INTRINSIC DRIVE by Simon Zion

A couple words on the existence of the album written. I wrote this text in mid air when i thought id die in a plane crash when flying in the middle of the storm Ciara on feb. 9th:

I come from a background with rockmusic, The Doors, Zeppelin, Metallica, Hendrix, Creedence, Nirvana, RATM and so forth.
When i was about 18 years old i heard The Brecker Brothers and was introduced to guitarists such as John Scofield, Mike Stern and Pat Metheny. And Miles man... Miles! I remember saying to myself, if this is jazz- "Why not take all of me". Expression is the link between the worlds. Drive and reason to "why" is the key. I see the same thing in Jaco Pastorius as I do in Jimi.

So regarding this album, It's been a long time coming for me to connect to my intrinsic drive and put it on a record. For those who've come to my shows during the years know that I've always pushed myself to give them an unforgettable night, no matter the gig, cuz its the only way i know how to play. However when it comes to recording i feel that i have had a hard time to get the stuff to truly represent myself and somehow fit into the context of our time in space.
However it all came to a point when I've said- Fuck all that! This for me this album is a musical reset, an honest and true expression in good and sometimes chaotic and full of flaws. Because i am.

The band is put together with some of the best players on the scene and played an extremely big part of this album and everyone really contributed with an amazing energy the whole time.
I put a lot of responsibility on each musician since a lot of the material was fully improvised but still somewhat inside the framework of what I was looking to capture.

On this album you'll find:
Ville Lukkonen: Drums (FI)
Johan Christofferson: alt sax
Britta Virves: Rhodes, Piano (EST)
Mikael Berglund: Electric Bass
Linnea Jonsson: Trumpet
Denis Diaz: Congas, Cuica & other perc
Simon Zion: Guitar & Vox

A big part of the sound that i was hearing was that everything had to be recorded directly to a reel to reel tape desk. And Daniel and Otto at One Touch in Stockholm were just great in setting up the studio. Another really important aspect was to get a really good mix to these tracks. To give everybody's performances and myself the respect of making everything sound as good as possible in every step of the process. Pål Svenre did a great job on the mixing, as did Magnus Lindberg on the mastering.

I've created this album as an honest expression and it is for everyone to experience not just for a small club of admirers. I want to give something raw and true to what is a far to polished musical climate. Because we are not.