EMQ’s With ZYGNEMA
EMQ’s With ZYGNEMA
Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with Mumbai-based Heavy/ Thrash/ Groove Metal band ZYGNEMA. Huge thanks to their Guitarist, Sidharth, for taking part.
What is your name, what do you play and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?
My name is Sidharth and I play guitars for the band. We (myself & Jimmy -vocalist) started as a duo first way back in 2005-2006. We would meet up and jam and bounce ideas for fun. Eventually after jamming with a few drummers and failing at getting better, we found Mayank who was the missing piece to this jigsaw. So the three of us have been going at it for the last 18 years. Our first bass player Ravi was a part of the band from 2006 to 2013 and then moved to Germany. Leon took up bass duties from 2013 to 2020. After 7 years of gigging and touring, Leon moved to Canada. Now we have Somesh Panicker who recently joined the band in 2024.
How did you come up with your band name?
Oh It was so random. Zygnema is a freshwater algae and I have a Bachelors degree in Science. So I found the name to be cool and the way it adapts and evolves. That stuck with me and that became our band name.
What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?
We are from Mumbai which is known as the hustling bustling city of dreams. It’s in the state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is buzzing when it comes to audiences attending and supporting local bands and gigs. Mix up 3-4 bands and you know you will have 150-200 people showing up on the worst day of the year too.
What is your latest release?
The EP that we released in March 2024 is called ICONIC and we recently released a music video for a track called GRIND from the same EP.
Who have been your greatest influences?
For us as a band we have grown up listening to Pantera, Slipknot, Meshuggah, Megadeth, Metallica and many more. Individually we have tons of influences and it’s tough to list all of them out. But yeah for me personally, as an individual it ranges from the 1970s to 2024.
What first got you into music?
MTV and Channel V got me into music. Watching videos of Bryan Adams, Bon Jovi, Carlos Santana, Eric Clapton, Deep Purple, Metallica, Pantera etc was so fascinating and the electric guitar with distortion made me fall in love with that sound. So that’s where it all started.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
That’s a tough Question. As a guitarist, I would love to collaborate with Eloy Casagrande (Ex-Sepultura, Now with Slipknot). Saw him for the first time at Wacken Open Air in 2012 and man he was on fire and is a phenomenal drummer. And of course the legendary Rex Brown from Pantera.
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
To be honest, we want to play many festivals and not just one. We did play Wacken in 2012 and then Inferno in 2013. We definitely would like to play Hell Fest, Download, Graspop, Summer Breeze and many more.
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
Thankfully we haven’t received any weird gifts from our fans yet. They are amazing and we would like that to be the way it is.
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
Thank you guys for being you. No matter who you are and where you are from. You listening to our music, showing up for our gigs and being there with us for so long means the world to us.
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
I personally would pick Dimebag Darrel and his brother Vinnie Paul. I know you asked me to pick 1 but the world would love it to see Pantera back in action.
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
I love the fact that there are so many non musicians who connect with musicians and their work and share a very unique bond. That’s a blessing according to me. What I hate the most about it is that you are never satisfied with 1 show or 1 guitar or 1 amp. You always want more. It’s a good and a bad thing at the same time.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
The evil gatekeepers on digital platforms who don’t pay musicians for their work. Their platforms are alive because of musicians putting out music. That’s a lot of work. The revenue sharing model is crap and that has to change.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
Very very tough question. I want to share 3 but “Far Beyond Driven” by Pantera is what shaped me.
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?
I am an old school millennial. I will pick cassettes and Cds. That’s the only way to keep the evil music industry people away, taking away almost everything from the artists.
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
Uffff. This is the toughest. We thoroughly enjoy all our shows and it’s been unique in its own way. As an experience, our gig at WACKEN was unreal. Would love to go there and play again.
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
I wanted to join the Army. I was through but my parents were against the idea of joining the armed forces. I would have found my way around and served my country anyways. But I guess music was meant to happen and here I am.
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
If you’re hinting towards 5 celebrities I would invite for dinner party then here it goes
1) Sachin Tendulkar (Legend and God of Cricket)
2) Lionel Messi
3) Michael Jordan
4) David Goggins
5) Denzel Washington
If the question was for inviting 5 popular musicians then David Gilmore, Mattias Eklundh, Guthrie Govan, Zakk Wylde, Fredrick Thordendal & Martin Hagstrom.
What’s next for the band?
New music video, New EP and probably hunt for a good European and UK tour for 2025.
What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
Youtube:- https://www.youtube.com/@ZygnemaTube
Instagram:-@zygnemaofficial
Facebook:- www.facebook.com/zygnema
Bandcamp:- https://zygnema.bandcamp.com/
Spotify:- https://open.spotify.com/artist/6yybpD4MZbjnSb202PGcuj
Apple Music:- https://music.apple.com/in/artist/zygnema/529564150
Time for a very British question now. As an alternative to the humble sandwich, is the correct name for a round piece of bread common in the UK either a Bap, a Barm (or Barm Cake), a Batch, a Bun, a Cob, a Muffin, a Roll or a Tea Cake?
For an Indian, a round Indian bread is Roti. But guessing that we still make burger buns and rolls here for making burgers and sandwiches, I think it could either be a muffin or a bread roll.
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
If you are reading this, thank you for reading. Please go buy our music from our Band camp page if you enjoyed it. Thank you.
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