By Keith Walsh
This is something very special coming out of Slovenia. I’m sure there’s much more going on there that’s newsworthy, but at the moment I’m in touch with Enej Mavsar of Body Says No, and he’s got this amazing new video for the song “Zinc.”
https://youtu.be/MrkwCK6Hz3A
The song itself is anxious and wonderful, and the video by Stella Hood just adds to the beauty. I asked Mavsar about the drive behind the song and the meanings behind the apparent anxiety and concerns about bad habits. And it turns out that this confessional song has a connection to another brilliant songwriter who struggled with pain. Mavsar writes: “ I am not good with lyrics. Only comfort for me is when I heard Lennon say in one documentary that these are just words that he puts together. And sometimes they have a meaning. Well that’s just what I do in most of the occasions. Sometimes it happens I write all in one piece but that’s rare as truth these days.”
The video for “Zinc” has a level of crazy energy that I’ll comment on in a future article (I’ve reached out to the artist Stella Hood, who lives in Germany) but for now it’s safe to say that much of the energy, apart from the passionate vocals, comes from the frenetic guitar performance.
“We used few different distortion overdrive pedals and fuzzes but I can’t recall which one exactly,” Mavsar says. “We also don’t have many pedals and money for them. and we use what we have on disposal. Marto played his 70’s Melodija guitar and I played my Yamaha (some kind of Strat copy shit) tuned to B.” (Editor’s note:Yamaha makes outstanding gear). “It’s a guitar I use only for Suzi soprano but I wanted to go deep below. We also tried 2 different amps for my guitar. Martin used his crazy FBT amp. pic attached. he always comes with some old freaky used stuff. We just layered the guitars. I think also Miha Arnuš that mixed it analog and very garage style added something to it. I really enjoy the mixing session because there was no science. From start to finish. boom. Analog old desk and effects and comps etc.”
I also asked Mavsar the meaning of the word Zinc in the song, and suggested that zinc plays a role in the treatment of viruses. He was elusive but said “Yeah, I am aware, some people find simple solutions for themselves and that’s great.” But he was unclear when I pressed him about the actual meaning of the word Zinc. “I don’t know what it is but I love it,” he wrote. quoting a line from the song.
Body Says No features Enej Mavsar on guitar and vocal, Blaž Kocina on drums, Jošt Drašler on bass, and Martin Ukmar on guitar and keyboards.
Check out this fascinating video and follow Body Says No on social media.
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