A Chat with Polymer (17.08.2020)
Combining polished rock melodies with emotive vocals, Polymer has proved that they are one of the bands to watch. Their previous singles have gained them a following that is sure to grow with the upcoming release of their debut album Zealots Box. Together, Anthony Semrani (vocals/guitar), Constantine Kotsiras (drums) and Adam Barns (bass) have created a dark and moody album that will hold your attention from start to finish. We sat down with Anthony Semrani to talk about the album, their music and much more!
OSR: How did the band get together?
Semrani: Constantine and I stepped into a studio for a recording session, Adam, the owner, was the engineer and producer. There was a real good energy between us all and pretty soon after that, the opportunity came to work together and we jumped at it.
OSR: What or who inspires your music?
Semrani: Inspiration comes from everywhere, I’m a big believer in being as receptive as I can to everything around me, sometimes the most simple things can spark you off on a tangent, and away you go.
Musicians and acts such as David Bowie, Eddie Vedder, Led Zeppelin, Soundgarden, Foo Fighters, System of a Down and Queens of the Stone Age continue to be the benchmark
OSR: Is there a theme to Zealots Box?
Semrani: Zealots Box is a stripped-down, honest reflection of where and what we were thinking at the time. Asking of ourselves, and everyone, for justification, governments, society, friends, relationships and our place in the world.
OSR: What is your favourite and least favourite track from the album?
Semrani: My favourite track off the album would be ‘Zealot’, it’s layered with so much emotion, it’s atmospheric, lyrically I loved writing this. As the first track on the album, I think it creates an atmosphere that hopefully the listener can relate to and set into the album.
I can’t say I have a least favourite track on the album, only to say, not all stories have a happy ending, or a happy beginning, being a songwriter, you can always pinpoint where and when you were when the song was born.
OSR: If you could perform live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
Semrani: I’ve watched a lot of incredible artists play at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney, its big enough to create an unbelievable atmosphere and still be intimate.
OSR: What is the biggest challenge you faced when recording Zealots Box?
Semrani: One of the biggest challenges we had in recording was narrowing down exactly what we wanted the album to sound like, getting all the tones the way we like, mainly the guitar tones. Having a great bass tone really helped as well as being able to record the drums in a big empty warehouse.
OSR: If you were a tree, what tree would you be and why?
Semrani: Redwood, they are so big and tall, I bet they’d have a great view from the top.
OSR: What do you feel makes your music unique?
Semrani: I think our music is honest, it’s written by creative minds and their perspectives. I think I’d rather be considered as a good musician than unique. Unique can sometimes just be typical of an era, I want to be able to write music and songs that I will still think relevant in 20 years.
OSR: If you could have listeners take one thing away from your music, what would it be?
Semrani: I’d like them to revisit.
OSR: After the pandemic, are you planning a tour or gigs?
Semrani: Absolutely, we’d love to be back out playing some shows, there’s always things in the pipeline, but things are so uncertain at the moment, so we’ll wait and see.
OSR: What else can we expect from Polymer in the future?
Semrani: When life gives you lemons, make music! We’ve tried to make the most out of this year, writing a stack of new material that we are hoping to record very soon, in a new warehouse!
Thanks to Anthony Semrani for chatting with us! You can find more about Polymer on their website, Facebook, Twitter and Spotify.
