JIKA
INTERVIEW
When Melbourne rock act Mammal
decided to part ways in late October 2009, the news was something quite out of
the blue for most. But despite the shock announcement, individual members remained
tight-lipped with the reasons behind the split, instead allowing their music to
do the talking. Needless to say, Mammal's drummer Zane Rosanoski's own band Jika
has plenty to say.
Founded as far back as 1998, Jika have within
that time managed to produce four full-length efforts (1998's 'Family Business',
2000's 'The White Lady', 2002's 'Psy-Fly' and 2005's 'Just Like The Others'),
all of which have received considerable praise from the press - which in itself
is no mean feat given Jika's unique and somewhat hybrid approach to musical composition
and execution.
After a lengthy stretch of inactivity (due to
Mammal's ever increasing popularity and demand), Jika (who, aside from Rosanoski,
comprise of vocalist/didgeridoo player/keyboardist/percussionist Jeffrey Ortiz
Raul Castro, guitarist/percussionist Vladimir Keca and bassist Tibor Gede) are
finally making a return to the live forum this month at The Gershwin Room (located
within The Esplanade Hotel in St Kilda), along with plans of more to come throughout
the year.
While holed down in a rehearsal room in Footscray
working out some minor kinks in their upcoming live set, I caught up with Rosanoski
to talk about Jika's short and long term plans. But first, and foremost, one has
to question just what has been happening with Jika over the last couple of years?
"We
actually played a couple of shows with Mammal. We tried to play as much as possible,
but within that last year, it was getting really tough to get in and do anything
with the band, because Mammal was really getting out there and playing overseas
and all that. But since Mammal has split, and I mean for definite, it has left
me in a position where I had to find myself as a player again. And that's telling
the truth. I've been playing in Jika now for around seven years, and it's completely
different to Mammal as you would know. It's pretty much a blend of a whole heap
of genres. It's really a bit of everything that's out there. It's just a good
way to express ourselves. And I guess it's kind of nice to go back to that. I
mean there's good in everything. I really don't want to talk about Mammal, because
it's hard to describe what Jika is about without pigeonholing what Mammal sounded
like. But Jika really does sounds like everything that Mammal doesn't, and it's
nice to be able to express myself purely from an artistic point of view within
this band".
With Mammal now out of the picture, Rosanoski
is quick to point out that while only one date has been set up for the band at
this stage, they are looking at making Jika a full-time gig, with definite plans
to take the band to the next level.
"We've all gone off
and done our own things musically over the last couple of years, and it's only
now that we can once again do this full-time. We have one gig lined up, with the
option of upcoming gigs a definite possibility. I guess rehashing the old tracks
has allowed us to go anywhere and explore even further than we have done in the
past. Our hope is that we can write some new material, and incorporate that into
some of our older songs too, and then perform them live. So that way we're out
there playing some older stuff, as well as some new stuff, and give the audience
the best of both worlds. But as I speak, we're writing some new material. Now
that we have the time to do it, we'll be doing something hopefully by the end
of this year. It'll be a full journey from all of us."
In
terms of direction for the new material, it would seem that 'groove' seems to
be a new focus.
"One of the things that has developed
in our music that we've noticed now-days is a strong groove. Groove is like a
musical form of love, and that's what we'll be incorporating into the music a
lot more. It's all about the groove! (Laughs) That's another thing about our music
- it's very tribal, and it's all about going back to our roots, and back to where
it all came from."
As for what form this new groove based
material comes in, well who knows!
"Well, one album doesn't
have to be one disc does it? (Laughs) We could very well put together a box set!
(Laughs) We don't care man. We don't want to restrict ourselves to a certain amount
of minutes a CD is capable of holding. We'll just record it onto as many iPods
as we can, and sell it on iTunes if that's what's called for!"
Jika
have always been praised for their seemingly improved live shows, where the band
can shift from metal, to pop/rock, drum and bass to punk, electronica and world
music. And for those attending the band's upcoming show, Jika has promised to
deliver that, and perhaps even more.
"We're actually going
to be extending one of our older songs to an hour. And within that hour, we're
actually going to be dropping in another one of our songs. So if you can kind
of get your head around that, that'll be the general vibe of the show. It takes
a bit of work to do that from a performer's point of view, but probably as equally
challenging for the crowd to get their mind accustomed to as well! (Laughs) I'd
like to be in the crowd for that for sure. I would describe our music as being
open and expressive. If you look at life, there are so many restrictions placed
on us, and that affects us all on many different levels consciously. But by us
opening up and expressing ourselves musically, it's just one way for us to break
down those restrictions. So really, we all feel that Jika is a statement on life.
We kind of want to be everything that is not to generally be the norm. We're not
deliberately trying to be not the norm, but we do allow a sense of natural flow.
Bands generally get caught up in a certain genre, or they get caught up in what
they think sells, as opposed to what they feel. We want music to be about body
and the soul and the mind, as opposed to being just about the mind. So by just
doing it, and playing the shows, people will either get it, or don't get it. But
at the very least, we're getting it out there for people to feel and think for
themselves. Playing a live gig is an energetic conversation I guess. There are
so many energies flying around the room between the audience participants and
the members of the band. So we're playing it purely for that reason. It's not
to tap into any market, or to sell anything. It's more for the experience than
anything else. We're expecting human beings! (Laughs) I don't know about numbers.
That side of things has never really been a huge concern for me. I'm sure there's
going to be a few people there who are interested to see and hear what we're all
about, and probably some interested to see what I'm doing now that Mammal has
split up. But I'm not really concerned about numbers. We're there simply to perform
what we can only hope is an experience, and hope that it's something that people
can come and enjoy."
For more information on Jika, check
out - www.myspace.com/jikamusic
©
Justin Donnelly - justindonnelly@ozemail.com.au
