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The Twists of Fate Reveal a Happening
Early Days
Zen Archeray
was formed in 2002, when Ray and Mark first met. The original idea was to form a classical guitar duo, but when they met they
discovered they were both songwriters. Realising that their songs had something quite unique, a singer-songwriter double-act
was formed.
The group grew to include a bass player, Graham
Thatcher, a hand-drummer, Madhava, who joined in 2002, and a backing singer, Becky Boyde, who joined in 2004.
Ray and Graham have been
playing music together since they were both in their early teens. They began their career as a blues rock band called Iron
Cloud and their gigs were aimed mainly at motorcycle gangs. This set-up then disbanded and the duo created another band
called 4 Days Growth – 4 members who, in the early 1980s, won the Birmingham and Bridgenorth rock band of the
year competition. Whilst both Ray and Graham were a part of this band, they played to Robert Plant, who made the comment,
without any knowledge of their history, that he could tell that these two had been playing together since they were kids.
During the time of 4 Days Growth, Mark was in a band called
The Kick. He gained recording contract interest from CBS, which resulted in some recordings which were sadly never
released.
After
4 Days Growth, in the early 1990s, Ray became lead guitarist in Journeyman, the brainchild of local Worcestershire
music scene regulars Paul Beadle and Andy Lindsay (who are still going strong). Paul had earlier been a close friend of drummer,
Shaun Williams - It was Shaun who, in the mid-80s, originally encouraged Paul to perform music (guitar and flute), both forming
their first band at Worcester College, for a brief stint, called Shub Ishnigarrab; often ‘affectionately’
referred to as Shove It In The Garage. After a 5 year period away in Yorkshire, where Shaun became involved in an
experimental trio called Neat Erik, he returned to Worcestershire and joined Ray and Paul et al in Journeyman
for approximately 14 months, gigging here and there around Worcester. Shaun and Ray were to collaborate again much later on
in Zen Archeray.
At the point where Ray joined Journeyman, he and Graham went their separate ways until they got back together again in 2002
to form Zen Archeray. Graham joined so that, instead of playing private-only gigs as Mark and Ray had done, they
could now perform publically, and for this they needed a bass player – Graham was the obvious candidate. So the musical
relationship between Ray and Graham began again, from where it had ended in the early 1990s. Graham has the natural ability
to pick up any piece of music very quickly from sight without the need to read music.
Ray first started playing with Madhava in the mid 1990s Bahjans,
which are Devotional Songs celebrating the “joy of being alive” (Ray Mytton). This partnership began after Ray
saw Madhava play tablas on BBC’s Top of the Pops with the much-loved Kula Shaker, and also on TFI
Friday on Channel 4.
Becky
joined Zen Archeray early on, after meeting Ray in a Day Centre for people with learning difficulties. Both of them
created a drum group for the clients called Turumbeat. Becky produces harmonies which give the sound that extra dimension,
that ‘something else’ to complete the audio experience.
These 5 founding members,
Ray, Mark, Graham, Becky and Madhava went on to produce their first album, Live Knows No Boundaries in 2004.
Modern Times
Between 2004 and the present day, there were many
different permutations of Zen Archeray in terms of numbers and personnel, and in public performance generally, which
was steady but sporadic due to work commitments and other musical projects. Mark and Ray are both very busy guitar teachers,
and both have been constantly busy one way or another in solo projects and other collaborations. (Madhava, a charismatic figure,
went on to become a lead player in the popular Malvern-based band, Transcendence.) On occasion, Zen Archeray
were joined for several gigs by Shaun on hand-drums, playing festivals such as West Fest, a Ledbury Benefit and the Upton
Water Festival.
In 2009,
Shaun became involved in recording drums for an original Mytton-penned number called My Horse is Crazy. He quickly
forgot about it, as things again went fairly quiet, until in 2011 when he was asked to join the filming with the rest of the
band at Colwall Village Hall for the soon-to-be-released promotional YouTube video for the same song. Shortly afterwards,
it was decided to see if any momentum could be built around the new sound that seemed to have appeared from that song. The
point being, for the first time, the usual ethnic percussion instruments had been replaced with a drum kit. But this was an
electronic drum kit, which seemed to lend itself well to the subtle nuances of the songs, and provide a distinct clarity which
might be lost with the usual boisterous and unmanaged sound of a typical acoustic kit. This was just as well, since Shaun
has done, but currently does not, possess an acoustic kit! On the other hand, the amplified percussion gives the
sound as a whole a new depth and balance, and the way the music is performed by all members has changed accordingly -
we think, for the better!
Zen Archeray is thus in
a process of resurrection and rebirth. There is a new-found enthusiasm and excitement about what is to come. A natural mystical
chemistry is being mixed and formulated. We feel it. We are more than comfortable with each other, but we are not complacent;
as we form the music, we find that the music is forming and re-shaping us. With a well-rounded mix of original tracks, thoughtful
ballads, playful sounds, we merge this within a set of popular and not-so-well-known cover songs. In the Summer of 2011, Zen
Archeray began its foray back into the world, playing at West Fest and a bit later, at the Super Spirit camp where they
played for over 2 hours to a delighted audience. The momentum grows. Look out for us soon!
band@zenarcheray.com
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