• First classical question: How did Zephyra come into being? Give us a bit of band history.

Tony and I started Zephyra just for fun back in 2009. Officially, we consider that we started around 2010/2011, since it was then that we began to take it seriously. In the beginning, we were only playing cover songs with a bit of our own written material. We did a couple of smaller shows and got hooked. Tony had been in bands since he was a teenager, but for me, Zephyra was my first band. I didn’t even sing-up in a professional way before all this. I blame Tony, he was the one who discovered me!
We are married and have been a couple since 2006, so he has heard me hum and sing in the kitchen for all these years.
Over the years, we have released a couple of EP’s and three full length albums. We have played at shows around both Sweden and Europe, and we are really confident in a live act. The lineup we have today makes us feel like a real family. We have so much fun together, and we are working hard towards the same goals. For us, that is a very important thing. Personal chemistry is a must in a tight band.

• The name Zephyra is intriguing; where did it come from and does it have any meaning?

The story behind the band name is actually pretty simple. Our dogs name is Zaphyra, and I simply did a re-writing of her name when we needed a band name. It stuck, and we have no plans of changing it.

• I listen to you and your band on YouTube, and to me you sound like warriors in the depth of the war.How would you describe your sound? true, traditional, epic or something else?

Great to hear that you discovered us on YouTube.
Our sound is a bit unique in the metal genre. We don’t have any boundaries when we do what we do. Labeling our music under a specific genre is hard, so we prefer to just call it melodic metal or melodic death metal. In reviews, we get to hear that we are everything from symphonic metal to melodic metal-core.

• What bands do you guys listen to?

In the band, we have a very varied taste of music when it comes to that we listen to. Everything from Pantera to Savatage,Iced Earth and Kamelot. Kujtim might be the one who listens to the heaviest, most brutal bands, while I might even listen to pop and classical music sometimes.

• Zephyra’s third studio album, ’FALL. RISE. CONQUER.’, was recorded, produced and released by Mikael Andersson, on SOUNDPORT, inthe beginning of April this year. From what I have seen and heard, people overall think it’s your most coherent, solid and ear-pleasing work to date, which I personally agree with. Do you see this album the same way?

Yes, we do. With each album produced, we find ourselves even more to the point. This album; ’FALL. RISE. CONQUER.’ really has all the elements that come to mind when we think of Zephyra. Varied, clean, heavy, harsh and diverse are some of the words to describe it. As a band, we think that you need to keep evolving both the sound and yourself, and never stop working forward.

• Who writes the songs for Zephyra?

Tony does the main songwriting for Zephyra. He writes full songs, instrumentally, including a melody, and the lyrics too. After that, I usually add some pre-production vocals to the recorded song. The rest of the band then adds their personal touch to the music and we begin rehearsing the songs until we are pleased with the result. This is how we have worked since the start, and it’s a way that works really well for us. We are not a band that writes songs in the rehearsal room.

• After your three Albums “MENTAL ABSOLUTION” (2014) and “AS THE WORLD COLLAPSES” (2016) & “FALL. RISE. CONQUER” (2019) and first single ” THE DARKEST BLACK” (2017), what are your plans for the future? Do you plan on recording any more albums?

Not at the moment. We have a great collection of songs to play at shows, and a lot of music out on the media. Right now, the focus is to be a great live band and to keep touring both in Sweden and abroad.

• How many copies were released and which medium was used for this new edition (CD, digital, vinyl, cassette)?

At first, we only released the new album on all digital platforms. Releasing a physical album involves a huge cost, and we weren’t able to take it. Our fans convinced us though, and about two weeks after the digital release, they were able to get the album on a physical CD. We are happy that we made that decision, and we are also happy that our fans understands how the music industry works. It ain’t millions of dollars flowing.

• Do you have any plans to shoot a professional video for one of the songs off this new record?

We have already done three music videos which are from the new album, and they are all released on YouTube. The videos were made for the songs ’Fånge i Frihet’, ’Dreams Denied’ and the cover of ’Nothing Else Matters’.

• What’s your outlook on the record industry today in Sweden?

I guess Sweden is going in the same direction as most countries. The record stores have been closing down since at least 10 years, and there has been more focus on digital platforms. Some really nerdy record shops are still open though, mostly in the bigger cities.

• What is your view on the bands (Rock/Metal) in North Africa and the Middle East? Have you ever met any Arab bands at any festival?

I have the same respect for all bands and musicians. I know how much work it takes to follow your dream. In some countries, the way of work is more difficult than others due to their laws, but we all have to walk down the same alley of passion and stubbornness and keep the motivation along the way. I don’t know if we have encountered some bands that are specifically Arab.

• I met with some melodic death metal from Sweden (like ARCH ENEMY and DARK TRANQUILITY) in Morocco, and as a Moroccan fan of this kind of music, my question is: what’s the magic touch of the Swedish melodic death metal bands?

Haha, good question! In Sweden, we happen to have that magical “Gothenburg sound”, that has inspired a lot of bands over the years. It started back in the early 90’s with bands like At The Gates, Dark Tranquility and In Flames.

• Through your participation in many concerts and festivals in Sweden and abroad, have you noticed a difference among the fans’ reactions to your performance outside of Sweden?

We feel that the crowd abroad is more willing to go to concerts and shows every day of the week. In Sweden, it is harder to find good clubs that will take in smaller and middle sized bands for good shows. As a band, it is also easier to get a fair payment for your shows abroad. I cannot answer why this is how it is, it’s just something we have noticed while working with bookings and performances.

• How and where can your fans contact you? Can you provide with some contact information?

Of course! We are on social media like Facebook , Instagram and YouTube, and we are also reachable via mail. Check out our website; zephyra.se for more information. The music can be found on all digital platforms, such as Spotify, Apple Music, etc…

• To finish up the interview, please add anything extra that you would like to have our readers see.

First of all, I’d like to thank you for serving some really nice questions.
For the fans, new and old out there, I’d like to say keep following us. Help us out by sharing the music, spreading the word and telling the world about us. In today’s music industry, bands need to be seen! Thank you all for supporting us! Never hesitate to contact us or come up on a show and say hi!

Band photo (Photo by: Henrik bengtsson/Imaginara.se)
Live photo (Photo by: Philip Deacon)
Live photo (Philip Whitehouse)

Edited by: Zee Ismail.

The video starts by a shot for the model/actor in the middle of a forest, and shifts between scenes of some situations that happened to him which forced him to think deeply of his inner struggles. The main idea that the video discusses was the inner war between one’s pure intention and the society around him with all of its hypocrisy, decisiveness and cruelty. All of these elements created an atmosphere of Psychic contradiction.

The video had some elements of metaphors to portrait these inner struggles in material form. For example: Drowning was a symbol for getting lost in mazes of life and the scene of sunrise with colors of rainbow symbolized new hope or a solution.

As you may have noticed the lyrics talk about deeply thinking about us, and the society surrounding us; along trials of escaping and forgetting as the title explains ‘Through Oblivion’. The vocals used both calm, and high pitch vocals that he highly achieved in this track to send a message of struggling.

The director used Black and White footage in filming the video to reflect the depth of the theme.
The whole elements and techniques of the video expressed perfectly the main target of the track’s subject.

Edited by: NJ Bakr

Ahmed, can you tell more about how it all started?

I started playing drums at the age of 16 and my first experience was with Metal music, with all its variations like Rock, Black and death metal.

On the other hand my cousin Tamer Tawfik was a big reason for me to be a musician, he is an opera singer and he has always pushed me to listen to different kind of music like (Opera , Jazz, Latin, Tango and even Rock music.)

I’ve been in love with music ever since I was a kid and my mom was the first one who noticed that I’ll be a drummer because I’d stroke anything with spoons and forks haha, I don’t remember that exactly but she told me the whole story about it later. Finally I got my first drum kit when I was 16 years old, I started playing to all the songs that I know, like Hey You by Pink Floyd, Fade to black and Master of Puppets by Metallica and finally Trust and Symphony of destruction by Megadeath, then my cousin Tamer told me that he got an album for a drummer called Dave Weckl, I listened to him and I was shocked because he had a lot of variations in the same song and he is so creative with his grooves, from that moment on I decided to take drum lessons, to be able to play like him. My cousin recommended Mr. Muhammed Saa’d for me, he is the drummer of the Cairo opera house orchestra. I went to Muhammed and started my first drum lesson, but after 2 lessons Muhammed told me that we wouldn’t be able to keep going because he is very busy with his masters and studies, so I decided to keep going on my own with books & CDs.

4 years later, I went to Mr. Amr Yousef and he changed me completely. I started listening to Latin, Jazz and Fusion. I took 7 lesson with him. I don’t know why I used to take few sessions with every teacher. After this I went on my own way with more books, DVDs and CDs till this moment. One day, I went to watch Amr Yousef’s performance with Sahra, and I was attracted to the band’s trend with all its energy and variety in rhythms and styles, but due to some issues between Amr & Sahra, he left the band and he recommended me to them and of course I was very happy with this step because it would make me take out all my energy and ideas for the drumming. Now I am still with Sahra.

Why did you choose to play the drums?

First, it’s a gift from Allah. Second, I loved the beats and the rhythms more than anything because they gave me power more than any other instrument, but for sure I can’t deny that I am in love with the Guitar, Sax and Piano. Third, it looks so sexy on stage, haha, I am really in love with the view.

Ahmed, what genres of music do you play? and why did you choose these genres?

I have no specific kind of music but the kind I like playing most is Fusion because it lets me play different kind of beats and music at the same time, and I hate to be limited to one genre, because I like to play different variations in my music and in my drumming style. So let’s say world music, but sometimes when I’m home I like to play some death and thrash metal stuff for some bands like Lamb of God, Necrophagist, Decapitated, In Flames, Testament and Pantera. I know that I am crazy, but I really love this music.

What troubles did you face at the start? How did you face them?

Hm, my real troubles were all about drums, not my parents or my friends at all. Let’s begin with the sound: I wanted to get the sounds I heard from Dave Weckl especially and my favorite drummers in general, and for sure at that time I didn’t know anything about the kinds of woods or how to tune my drum kit, but after a while a very good friend of mine talked to me about these things, after that I got the Dave Weckl’s teaching video “Back To Basics.” On the other hand I had a very big problem with practicing and it was all about speed and goodness! I wanted to be a very fast drummer and very good too as quickly as possible, which was a very wrong idea of course, then I understood that I must take my time practicing and listening to many kinds of music to be that good, and I am working on it until now. 

Tell me about the bands you played with, the bands you are currently in and the first band you ever played with.

Man that’s a lot, but okay let’s start with the first band I played in, it was “HELIUM” we covered lots of artists, like Malmsteen, Joe Satriani, Alice cooper, Annihilator and MEGADETH.

**Note: IT’S A CRAZY BAND.

I played with many local and international bands and projects. Let’s begin with the local bands: (Nagham Masry, The Riff band, Rashad Fahim, Salalem, Limousine, Sirens, and Forgotten Notes) and different international projects such as Music Matbakh, Darrell John Kennedy and Ruba Sakr who’s a singer from Jordan, and I have recorded an album with Yacoub, a bassist from Jordan.

My current bands are: Sahra, Eftikasat, The Percussion Show and The 19th band, who have a very strange formation, which is:

Guitars: Ousso and Marwan shaaban
Bass: Hameed Sabry.
Vocals: Amr Yehia, Adham Roshdy, Shehab and Shady Ahmed.
Drums: Me.

What was your feeling when you were on stage for the first time?

To be honest I don’t want to remember that day again in my life, (laughing) Look, it was a very strange feeling, I was so afraid, my legs couldn’t carry me, my blood pressure was dropping, but I can’t deny that this feeling went away after the second track we played, when the people began to interact with us, oh man that was a very hard day, thank God that day passed.

Did you ever expect that you would reach that level and be one of the best drummers in Egypt?

I didn’t expect this question from you, but anyway I always practice to be a good drummer, because I want to have my unique style in drumming, but to be honest I didn’t expect this position in this period of time, Thank God. 

How do you see the music scene in Egypt in general and the rock and metal scene in particular?

I am so happy for the evolution in the music scene in general, we now have many bands in Egypt playing different styles of music, and of course I am so happy with the efforts in festivals like Cairo Jazz Festival and S.O.S. Music Festival, and no one can deny all the efforts done by El Sawy Culturewheel. As For the rock and metal scene, I don’t know how they’re going now because I am so far from it with the bands I am in now, but I remember the last 2 concerts I played with Sirens and I think the metal concerts are much better than before, the respect for the musicians is much better and the organization of the concerts is very good and the venues are better than the old ones.

Who is your drummer idol?

Actually, I have some idols in my life which I really learned a lot from, the first is (MIKE PORTNOY) the drummer for (DREAM THEATER), he is my rock drummer idol and as for the other styles of music like Fusion or Jazz or Latin they are (Dave Weckl), (Dennis Chambers) and (Marco Minnemann)

What are your plans for the future?

Hmm, my plans for music are to practice more and more to be a very good drummer and musician and I hope that I can play in any of the international festivals. As for my personal life, I want be a helpful person and to be successful in my work.

What would you like to say about the music scene and to your fans?

For the music scene : “I am very proud of the current bands in the scene, you guys are really awesome and never stop it, never ever, and keep on going with more stuff and more different kinds of music.”

For my fans: “I am very happy to play to people like you, and to anyone who wants to be a musician or a drummer, never give up and always remember that PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT.”