Zolo (music genre)

Zolo is a music genre coined by radio DJ Terry Sharkie around 1989 and popularized through his live radio show The Zany Zolo Musik Hour which premiered on June 25, 1995.

The genre, as codified by Sharkie, encompasses obscure music from different time periods which nonetheless shares certain similarities. Zolo is characterized by "hyper jerky rhythms and cacophonous/ harmonious bleeps and boings." Zolo artists played on The Zany Zolo Musik Hour included Perrey and Kingsley, Godley & Creme, the Residents, XTC, Pere Ubu, Gentle Giant, Bill Nelson, Fred Frith, and others.

Characteristics

Zolo is characterized by "hyper jerky rhythms and cacophonous/ harmonious bleeps and boings," as well as by "boingy guitars, wobbly keyboards, polka dot percussions, hiccupping falsettos, jerky/staccoto beats, and lopsided rhythms." It is a "crystallization" of different styles from the twentieth century "theatrical/ art rock/ cabaret tradition." Terry Sharkie considers XTC, Bill Nelson, and Godley & Creme to be of special importance to the genre.

History

A 1997 article by Terry Sharkie, called Zolo Synthesis: A Discography, outlines the "thematic history" of Zolo. Sharkie claims that Zolo music had existed in "scattered forms" for "many years" by the time of writing, but had not had a name. The artists discussed in the article "present puzzle pieces in the formation of Zolo as a musical style."

Sharkie traces Zolo music back primarily to the late 1960s, when advancements in technology took place simultaneously with experimentation and the blurring of boundaries between music genres.