Early British electronic music

Zorch

One of Britain’s earliest all-synthesizer groups.

I am delighted to announce that I will be appearing as a guest with Zorch at the upcoming Great Gong Gathering so I thought I should give some background to this innovative and important band.

Zorch are one of the UK’s earliest synthesizer groups. Formed in 1973, they were pioneers of live electronic performance and deserve more recognition for their work.

The music that opened my ears

I was nineteen when I was introduced to the music of TONTO’s Expanding Head Band. It influenced me and led to a love of early synthesizer music and its pioneers.

Zorch’s music instantly gave me that same feeling. Psychedelic and expansive, it broke new ground and fits naturally into the mid-1970s electronic music scene.

How it started

Zorch began in north London in 1973 as a larger group, eventually settling into the duo of Basil Brooks and Gwyo Zepix by 1975. They were part of the free-festival and underground scene, but their approach was different. Instead of guitars and drums, the centre of the music was electronic equipment — particularly synthesizers made by Electronic Music Studios (EMS) in Britain.

They played Windsor Free Festival in 1974, Stonehenge in 1974 and 1975, and Meigan Fayre in 1975 — early examples of synthesizer-led music on the British free-festival circuit.

Two members of Zorch in a room with 1970s electronic instruments and sound equipment — Zorch in Brighton, 1975. Photograph courtesy of Zorch.

Three synths, two tape machines and a lot of invention

By 1975, Basil and Gwyo were using three monophonic EMS analogue synthesizers and two reel-to-reel tape machines as a delay system, creating layered electronic music live.

Their live shows featured Silver as a dancer and John Andrews’ psychedelic Acidica light show. Tony Andrews, later associated with Turbosound and Funktion-One, developed their sound system.

Zorch on stage in front of vivid blue and white projected imagery — Zorch at Meigan Fayre, 1975. Photograph courtesy of Zorch.

The original four-piece Zorch lineup in a 1973 group photograph beside synthesizers and Zorch event posters — Here is the original 1973 full four-piece lineup, before they became a duo. Photograph courtesy of Zorch.

1975: the EMS studio and Ouroboros

In 1975, Zorch recorded at Peter Zinovieff’s EMS studio in Putney, using the EMS Synthi 100. Accounts of the sessions describe Zorch as the only band to record there.

EMS studio in Putney, showing electronic instruments, a large synthesizer and people working at the equipment — The EMS studio in Putney, with the Synthi 100 on the right. Historical photograph supplied for this archive; date and photographer not yet confirmed.

The sessions produced the Ouroboros suite, with some music used in the short film Mother Earth, featuring visuals made with the EMS Spectron Video Synthesizer. The recordings were released as Ouroboros in 2000.

A classic recording from 1975

Here’s a Zorch recording from 1975.

Thumbnail for the 1975 Zorch recording on YouTube

Watch the 1975 Zorch recording on YouTube ↗

What happened next

Zorch split in 1976. Basil went on to play with the Steve Hillage Band and contributed live sound effects to stage productions of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Gwyo played with Skywhale and later Gong.

Zorch reunited in 2000 and played shows including the Garage and Hackney Empire. Their 2001 Glastonbury Assembly Rooms performance was released as Glastonbury Live. They also appeared at the 2006 Gong Unconvention in Amsterdam.

Why Zorch matter

Zorch were using synthesizers, tape delay and psychedelic visuals to create electronic live performances in the early 1970s, long before that approach became commonplace.

I think their pioneering work deserves far more recognition.

An archive that will grow

The band have sent photographs and archive material, with more pictures and flyers to follow. I’ll also be adding some exclusive interview material as it becomes available.

Further reading: Our Soundscene’s Zorch archive · Planet Gong’s Zorch history · Zorch on NTS · Great Gong Gathering details

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