(Our Russian contributor Comrade Aleks returns with another interview — and this time he talks with Kyle Alexander McDonald from the Canadian band Zaum, whose first album debuted earlier this month. We’ve got a stream of the album in here, too)

A caravan from distant Sweden comes into our city, as I Hate Records brings rich gifts, and among them I’ve found a rare one: Shining with colours of the sun, a disk with scriptures ancient, the 2014 debut CD of Zaum from Canada, with psychedelic heavy vibes. Enriched with the wisdom of Oracles, the melodies are spreading and full of Eastern mystic rituals that come and blind our feelings. Kyle, the master of the voice and heavy guitars, answers our questions and reveals secrets of the band and of long-gone tribes that make their stories come alive. So, welcome pilgrims of doom and praise the gods for rain.

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Salute Kyle! First of all let me ask a straightforward question: What does the band’s name mean? I know only an accordant word in the Russian language, but I wonder if you meant that when you give your band such a name.

For us, ZAUM defines the form of communication beyond that with which we are commonly familiar and have used as humans.  By harnessing ZAUM, one is able to communicate at a higher form without the boundaries of a modern spoken language.  ZAUM tells of a deeper meaning in the medium beyond the borders defined by the music, experienced as a deep mental elevation.  We indeed reference the invention of ZAUM by Russian Futurist poet Aleksei Kruchenykh – so I suppose in that regard we do have a Russian connection.  I’ve used the name as a label for my personal demos since 1993, and when the time came to name the band – it just made sense, as this is my first band in which I’m writing 100% of the music rather than in collaboration.  That said, Chris [Lewis] does have a hand in the song arrangements.  Hopefully we can play there soon.

You’ve been playing heavy tunes since the mid-90’s. What have been the most memorable periods in your artistic life?

Speaking for myself — I formed and played bass in a 3-pc stoner/noise band called COPSHADES and did a lot of touring with that band, which is now defunct, though it was very dear to me and my artistic journey.  Additionally, I fronted a 3-bassed psych/doom monstrosity called SHEVIL – a band which is currently on hiatus due to 2 of the 4 members relocating for jobs.  We recorded an EP and most recently a full-length which was just pressed to vinyl and is available to purchase from shevil.bandcamp.com — only 100 copies pressed so get one while you can! Continue reading »