I don’t know which I’m more enthused about, the news that ZONES has a new single, “The Syzygy”, from a forthcoming new album called The State of Light, or the song’s interactive, multi-coloured light show video courtesy of LA artist Vinyl Williams. Together, song and video create a kaleidoscopic alignment of Williams’ other-dimensional spatial creation and mind-expanding psychedelic-disco sounds of ZONES’s Derek McKeon.
Videos that force me to click and drag don’t usually do anything for me, but Williams’ creation isn’t anything familiar. Elements floating by seem to be based in reality, but untethered from earthly references, they take on a whole different perspective. The same is true of “The Syzygy”. McKeon’s three-part suite of cosmic psych-pop uses familiar musical touchstones like disco and funk that make you want to dance and drop out all at the same time. In comparison to the work of ZONES’s excellent 2016 release After Image, “The Syzygy” feels more focused and like an evolutionary step forward.
