EMQs With Root Zero
Hi everyone, welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with Welsh Progressive Metallers, Root Zero. Huge thanks to their Keyboard player/ Vocalist, Giacomo 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?
I’m Giacomo and I play keyboards and sing in Root Zero. The band has been around since 2020, but I’ve been doing it as a solo project since around 2016-ish, basically ever since I first learned how to use an audio interface.
How did you come up with your band name?
The band used to be called Route Zero, but I soon realised if we ever made it big in America (wishful thinking I know) I’d very quickly get irritated by the way ‘Route’ would get pronounced. Looking for inspiration, I was listening to a hip-hop group called The Roots at the time, so I decided Root Zero was an appropriate replacement.
What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?
The band is based in South-East Wales, primarily Cardiff and Newport. There’s a fairly sizeable number of Rock and Metal bands around here, although we’ve unfortunately suffered a bit with venue closure in recent years, especially in Cardiff. There used to be about 3 or 4 local venues which local bands could reliably play at; nowadays that number has reduced to 1.
What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)
We’ve just released a song called ‘Tumbleweed’ which is taken from our upcoming debut album, ‘Dark Rainbow’, out on 16th May 2025.
Who have been your greatest influences?
My musical taste is pretty broad so this is always going to be a tough question to answer, but I’ve always loved the Alternative Rock and Metal explosion that happened in the 90s and the 2000s; I’ve said before my two favourite bands are Deftones and Soundgarden. Besides that I also love Post-Punk, one of my earliest musical discoveries was hearing Killing Joke on the Need for Speed Underground 2 soundtrack when I was about 11, and The Cure have become one of my favourite bands over the last 6 years or so; their newest album was my album of the year last year. I also have a lot of love for Synthpop and Ambient music being a keyboard player; one of my personal heroes is Brian Eno, and Depeche Mode are another band I always find myself going back to for both keyboard and vocal influences. The final name I’d mention would be Mark Lanegan; I’ve always respected his incredibly raw honest songwriting and lyricism.
What first got you into music?
I’ve been playing music since I was very young. My mum is a piano teacher so music has always been a pretty significant part of my life. I was about 3 or 4 years old when I played piano for the first time. In terms of what got me into listening to and playing Rock and Metal specifically, playing games like Tony Hawk and Need for Speed was one of my early introductions, as well as the soundtracks for films like The Matrix, Mission Impossible 2 or those crap Resident Evil films from the 2000s!
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician, who would it be?
I’d love to collab with Aphex Twin, Autechre or some other weird Electronic musical project. They tend to not be massive fans of Rock and Metal though, so maybe it’s wishful thinking on my part!
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
I’d love to play Roadburn Festival in the Netherlands, it’s such a left-field festival when it comes to Metal and has resulted in some wild collaborative albums over the years!
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
The only thing a fan has ever given me before is a copy of the Pick of Destiny that they’d custom carved. Not really that weird, but I can’t think of anything else!
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
It sounds so cliché but just look after yourselves and those that you care about. The world is a pretty hateful place right now, thanks to certain figureheads that will go unnamed, but as far as I’m concerned, comradeship with your friends, loved ones, and neighbours is one of the greatest weapons against that hatred.
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
Chris Cornell or Mark Lanegan
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
I love writing new material and performing live; having the ability to do both of those things is extremely cathartic for me, but I absolutely despise having to have a social media presence. Nowadays it feels more and more like musicians have to be influencers to get anywhere and that sort of stuff doesn’t interest me in the slightest.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
The shorter list would probably be what I wouldn’t change about the music industry because there’s loads of problems with it! I guess the worst part of it is the monopoly streaming platforms like Spotify have over the industry.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
Another tough question for me to answer but since I’ve been listening to them a lot recently I have to mention “Make Yourself” by Incubus. There’s a real carefree attitude on the album but it’s very bittersweet at the same time. It’s also an album that on the surface is pretty accessible, but once you actually dip below the surface there’s a lot of nuance to the musicianship and layering that really helps make it stand out, especially in comparison to a lot of their contemporaries.
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CDs, or Downloads?
I love having a physical collection of music so vinyl or CDs would be my choice.
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
Playing the New Blood stage at Bloodstock last year was a pretty big achievement for us as a band. It was insane to play on a stage that big, to so many people.
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
I have a full-time job as an admin besides music, so I guess I’d just be doing that, although I’d also probably pursue academia a bit more seriously, I am going back to uni soon, so I’m kinda doing that as well!
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
Devin Townsend, Mikael Akerfeldt, Willem Dafoe, Björk and Steven Wilson
What’s next for the band?
The album release is our next main focus, and we’ll be releasing one more song from the album as a single, too.
What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RootZeroUK/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rootzero_official/
Bluesky: https://web-cdn.bsky.app/profile/rootzerobanduk.bsky.social
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@root.zero
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@rootzero4987
Bandcamp: https://www.wearerootzero.bandcamp.com
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7woGQcgP6EzJobqw0r3ovy
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?
It’s obviously a roll! The clue’s in the name, round things roll!
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Nope, thanks for taking the time to ask me a little bit more about the band!
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