Chris Molloy is known for his passion for photography and acoustic guitar which was perfectly captured on the last EP two year ago. But in late 2017 he decided to create something new, something fresh and something that we will listen throughout the summer of 2018 for sure!
Chris Molloy and The Zang! were teasing fans with a colourful photoshoot (with George Barnes behind the camera) to hype their new single release ‘Came’. The new music seems like a very different approach, this time the group are showing the funky, upbeat side of their artistic selves. I had the pleasure of speaking with Chris and you can see the results of his latest work below. Enjoy!
►Hello Chris! Hope you are coping with that flu OK?! Any tricks to keep your voice in good shape before the release of the new single Came?
Hey Anna! Well luckily I can rest the voice, which will make a lot of folks happy I’ll tell ya! We’ve decided not to do a conventional launch night for the single, and instead save it for release of the second single, which is ready for mixing…We do have a couple of surprises up our sleeve for launch day though, so everyone should keep their eyes and ears open!
►It’s been two years since we spoke about your previous EP Heavy Love. Please tell me a little bit more about what happened in between?
2 years?? That’s crazy. Emmm, besides getting older and more handsome (cough), I’ve been travelling with the circus (but got thrown out for drunken behaviour), ended up on a merchant ship sailing for the edge of the world – but getting dropped off in Cork (for drunken behaviour) skied, surfed, and generally got up to a load of mischief which ended in drunken behaviour! Good times!
►How did you and the Zang! get to work together? Are you still collaborating with Stephen McGurk on drums?
The Zang! is something we arrived at instead of starting with. I was recording the music with a couple of my musical comrades – Stephen McGurk being one of them, another Eamon (Mo) Lavery – who slaps vicious bass on these new songs, and also had Chris Brazier engineer a good part down in the famed Start Together Studios last year. We finished it off and sent it to Amsterdam to get mixed and mastered – so we have some Zang family on mainland Europe!
The Zang! is more than a band – it’s the collaboration of an idea, the idea being something colourful, something fun, a little bit sexy and a little bit dangerous… it’s not to be taken too seriously though, or it’ll hurt ya!
►Tell me about the video for Came, who is responsible for the work behind the camera? Did it take long to shoot the video? That honey looks like loads of fun!
The honey, shit, yeah! That was a messy affair!
I had a very specific idea for the video, something simple and sexy as hell! We actually filmed it in my kitchen with the help of a good friend on camera – George Barnes, a very talented brother in arms… Yeah, so we filmed over 2 days and only really got warmed up on the second night when I shipped in a load of cheap high percentage booze and got the Zang party started! It was great fun to be fair and all the Zang sisters and brothers pulled through and represented in proper Zang fashion! Loads of lipstick, honey and stilettos flying around, oh and corn-snacks!
►What is the inspiration for the new up beat sound? Did you feel the need of change after quite a serious EP you have worked on in 2016?
I think I’ve been taking myself and the music far too seriously for almost all of the previous recordings and maybe working alone had quite a bit to do with that? I found this time that I wanted to go fast and loose like Eddie Felson. The lads helped me with that greatly when we jammed those first few songs out.
►When can we see you on the stage? Any festivals planned for you in summer 2018?
We’re working on the live act at the minute, and hope to be on a stage very soon – When we play live, we’re gonna bring the Zang party! All the stops! It’s gonna be a blast!
►Chris, I take it you are a hopeless romantic type of a guy [correct me if I am wrong!]. What is your recipe for perfect Valentine’s Day – apart for listening to Came over dinner that is!
Well I’m definitely hopeless, that’s for sure! Anna, don’t you think every day should be Valentine’s Day??! (Barff!) What we hope is that “Came” gets a great reception and it helps all those sexy Zang fans out there get into the smooth groove over Valentines and the rest of the year… good times, oh yeah.
►And so what should we expect from Chris Molloy and the Zang! in the coming year?
That’s a good question! The plan is to release two or three singles in the next couple of months and then an album landing in the summer! The Zang! are brewing, bubbling and ready to burst in 2018!
