Frenchy and the Punk have returned to the forefront with the "Zen Ghost" album. For those who may not be familiar with them, they are an accomplished alternative post-punk duo, comprised of guitarist Scott Helland and singer Samantha Stephenson, who have released some brilliant albums together. Let's welcome Samantha, who answered our call and spoke with Dimitris Zacharopoulos. She had a lot of interesting things to say, indeed! 

When, where and under which circumstances was Frenchy and the Punk formed?

We met in 1998 in NYC. We were both fueling our creative projects with temp jobs, Scott his music, and me, my art. Scott had stopped playing in the punk scene and was working on his solo music project and I had turned my back on the corporate life, was taking art classes and trying to figure out my way.  It wasn’t long before we were collaborating creatively, for example Scott provided music for one of my art installations, but it wouldn’t be until 2005 that we started playing music together.

Introduce us to your new, seventh album, “Zen Ghost”. How do you feel about this album now, some months after the official release? Are you satisfied with the response of the media and the fans?

The response to “Zen Ghost” has been extraordinary. We’re really happy with how the album came out and with the response not only from our fans but from people who are just discovering us. We’ve received a lot of great reviews and the record really seems to resonate. 

How would you describe the differences between “Zen Ghost” and your previous albums?

Our albums to date have consistently been inconsistent style-wise although there is an undeniable Frenchy and the Punk thread that brings that all together.  Each album has had songs that have different moods and have been genre fluid. We have traditionally mixed modern cabaret style songs that tell a story with gothy darker songs and a splattering of pop. “Zen Ghost” highlights the darker more gothy and post-punk vibe style that we both love.

How would you define the music style of Frenchy and the Punk? Describe your music with five adjectives!

It’s a mix of the punk energy and European sensibilities. Scott is coming from a Hardcore Punk background and I’m coming from a classical dance and art background. Those are two opposites that somehow we are able to mix together to make our weird quirky style. Five adjectives?… energetic, moody, dramatic, exhilarating and mystical.

Who is responsible for your music and lyrics? Where do you draw inspiration from?

Scott comes up with riffs and chord progressions and we work on the melody and arrangements together. I write the lyrics. Musically, Scott draws inspiration from his vast knowledge and experience of music. His music interests are wide, however he tends to draw inspiration from guitar based music. He likes everything from punk, metal, rock to post-punk, goth and surf.

For my lyrics, I am inspired by observed moments, films, art, nature, conversations, dreams, nightmares, books, a seemingly mundane chore that suddenly sparks an idea. Inspiration is all around us, there is an endless supply that can trigger a thought that can then lead to an idea to be explored.

What do your lyrics refer to?

My path to writing and playing music has been an unexpected one. My lyrics deal quite a bit with my mental and emotional struggle to lead the life that I wanted to. One that was creative without constraint and with as much freedom and independence I could garner. I am somewhat obsessed with the idea that we all have talents/interests that we are meant to explore, I don’t mean just in only artistic ways. No matter what you do in life, if you are doing what is truly your calling, doing what you are interested in, you can bring it to an art.

Describe the recording and the production process of the new album.

We started writing during the pandemic. We wanted to explore the more atmospheric and moody aspects of our musical voice. It’s something we’ve wanted to do and the pandemic seemed to bring that out, it was obviously time to do so. We write at home and perform the songs in our rehearsal studio before taking them to a professional studio. We recorded in New Paltz NY at Split Rock Records.

Your music is emotional and dark. Which feelings of yours do you try to express through your music?

I try to convey the feeling of overcoming things that can constrain us, of moving beyond the darkness of our fears and mind imprints that shadow us, that follow us and can block our way. And of course love. I come from a dance background so I am naturally attracted to the visceral nature of music. I want to feel it. I dive into the well of experiences to unearth tiny glimpses into knowing myself and the world around me. Hopefully those glimpses resonate as shared human experiences.

How do you sound live in concert? How important are live shows for you? What are your tour plans?

Live, we create a wall of sound when we are performing the full arrangement songs. Scott does live guitar looping so he loops the bass line and then plays the guitar melodies on top of that. I am smashing cymbals and playing tambourine as I sing providing percussion to the mix, so we sound like more than two people. On the other hand, we also have our more stripped down cabaret songs that have a different vibe perhaps more theatrical. We love playing live, and both love being onstage. I can’t imagine writing songs and not performing them. This year we’ll be hitting it hard to tour for “Zen Ghost”. We’re building a comprehensive tour in the US and we’ll be in the UK and Europe in July and August as well. All our tour dates are on our website as well as on our Bands in Town page.

How did the pandemic affect you as musicians and people?

The pandemic forced us to stop. We’ve been touring since 2005 and it felt like we were always on the move. The pandemic was very jolting. It was the first time in 15 years that we were at home for an extended period of time. Honestly, as much as it was difficult, since playing music is our livelihood, it was a welcomed break from the constant running. It also allowed us to really sink our teeth into writing the new record. Scott was even able to write and record and release the Spy Detective Collective album for his Guitarmy of One solo project. We did a ton of live streams right from the get go as all our tours were cancelled, including our European tour. Strangely, we started a Patreon in February 2020 just before the pandemic hit so we were busy with creating for that and it really helped so much. Another thing is it became very clear to us that all the touring and endless work we did for those 15 years had actually built something real as we received so much support and love from our fans around the world during that difficult time. I think in a general sense, the pandemic cemented the feeling that we need to cherish every moment and live to the fullest.

If you had the chance to collaborate with a famous artist, who would he/she be?

Scott says he would love to collaborate with Robert Smith, Rob Halford, Tobias Forge and Siouxsie Sioux!

Ah, so many! But I think it would be really fun to collaborate with Tim Burton on a project.

Send a message to the fans!

We can’t wait to see you at a show! Thank you for sticking by us and we hope to continue to create work that you love. If you are doing things in your life that nurture you and bring you joy, bravo! If not, what are you waiting for? Do it, things can surprisingly open for you when you do the things that are in your heart to do. Daring to be ourselves, to create the lives we want so badly to have is revolutionary work. We all have something to share and to offer the world.

 https://frenchyandthepunk.bandcamp.com/album/zen-ghost

Music has no boundaries, no limits, and The Pull of Autumn is another good example of that. Let's welcome here this extraordinary project/band/supergroup from USA, which is formed around Daniel Darrow and Luke Skyscraper and involves many other great musicians from all over the world. This music collective released the "Beautiful Broken World" some months ago and Myth of Rock spoke with Daniel Darrow about ... almost everything! 

by Dimitris Zacharopoulos

When, where and under which circumstances was The Pull of Autumn formed? Give us a short biography of The Pull of Autumn.

The Pull of Autumn was formed in early 2018, my goal early on was to collaborate with like minded artists locally and globally. What started as a small project quickly bloomed into a worldwide collaboration featuring many of todays finest independent artists. Since 2018 we have released 4 albums with each being a step forward from the last.

Why did you name the project/band The Pull of Autumn?

One of my favorite bands called epic 45 had an early album called “Against the pull of autumn” and living in New England the term “Pull of Autumn” spoke to me on a personal level.

A couple of months ago you released your new album, “Beautiful Broken World”. How do you feel about that? What would you change to this new album now, if you had the opportunity?

I feel the new album was a giant step forward lyrically, compositionally and most importantly a personal production evolution. I don’t think I’d change a thing as it speaks to a moment in time.

How would you describe the music of The Pull of Autumn? Which are the trademarks of your music?

I would describe it as genre defying music. No styles are unwelcome. Some trademarks I guess I would say are neo-classical, folk music, jazz and post rock.

Where would you trace the differences between the new album and the previous albums?

I would say each release is capturing a moment in time and each one represents the growth in musical and production styles.

Who is responsible for the music and the lyrics of The Pull of Autumn?

A wide range or artists contribute to the lyrics and music of The Pull of Autumn. In the end though I am given complete freedom to do what I would like with each track. 

Which are the topics of your lyrics?

The lyrics cover a wide range of depth and emotion, to be interpreted individually by each listener. 

Your music is emotional and atmospheric. How would you describe the atmosphere and the feeling of your songs?

We pull from every direction as far as the emotion in the music, each track creates a world of its own design. 

Which are your ambitions for The Pull of Autumn?

I have no ambitions beyond meeting friends and creating new music with new and familiar artists alike. 

How did the pandemic affect you?

A sense of isolation was felt by the world, the only positive that came out of it was the ability to hunker down in the studio and completely get absorbed into my music.

What do you think about the war against Ukraine?

Just another example of a scared little dictator (Putin) trying to assert his power only to show his weakness.

In the new album you collaborate with many well-known musicians. How was it collaborating with such musicians?

It was a great thrill to have such noteworthy artists reach out to me for the album. It was equally thrilling to have lesser known artists have there music shared to a wider audience for the first time.

Which are your plans for the future?

I have already started work on new music with an eye to the future and expanding the sound pallet of The Pull of Autumn.

Send a message to the fans!

Thank you to everyone for all the support and listens to our music, it is deeply appreciated from each and every musician involved. 

https://thepullofautumn.bandcamp.com/album/beautiful-broken-world

If beautiful melodies is what you seek in music, then you have to listen to Karamelien. That's how the new band of singer/songwriter Léanie Kaleido is named, a music project, which has already gifted us excellent, passionate and dreamy songs. Listen for example to Karamelien's new single, "Wait For Me", a wonderful track with a super-catchy and emotional refrain! Enchanted and touched, Myth of Rock had the chance to talk with Léanie, who was so polite and detailed in her answers!

by Dimitris Zacharopoulos

Introduce Karamelien to the fans!

Karamelien is a new project that I created to experiment more with hip hop beats and chilled out, groovy basslines. Having released three albums under my own name (the first album was actually called "Karamelien"), I felt that having a band name would help me to explore music with less inhibition. It seems to be working so far – I'm definitely enjoying a new sense of freedom! Come find me on Bandcamp at https://karamelien.bandcamp.com

Some days ago, you released the single “Wait For Me”. Give us all the information about this song.

‘Wait For Me’ was inspired by a story I heard about someone who had strong visions and dreams, seemingly from a previous life, which was then backed up by their research into it. The story, which has been turned into a book, touches on themes of war, love, loss and reincarnation. So, the song itself is a love song from beyond the grave. I think it will speak to anyone who feels enduring love for someone they have lost and will reassure them that, perhaps, that enduring love is still felt by the person on the other side.

How would you describe the music of Karamelien? If your music was a colour, what colour would it be?

It’s chilled out, poetic piano-based indie pop, with hints of folk, blues and psychedelia. Colour? Hmmm. I’d say it’s a kind of peacock blue. Like our logo. But with added streaks of purple and pink.

Who is responsible for the music and the lyrics of Karamelien? What gives you the inspiration to make music and write lyrics?

I write all my songs, although my guitarist Mark does have some ideas floating about that we may try to collaborate on in the future. My inspiration has always been the simple fact that I need to write songs to make sense of life. I write about my experiences, things I read, see, hear. Everything that goes into my head gets mushed up and somehow, I sort it out by turning it all into songs.

What are the topics of your lyrics?

My lyrics have covered everything from the usual love and loss, to more humorous ideas, like exploding breast implants (“Silicone Valerie”, off the début album “Karamelien”), recurring dreams (“Wake Up Stupid”, off the 2^nd album “Quicksands & Shadows”) and then just little moments in life that mean something. Like the time a dragonfly hitched a lift with me in my car (“Mr Dragonfly”, also off the 2^nd album). The third album, “How to Weigh a Weigh a Whale Without a Scale”, produced by Mark Gardener of RIDE, is a collection of songs that celebrate getting older and more comfortable with yourself. “Teapot Girl” is about freeing yourself of everyone else’s crap and making room for your own needs and wants. “Kite String Mantra” is a collection of inspirational quotes or phrases that I’ve collected over time and that make me feel good. “Someone’s Daughter” is about overcoming the struggle of feeling I’ve never really belonged anywhere. “Ascension Heights”, our first release as Karamelien, is about my father’s lifelong exploration of spirituality. He passed away very recently, so it is my tribute to him and his music (it samples his own track of the same name).

Your music is emotional and atmospheric. How would you describe the atmosphere and the feeling of your songs?

I’d say my songs are often melancholic but with an uplifting outcome. I’ve always loved sad songs. They make me feel better. So, I suppose my songs can be a little downbeat - but usually with a positive message or a twinkle in my eye!

How do you sound live in concert? How important are live shows for you? What are your tour plans?

I’m not a natural performer. I’ve suffered very badly with stage fright my whole life. People don’t notice because I talk a lot between songs - usually silly things come out and luckily people seem to find me quite funny, so I think that puts them – and me - at ease! We’re still performing as a duo and we’re using pre-laid tracks and drum beats to create as full a sound as possible. This was important to me for this project, to get away from my singer-songwriter persona a little bit. Obviously, I’m still a singer-songwriter, but this project gives me a bit of a ‘character’ to play on stage. Being a mum, touring widely isn’t an option for me at the moment, but we play when we can, at venues in the south east and London. If the opportunity comes up, we might look at playing overseas again in the future.

How did the pandemic affect you?

I still managed to record my third album between lockdowns, so in one sense it was a great opportunity to focus on that. I was still working at the time, in a school, and my job was to go in and look after the kids who had to continue with school – either because their parents worked in key roles (nurses, police, etc.), or because their challenging home lives meant that they were safer at school. So, I maintained some sense of normality and routine during that time. It also meant my own son could carry on going to school, which I think was good for him. I’m now songwriting full-time, but I do miss my school days.

What do you think about the war against Ukraine?

I’m proud to share my birthday with John Lennon (9^th October) and I’m proud to share his views on war too. I think anyone who isn’t an arsehole would agree that war is a monstrosity, however it is played out. We are blessed with the opportunity to inhabit this planet. We need to cherish it, but we don’t own any of it. So how can anyone lay claim to land? Let people be. Live and let live. Get on with making the world better and healthier. I’m not as good as Lennon as articulating my views so let’s just say, the war in Ukraine makes me very sad. I should mention my lovely mum, Julia, who works with a charity that transports much-needed supplies out to Ukraine. They work so hard and I’m really proud of her. Our second single, "Lionhearts", was written as a reminder that, in spite of all the horror in the media, the world is still very much full of love. And people who aren’t arseholes!

If you had the chance to collaborate with a famous artist, who would he/she be?

If I could choose someone who has passed away to come back and work with me, I’d choose Bowie. I’m a huge Joan Armatrading fan but she vehemently avoids listening to anyone else’s music, so she’s blown her chance with me! And of course, I’ve had the pleasure of working with my idol Mark Gardener already. So, David, please come back. I love you and I think we could make beautiful music together.

If you had a time machine, to which time period would you travel?

I’d have to stop off at the 1970s, when I was growing up and loving life. Then I’d be a Viking. But a peaceful one.

Send a message to the fans!

Fans. I know you’re out there. But please could you shout a bit louder? I’m getting on a bit and I need you to press play on my tunes as much as possible. Your support means the world to me, thank you!

Siena Root is one of the most significant Swedish bands, when it comes to vintage heavy rock. A band with more or less 2 decades of a very distinctive, soulful, and organic sound, very well rooted in the 60s and 70s, with an outstanding career and great albums throughout the years. ‘Revelation’ is their upcoming album, which sounds amazingly good, a record which solidifies their sound, is true to their past but is looking promisingly to the future with a dynamic and ‘classic’ (to the band’s standards) approach. Myth of Rock had the privilege to speak – among other things – about it with Love Forsberg, the band’s drummer/percussionist who was one of the founding members of the band and is one of the most fitting persons to discuss with us all matters around Siena Root’s past, present and future.

by Antonis Mantzavinos

Good afternoon my friend, how are you doing? Where do we find you?

 Hello Antonis, I am doing fine, I am just home now, from some appointments, returned home and I need to go to a dinner first and then off to the rehearsal room, so, quite a busy Sunday I must say!

I would like to start with the upcoming album, soon to be released. What is the story behind the title first of all? Any specific meaning that you would like to share with us?

Yeah, some might think that it has something religious about it. I wouldn’t say it’s like that because none of us is specifically religious at all. We were writing and recording this album in a long period of time, first we thought ‘Maybe it would be an all-acoustic album’. But then after a while, we discovered that these electric songs are really nice and they fit together with the acoustic songs, both theme wise and lyrically wise. Then we had the whole album recorded, and we thought ‘Ok, what’s the name of the album going to be?’. We listened to it and it sounds like a dynamic root revelation!

Give us a little bit of the background for writing songs on this one. I know also that you had the album ready a bit earlier as well, so I am interested to hear the story behind making this wonderful record, one of my favorite of the band.

Well, what I can say about it and as I said before, it was during a long period of time, there was covid, we realized that it was not possible to tour and make any live shows at all in the year 2020. So, we thought like, what are we gonna do? So, let’s record some new material. So, it was difficult to keep up with the steady work, when there was not live show, Siena Root is a live band what we got used to be active on stage and play live gigs and be close to the people and our fans. We had to figure something out. It just happened naturally that this recording took a lot of time. At first, we recorded it in Dalarna, in a studio outside of Borlänge, called Omnivox. We recorded there our last album “The secret of our time”. But then it started out the guy who owned the studio, wanted to do a video of the studio itself and our recording sessions, and we thought, ok, let’s try out. Like many other things with Siena Root, it blows up and becomes big! After a while, we thought that this is not working out. The studio owner went one direction, and we went another direction. The film maker was fine doing a lot of shooting but at the end, we had an album and a movie, about 40 mins long. A documentary about how the album was actually made and recorded. So, here we are now, 3 years later!

Thank you for all this trivia, this is quite interesting and detailed!
Siena Root has evolved a lot as a band to my opinion. Keeping its core sound values and DNA, it has developed throughout the years. How do you perceive this change over the course of time?

Oh, yeah, that is a tough one, very good question actually! Wrapping up 20 years of development is not a n easy task! You are right, that some things stayed the same and some others simply doesn’t. Like it can become obvious to some people, the lineup has been changing but it has been a steady change so far I must say. This is the first album with the same vocalist we used on the exact previous album. Zubaida is doing a great job, both singing the songs but also writing songs and lyrics. She is a very dedicated band member; this is a big change that has happened during the recent years. But what I can also say is that, with the first album, being a steady 4 piece into a more hippie collective that has been incorporating guest artists to then come back again into a steady member band, it has been a fantastic trip for us! It’s also about, not focusing too much on the personnel or the lineup per se, but the music, the ideas, the inspirations. There are many bands out there that want to do AC/DC, keep the same line up and write the same songs over and over. Not many bands manage that, because it is so damn hard to doit! We always wanted to stay fresh and stay on our toes and move forward in the song writing and try new ideas about how to write songs and inspirations, everything from vintage music to North African inspired music, etc. We necessarily don’t want to be repetitive, not make the same songs again and again, even though you can hear a lot of resemblance in our albums of course.

Coming back to ‘Revelation’, I must say that an amazing work has been done on the overall production and the warm and organic sound on all songs, but I must specifically praise the vocals of Zubaida on this album, where she absolutely shines! She has a fantastic voice and is a great performer as well. How did it come up working with her and what do you think about her contribution on the Siena Root sound? To me, she perfectly fits on this modern-vintage version of the band which I really like.

Yeah, I can just say that I noticed her on several occasions, when she played with the Frank Zappa cover band, I am huge fan of Frank Zappa myself, she did an amazing work there. She has done some blues stuff as well, so I had a pretty good image of her playing live. I instantly noticed that she has a unique music talent. She plays fantastic keyboards too, you have seen that yourself, right?

Absolutely, I remember the last time I saw Siena Root in Nalen and she was awesome behind the keyboards too!

When we came to the position that she has done guest performances with us, both Matte and Eric, were not able to be on tour with us anymore. It was very natural to ask her, she was very hungry for new music and to participate with the band. It was really nice to welcome her in the SR family, and as you say, her voice is perfect for what the bands plays and wants to play. She is also becoming a very good keyboard player, evolving further.

What is the story of Siena Root? How did the band start and evolved throughout the years? You have collaborated with so many different musicians and have done so many excellent records, live albums, etc. And also, what are you most proud of about the band? The latter is a question, I have always wanted to ask you, since I heard the band many years back and first saw you playing with the band in Greece.

That’s a really nice question actually, thank you for this! First time anybody asked me about this! What comes naturally to me is that we have managed to stay true to keeping the music and art in the first place and put priority in the fun and the having a good time together playing together. Putting art in the first place, rather than this is what the fans wanna hear or this sells more records. Of course, we think about these things as well, no question about it. But on the forefront as a priority for us is music and art put in the core and as a priority. We always come back to if we don’t like this or the sound or fancy doing this song or this riff and melody, we don’t do it at all, there is no point. Very often, we play on the shows the songs that we think fit most of the current lineup at the given time. Its not necessarily the most popular songs. I am really happy and proud of that. If you listen only to what others like or say, then you find yourself in a very difficult situation. It’s easy to get lost and I see that in many bands, it is not appealing to me, the way I see things.

Have you played in another band/project in your career? And also give us a short description of how you started playing music yourself, what have been your main personal influences, etc.

Oh, ok, when I was younger I was playing in cover bands and smaller bands of course, nothing big. Currently I have this solo project, called ‘Unconditional Love’, it was released last year from Root Rock Records. Sam plays bass on many songs, K-G previously in Siena Root plays keys and a little bit guitar, Erik plays a bit of keys on 2 songs, it’s my project that I started during covid, where I elaborate with famous speeches and the beat, the rhythm, I write songs from famous speeches, e.g.: Martin Luther King Jr., Greta Thunberg, etc. So, I am pretty excited about it! It’s on LP and almost the entire album is on Spotify. I did the arrangements; a bit of songwriting was done together with my fellow musicians, and I also produced the album myself. The lyrics is all pre-recorded from famous speeches, there are 8 tracks with 8 different speakers.

This is definitely very inspirational and intriguing! Sounds really cool and reveals another creative part of you!

Yes, I am very happy about it!
Coming back to your question about what made me started playing music, I was in a music school where my dad encouraged me, doing classic percussion, but it was so appealing to me. After a while, in the higher school grade, I discovered that it was possible to play the drum kit with my school friends, we started playing the music we were listening to, like Guns N Roses, Black Sabbath, etc. And then like everyone else I guess, I tried to find my own way, I started my own bands, and then I met Sam on a birthday party of a mutual friend of course, we thought, let’s try to form a band, we both like the same stuff, like KISS! After a while it became what we called Siena Root!

Coming to the contemporary times, what could you share with us about the movie premiere on Thursday February 23^rd of ‘Wheels of Revelation’?

Actually, you need to come and watch yourself on Thursday in Stockholm, you’re gonna like it! It is a documentary about the recording of the album, a very nice movie, around 40 mins.

Something between a road movie, full of pictures, without dialogues, and a lot of Swedish countryside!

If you had to name only one as the very special gig that Siena Root has played all those years so far, what would that be? Tough choice I know, but let’s try to pick one very unique for you.

Ha-ha, I think that, playing in Germany, it was Burg-Herzberg-Festival in 2005. Fantastic experience! A very special thing for me personally… We did not know what to expect at that time, we didn’t have any sleep at all the night before, we were locked out of our apartment, the trip from Berlin down to mid Germany and showing up on stage in front of thousands of people, totally sleep deprived, in a huge hippie event! We were gonna do the show just before Ten Years After! I thought it was a crazy and hilarious moment!

That must have definitely been very special, absolutely I can imagine that!
The last word is on you: any special message to the fans out there?

 I am very much looking forward to meeting you all on stage after all these years of not having concerts, so, let’s see you all out there!

Thank you so much for today, I hope to see you soon out there in a gig.

Thank you very much Antonis, always a pleasure! See you in Stockholm next Thursday, let’s have some fun!