why do we choose things that end up destroying everything?”
free zorba the hooligan live performance artwork by sixtine cail for noize magazine
Edd explained their most recent EP, saying that it’s
“more grounded in trauma and healing. Basically reckoning with yourself and becoming accountable for things. I think we’ve all had some trauma in different contexts. It's about using that negative as a positive. For myself and, I think, for all of us, we like to use the music that we make as an emotional conduit to sort of get out what we’re feeling and we really want to feel the music. That's what we want to bring to people.”
When discussing the future of the band, Niko revealed that their main goal is to “Make a living on music. Remain real. We’re releasing the second EP now, and we’re gonna try and branch out. Keep playing shows, we love playing shows. Going on tour would be the next step.”The band also wants their music and the message within it to reach more people. “Ultimately, the people we want to reach out to, they’ll get it anyways. No matter the platform. I believe in people getting the message no matter what the medium is.”
