What the hell is Planet Zyz ?

In 1998, the seminal album Spice Up Your Lift by the Syringe Babies from the Planet Zyz, was released under the Planet Zyz label, which seemed appropriate, and ever since, over the years, from time to time, more releases followed.

So, Planet Zyz is a Record Label.

In 2010 I applied for arts funding with the story-telling group A Word In Edgeways to do Lend Us Your Ears so Planet Zyz had to get a bank account and a Constitution and Members of the Board.

So, Planet Zyz is a Community Arts Organisation.

Then the arts funding dried up……but there were a number of school projects that got kids to be creative.

So, Planet Zyz is an Educational Establishment.

Meanwhile, I’ve been continuing to record people and make their records, for over 20 years.

So, Planet Zyz is a Production House.

In fact, Planet Zyz is ALL OF THE ABOVE.

The truth is, Planet Zyz is simply the space I make music, either alone or in collaboration with others. But there’s something about all these projects that’s just not quite normal.

Everyone has their own story, their own narrative, their own worlds, and people’s art is the ultimate expression of this. I think my particular gift (and downfall) is my empathy - I find that I am drawn into worlds of the people I collaborate with, and I realise this has become a significant aspect of my own artistic expression. I work with people with a vast range of skills, but it’s their vision which grabs my interest, not the speed at which they play the guitar, or how famous they are. And of course it’s not just musicians I work with, by any means.

In particular, it’s the slightly eccentric and off-centre stuff that intrigues me. That might be because I’m slightly eccentric and off-centre, of course.

So the material here on Planet Zyz isn’t trying to be like anything else. But neither is it trying to be different for the sake of it. All of it is simply a reflection of the characters of the people I’m working with. And mine too, of course.

My own music progresses slowly as my flow of ideas is glacial, but I can make something concrete out of each idea, and I’ve found that I can make something concrete out of others’ ideas and visions too, very often when no-one else seems to be able to.

I make a living as a Teacher. The word ‘Education’ comes from the root ‘Educe’, which means ‘to bring forth from latent potential’. So in the end, of the list of things that Planet Zyz is, it’s ‘Educational Establishment’ I like the most.

So, what's the future of Planet Zyz?

So! In my wildest dreams, the future of Planet Zyz unfolds thus:

An audience existing in pockets all over the world has grown to love this platform’s quirky yet quality output. Every time something is released they all show their love, which means Planet Zyz can enlarge its portfolio of quality quirk without having to worry about the gas bill. This in turn attracts all kinds of artists who have also grown tired of trying to 'fit in' and just want to work with people who get them.

So, I get to travel the globe, working with diverse, creative and lovely people who invite me into their worlds, so that more quirky quality gets made, in turn attracting an ever widening audience. Most people might never hear of Planet Zyz, but those who do, find friends for life.

But then, I'm a dreamer of dreams.