The Headline Act: Zi Zi Tops

Humanzi are a band that move fast. Just over a year into their existence, they have already secured a high-profile Landsdowne Road support slot with the Pixies, and have signed a lucrative record deal with Fiction/Polydor. Many artists wait years for this sort of exposure, yet for Humanzi it felt like it had not come soon enough.
“It was going on for a while, so to actually sign (the record deal) was a relief,” explains Shaun Mulrooney (lead vocals, guitar and keyboards). “We have a real urgency, and we just want to get things moving as quickly as possible.”
The band cut their teeth on the Dublin gig circuit, and have a great affection for their home town’s music scene. However, they became somewhat frustrated with it, and felt they needed to concentrate their efforts elsewhere.
“We’ve all been in bands before, and we’ve just been totally, totally pissed off with it,” Mulrooney recalls. “For any band that’s been playing Dublin, and doing all the small clubs, it’s great. But, after a while, I think the best thing to do is go to the UK. It’s a lot more exciting, because it’s new to you. We toured with The Bravery, and we were playing in front of 2,000 people a night. That was a big jump for us, but we totally loved it.”
Humanzi have earned a reputation as a storming live act, and are currently in the process of trying to translate the energy of their gigs to the studio. They are still looking for the right producer for their debut album, and have tried three different knob-twiddlers so far. The band have a vision that may be hard to capture, as they want to incorporate their disparate sources of inspiration, while still sounding like a cohesive live unit.
“We’re trying to bring every one of our influences into it,” Mulrooney explains. “We just love bands that have tried everything, like the Clash. We’ll bring in everything from the rock aspect, the dance aspect, and the funk aspect.”
However, Humanzi want to achieve this synthesis within the rock-band format.
“There’s not going to be much samples or backing tracks, so we’re going to keep it as live and as raw as possible,” Mulrooney adds. “We’ve made a point of that – we want to sound like we’re a band playing. We don’t want to make it a bloody George Harrison All Things Must Pass. We’ll leave that until the second album!”
Mulrooney is also eager to find an audience for his particular brand of lyricism, which he describes as being a direct, honest social commentary.
“I’ve got a lot to say in my lyrics, so I just wanna get it out there, and get it to as many people as possible,” he says. “Do you remember that programme Catchphrase? I’m like that - I just say what I see! If I see stuff going on in Iraq I’ll write about it. I’ll write about me mates taking E. I just keep it simple.”
Mulrooney feels that this direct approach to lyric writing has fallen out of fashion, in favour of meaningless buzzwords and slogans.
“I think there’s too much mediocrity,” he observes. “There’s not enough real substance in lyrics, you know? Especially with a lot of stuff going on now, like The Killers. I mean, what the fuck is that? I just don’t understand it, “Boyfriend…girlfriend – whatever.”
He does concede that it is possible to make great music without much lyrical depth, though, but stresses that he would never work that way himself.
“I’m not gonna be the person who’s gonna preach: ‘Oh you gotta write great lyrics’, because some of the best songs ever are about nothing,” he admits. “But, I can’t make up a song about nothing. The stuff I feel strongly about, I will have to say it.”
Next up, Humanzi are putting out a limited edition 7”, which contains two tracks that the band produced themselves. The songs will not be part of their debut album, and the release will be limited to just 555 copies. Mulrooney explains: “We like the idea of doing stuff underground as well, putting it out just before we do a big release. We just feel it has a good energy off it.”
Humanzi’s momentum has been unstoppable, so far, but fate recently struck them a cruel blow. A night out that began at The Hives concert in Dublin’s Ambassador, finished up in hospital, as Mulrooney suffered a fractured heel. Currently on crutches, the singer has had to cancel some of the band’s exciting summer gig committments.
“We were supposed to be playing with the Queens Of The Stone Age, which is a pain in the bollox, 'cos we had to cancel that,” Mulrooney rues. “We also had to cancel T In The Park [in Scotland].”
However, he is eager to be back in action for Oxegen, and the Pixies concert.
“If it’s the last thing I do, I’m gonna play Oxegen, ‘cos we haven’t played here in so long,” Mulrooney says, determinedly. “I’ll play on crutches if I have to.”
Now that’s commitment.