zero was founded
in Paris, France by Adrien (guitar, vocals), Johnny (guitar) and Susanne(bass) at the beginning of 2000. While experimenting with different drummers,
the trio first focused on arranging Adrien’s material in order to
record a demo. With professional drummer Maya completing the line-up,
the band began to develop a personal, emotional sound that quickly attracted
a local following.
zero’s intense and expressive music combines
now powerful, now atmospheric guitars reminiscent of the band’s
grunge era heroes with the fragility and intimacy of Adrien’s
vocals.
The band’s musical landscape ranges from heavy rock to free-form
intrumentals, from touches of psychedelia to quiet, mellow pieces. “As
a child, I remember being fascinated by Television’s brilliant
guitar arrangements,” says Adrien “and the way the guitars
would take you from one point to another.”
Equally influential was the quiet ‘alt. country’ band Sparklehorse:
“Sometimes it is more efficient and honest to whisper in the listener’s
ear, rather than scream. We are not afraid of screaming, but screaming
the entire time can become very boring, and loses all power as well
as honesty.”
That expression of dynamics and that honesty are the elements which
make zero’s music so personal. “For me,
music means standing up on stage and saying who I am. This is the only
way you can touch the heart and soul of people” says singer Adrien.
* * *
Their first demo brought them a management deal that allowed the band
to spend 2002 gaining live experience in front of larger audiences.
This year’s highlights have been the three club-tours through
France, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland:
- in march/april with Poor rich ones (Nor) and Log (Swe),
- in june with Heyday (Ger), Mclusky (UK) and Haven (UK)
- in august with Mono (Jap).
The band also performed at smaller open-air festivals.
Gaps between the tours were dedicated to the recording of zero’s
new demo. After recording drums in Hanover’s renowned Wohlklang
studios, the band settled on the up and coming Transporter Raum (The
Strokes) to record guitars, bass (Transporter Raum Berlin) and vocals
(Transporter Raum New-York).
