Zeptepi
Zeptepi was born early in 2001, the brainchild of songwriter Phil Dean. The band is based in Melbourne, Australia, Phil relocating there from England at the turn of the new millennium. Influenced by a disparate group of artists including The Waterboys, The Only Ones, Kate Bush and The Dubliners, Zeptepi have been taking a dynamic live show around Australia for the last five years, a refreshing blast of music infused with soul and passion, majestic highs and tranquil lows. Initially started as a solo project, Zeptepi soon became a full band and have now released two albums on their own label – Travelling Through Time (2005) and Universality (2007). The music refuses to fit neatly into any one category, following no fashion… leaping from new wave to rock and to folk with an effortless ease. The band are currently working on their third album, following the music wherever it leads with a new line-up comprising Phil Dean (vocals/guitar), Bernie Dodd (drums), Frank Packer (bass) and Hayley Anderson (violin). |
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Interview
What was the name Zeptepi derived from? Zeptepi, or more correctly Zep Tepi, is an ancient Egyptian phrase,
meaning 'the beginning of time'.
What bands most influence your music?
Probably the biggest influence of the music we're doing now would be The
Waterboys and Luke Kelly. I could add dozens of names to the list though
- New Model Army, The Only Ones, Kate Bush, Ewan MacColl, Neil Young,
The Doors, to name but a few.
Do any of the members of the band surf?
Nah, despite being based in Australia none of us are surfers. Surfing
the web is as close as we get. Despite this, we have now had our songs
used on four surfing and three extreme sport movies, which never ceases
to surprise us!
Any fun things happening at the moment?
Yeh, it's a busy time in the Zeptepi camp at present. We've been
recording heaps of new material over the last 12 months, working towards
a new album, muck folkier songs and sound this time around. We're just
about to film a video clip for one of the new songs which is always
great fun.
Any plans to make it over to the states?
We'd love to make it to the States, the band always seems to get a good
reaction from Americans, we've had a lot of support from there. But
flying anywhere from Australia costs a fortune and for an independent
band like us to do an overseas tour is just not financially viable. But
who knows? Hopefully one day...
If you could write up a script for the future of the band, how would it play out?
I really don't know! As long as we keep playing and recording we'll be
happy, and it would be nice to build up a big back catalogue of work
over the forthcoming years, something tangible to show for all the hard
work. It would be wonderful to tour Europe and America at some point,
I'd love to play Glastonbury too, but any recognition or reward we get
is frankly a bonus. But looking to the future is a bit of a fools game
really, all that matters is the present.
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