Myrath

Live performances by the Tunisian prog metallers ensure an ongoing dialogue with fans and a message of hope.

Zahar Zorgati and Kevin Codfert – singer and keyboardist/producer respectively of Tunisian prog metellars Myrath – are laughing loud and long, incredulous at the cliché that bands make music for themselves and if anyone else likes it then “it’s a bonus.” Myrath, they stress, “compose for the people.”

“It’s greedy of bands to say the opposite,” says Zorgati as he regains his composure. “Music always comes from the musician, it’s obvious for them to say, ‘Yes, I play music for myself’, but for us, the music comes from the bottom of our hearts, our sensations, our experiences, and our souls to the people directly. I don’t do this for myself. It’s about creating a sense of community and communication. It’s very important because when I sing a song and write a lyric, we think about the fans. It’s a communication between the fans and us. It’s not just a product.”

Formed in 2001 under the name X-Tasy, Myrath took shape in 2003 when the band got together with Kevin Codfert of French prog band Adagio when both bands were opening for Robert Plant And The Sensational Space Shifters at the Roman Amphitheatre in Carthage.

“When we met with Kevin, he suggested that we could be more mature and more sophisticated musically and that he could bring his knowledge and expertise to the band and making something better than we were back then,” says Zorgati as he recalls the band’s shift to prog metal via a number of influences closer to home. “We put more of our Tunisian identity into the music.”

Extensive touring has also given the band an insight into what their fans positively react to. Says Codfert, ”I think the more you play live, the more you can add direct feedback from the fans. You have a better knowledge of what works and what doesn’t. I think that playing a lot of live shows give us the ability to change a bit.”

Their new album, //Karma// is, says Zorgati, their “most versatile yet” and one that offers positivity in a world blighted by wars and ecological damage as well as social, economic and racial issues.

“We’ve always delivered a message of hope,” says Zorgati. “But it’s not telling stories; this is a conversation.”

Karma is out now earMUSIC. See www.myrath.com

— JM