Press
Imagine running through a dark street of never ending industrial factories in the pouring rain, with the sound of wet footsteps and heavy machinery roaring away. A bit of a Blade Runner-like imagery comes to mind when listening to Brooklyn’s electro rock band Zigmat’s new album “Sounds Of Machines”. Originally known for their neon light shows and upbeat dance songs, Zigmat’s new creative direction has the lights turned down low, and the darker parts of the soul is explored.
Billboard En Espanol RCRD LBL:
In he “Light of the Moon,” Brooklyn-via-Puerto Rico’s Monica Rodriguez sounds bewitchingly like Beth Gibbons of The Gossip while the electronic synth and electric guitar twangs carve a strikingly “Gossip”-esque beat. Don’t believe me? Listen to The Gossip’s “Yr Mangled Heart” and then this Zigmat track and you may be convinced to send Rick Rubin a briefing that Beth’s got East Coast competition. Regardless, “Light of the Moon” is a bad-ass (and slightly sadistic) tune- about medicating your (mangled?) heart and then making love by the light of the moon. Bewitching indeed.
One of the greatest surprises of last year’s Latin Alternative Music Conference (an international showcase of Latin music that does not include salsa) was Brooklyn’s Zigmat, which stole the show with sets at The Mercury Lounge and at SOBs—not an easy task with so many new bands vying for the spotlight.
Straight out of Brooklyn, Zigmat is a relatively new group who sounds like the Talking Heads but looks more like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Monica, the lead singer, started singing in a high falsetto and immediately went into a robot dance.
Tales Of A Twenty Something NeuFutur Magazine:
The band brings so many different styles and approaches to listeners on this album that it would be a disservice to music generally if they never break the radio charts. The high replay value, strong production value, and diversity of sounds present during the disc’s tracks ensure that individuals, should they know about it, would line up for this disc. Zigmat is a fusion band, and they never even touch jazz music! Buy this album, listen and learn to love it, for Zigmat will be an act that individuals are influenced by in the next few years.
One new band that is just starting to break here on the East Coast is the electronic aggregation ZIGMAT, fronted by the lovely Monica Rodriguez and Stephen Yonkin. This band is a melange of electronics, working with rock ‘n roll and r&b.
As we have said, their debut is a revelation: Arresting, compelling, and very, very viable music. The second half of this year belongs to them, no question.
To be honest, “electronica” doesn’t do enough to describe the band’s sound, which strikes me as more sophisticated and mature, with a fusion of many musical genres punctuated by electronic textures. The opening track of Sounds of Machines, “Wait”, has cool jazz flavors, while “Light of the Moon” sounded post-punk influenced. “Machine” seemed somewhat gothic and industrial. This album is really rich, and it’s difficult to separate every nuance of style as there is just so much there to wade through.
