Zopp - Zopp (2020)

Steve:

I have written elsewhere on this blog about my experience as a contributor on the progressive rock database/website ProgArchives.com. To preface this particular entry, it will be useful to explain how the site works and my role in it.  ProgArchives is an online database of progressive rock artists and albums, and it allows registered users to publish their reviews of the albums listed on the site.  Because progressive rock is a dynamic universe, with new bands appearing all the time (and obscure forgotten bands being re-discovered regularly), it was necessary to put some "guard rails" around the site to make it manageable. The site divides progressive rock into about a dozen genres, and small teams of members volunteer to manage the addition of new bands that fit into their assigned genre. Only after the team approves a band using fairly narrow criteria to keep the volume manageable, can a band and its albums be added to the database. I was on one of these teams for a couple of years - my particular specialty was the genre known as "RIO/Avant" (where "RIO" = "Rock in Opposition", a European movement of Zappa-inspired quasi-chamber prog that delights in dissonance), a genre with no shortage of new young & hungry bands entering the scene.

ProgArchives also has a genre classification for "Canterbury Scene", acknowledging the uniqueness and lasting impact of some of the finest prog bands in prog's early history that all hailed from the Canterbury area in the late 60s and early 70s. Many have been covered on this blog: Soft Machine, Caravan, Hatfield & the North, and National Health, among others. However, since the very name of "Canterbury Scene" implies a specific historical time and place, it was anticipated that new bands would not normally be added to the site under this classification. Plenty of new bands still appeared that drew inspiration from the Canterbury bands, but actually getting classified as a Canterbury Scene band seemed highly unlikely, as there were other more general classifications that usually fit just as well. However, someone still needed to be in charge of this particular genre, so I assumed responsibility, never expecting my number to come up.

Many years later (January, 2020) I was no longer active on the site, not having taken on any genre-team responsibilities for at least five years. But I received a private message on the site forum from a guy named Ryan Stevenson, who got my name from a long-neglected info page on the site that listed me as the guy to contact about Canterbury Scene additions. He wished his personal project to be added to the site, thought Canterbury Scene was the best fit, and gave me a link to his as-yet-unreleased album, Zopp by Zopp. As a member of the genre teams, I had been approached directly on several occasions by artists in the past, but this was the first time it had occurred for the Canterbury genre, so I was dubious.

Curious, I gave it a listen and could immediately tell this stuff was Legit with a capital L. Here was a fairly young guy with an arsenal of organs, Mellotrons, and analog keyboards who also overdubbed himself on bass and guitar did a fantastic job of capturing the Canterbury spirit. Largely instrumental, Zopp bears the most resemblance to Hatfield & the North, National Health, and Supersister (a Dutch band who were one of the few non-British bands with the "Canterbury" tag). Drums were added by Italian drummer Andrea Moneta, and additional instrumental and co-production help was provided by Andy Tillison, a well-known member of prog band The Tangent. Caroline Joy Clarke contributes wordless vocals on three tracks. The result was a full-sounding, mature work that could pass as a lost 70s album while never sounding like an outright imitation.

Ryan had already asked via an appropriate forum thread to have his band considered for addition, so he was already "in the queue", but despite my lack of recent involvement with the site I couldn't resist giving the team a little nudge with my own personal nod of approval. I was glad to learn Zopp got added to the database under the Canterbury Scene genre, with everyone on the site as enthusiastic about this album as I was.

While researching for this blog post, I learned another fun ProgArchives tidbit - Zopp was subsequently voted the #1 album of the year on that site's year-end poll!  Zopp have since released its second album, Dominion, earlier this year (February 2023), and although I have not heard it yet, I plan to get it soon. It's already generating a wave of good feedback from the prog fandom.  

Zopp's two albums are now available on streaming, CD and download from various sellers such as Amazon Music, Discogs, Qobuz, Spotify etc. They are also available from Zopp's bandcamp page - www.zopp.bandcamp.com. If you like the Canterbury sound and spirit, this is the band for you.

Dan:

I like Zopp's update on the classic Canterbury sound. The vintage keyboard and guitar sounds are uncanny, and some of them could easily be spliced into an old Caravan tune. But I stress the word "update," as Zopp is no slavish homage to Canterbury. For example, "Before the Light" is an energetic revision of the sound with more drive from the drum kit, coupled with a shifting array of keyboard sounds (electric piano, synths, and organ). Also, there are no vocal tracks featured on Zopp. 

I also detect sources closer to jazz including (obviously) Soft Machine but also Weather Report. The deep bass line on "Eternal Return" reminded me immediately of the introduction to "Birdland," off of Weather Report's Heavy Weather album. The two shorter tunes - "Sanger" and "Sellanrå" - lean more towards prettier melodic expressions (although nothing on Zopp is ugly). I even hear birds chirping at the end of "Sellanrå," undoubtedly one of the "field recordings" credited to Ryan Stevenson (see note below).

The final track, "The Noble Shrinker," comes closest to honoring the long-form, multi-part compositions characteristic of the Canterbury Scene. There is no narrative to accompany the suite, but it's still an effective use of the story-like format. It's the longest track at 9:19 and ends the album dramatically.

Note: Here are the credits listed under Stevenson on Discogs' entry for Zopp: Keyboards, Mellotron [Mellotron M4000D], Electric Organ [Hammond Organ, Korg CX-3 Organ], Synthesizer [Arturia Analogue Synthesizer], Piano, Electric Piano [Hohner Pianet T], Synth [Nord Electro 5d], Bass, Electric Guitar, Voice, Field Recording [Field Recordings], Percussion.