BIOGRAPHY
In 2010 brothers Andy and Matt Thompson and drummer Andrew Prestidge formed Zoltan with the intention of putting Andy’s vast collection of vintage synths to good use. After initial rehearsals proved fruitful, it was obvious that fusing together everyone’s disparate influences was creating something greater than the sum of its parts. The music gradually became a mix of 1970s Italian horror soundtracks, retro progressive rock and modal riffage a la Circle, Zombi or krautrock artists such as Manuel Gottsching and Harmonia. Zoltan’s sound travels in time to a dystopian future built on the bedrock of the present, inspired by the band members interests in vintage science fiction and psychological horror movies.
The six tracks that make up “First Stage Zoltan” are full of menacing chordal sweeps, cinematic synthscapes and relentless, angular rhythms. Imagine the soundtrack to a remake of “Zombie Holocaust” as directed by Michael Mann and you’d be getting close. Banks of vintage synths are underpinned by a driving rhythm section, infusing the intricacy of prog with a repetitive, psychedelic energy. The album climaxes with the 14 minute, 5 part epic “Black Iron Prison”, where throbbing bass notes, ambient interludes and Giorgio-Moroder-from-hell sequencers lead to a bone-shaking crescendo, before dying down to eventual silence.
Andy Thompson – keyboards
Matt Thompson – bass, keyboards, 12-string acoustic guitar
Andrew Prestidge – drums, keyboards
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First full length by London´s Synth Prog Unit ZOLTAN „First Stage ZOLTAN“ contains six tracks of menacing chordal sweeps, cinematic synthscapes and relentless, angular rhythms. If Michael Mann ever remade “Zombie Holocaust” the soundtrack might sound something like this. For fans of Goblin, Rush, Zombi and John Carpenter.
All-analog vintage keyboards – digital-free! Icy, futuristic synths, menacing and angular repetition, 70´s Horror Soundtracks meet Krautrock! Experience a masterpiece on 180g Vinyl housed in a beautiful Gatefold Cover!
Soundsample from Zoltan’s upcoming full length LP on Soundcloud
http://www.soundcloud.com/zoltantheband
London´s Zoltan follow up their 2012 Cineploit album release “First Stage Zoltan” by honouring a classic British cult movie from the 1970´s – Psychomania!
In their very special way Zoltan took several themes and melodies from the brilliant fuzzed-out score by John Cameron, and created an epic 13 minute suite of wonderful and fantastic Soundtrack Prog! As a special gimmick this will be a 12” mini-LP with one side of music and another side containing several locked grooves from the movie.
Psychomania was also released in Germany the first time ever (on DVD with 3 different cover) an there is a very limited run of not even 200 copies with Zoltan´s Psychomania on CD as Bonus!
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Zoltan´s new 2nd full length Album “Sixty Minute Zoom” out November 24th as Gatefold LP and Mint Pack CD!
ZOLTAN´s new effort is a tribute to 2 movies and is simply titled PHANTASM/TANZ DER TEUFEL (Exploit 09) – it comes as a 10″ MLP, 6 Tracks on 2-coloured Vinyl.
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ZOLTAN Review by George Pacheko for Boston Examiner
Zoltan evoke minimalistic electronic grandeur on their Cineploit debut
London’s instrumental outfit known as Zoltan are cut from the same macabre musical jib here on their First Stage Zoltan debut as Pittsburgh’s diabolical duo ZOMBI, in that both acts evoke powerful, minimalistic grandeur with layers of electronic ambiance.
The influences behind Zoltan’s dark and creepy sound emerge primarily from the obscure recesses of 1970s Italy, namely the cult film soundtracks of composers Fabio Frizzi and Stelvio Cipriani, both of whom scored numerous, grotesquely artistic horror flicks during the country’s cinematic boom of the 60s, 70s and 80s.
Films such as The Beyond, Nightmare City and Lucio Fulci’s classic Zombie are all prime examples of Zoltan’s musical inspiration at work, while similar stylistic avenues also emerge from the synthesizer fog here, not the least of which are the equally classic film/score works of American horror director JOHN CARPENTER. There is a malicious, bass-driven undertone to the band’s work which works hand in hand with Zoltan’s higher, more ambitious orchestrations, the moods of which link quite often with the jazzier end of 70s film scores, a la Alain Goraguer’s Planete Sauvage, for example.
Indeed, while shades of Halloween certainly permeate Zoltan’s electronic symphonies, there exists a certain depth to the band’s composition which lifts them above mere homage and plagiarism into the upper echelon of their field; deserved praise for a band so relatively new to the scene, yet utterly deserved: Zoltan totally rules.
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