Representatives from five nations are called to address one pressing matter. No, this is not the UN. This is Fuzz Skyler. Their mission? To breathe new life into the world of rock music. Any band that describes themselves as such will not fail to capture the imagination of the music industry, which is exactly what Fuzz Skyler have done with their epically theatrical debut single, Recall. And wait till you hear them live…They may have launched their music during a worldwide lockdown, but this is a formidable musical force that, given the chance, could fill out stadiums.
For now, like everyone else, they find themselves mostly confined to the house, where four of the five band members live together in London. Making up Fuzz Skyler are British-Iranian lead singer and keys player, Fuzz, drummer Mark (who lives nearby with his wife), Portuguese and Greek guitarists Dan and Kostas, and Lithuanian bassist Arnie.
“I read a really interesting quote by Henry Rollins, the punk singer, the other day. It was, ‘you spent half your life messing up and the other half dealing with it’. That's exactly what we've been doing for the last three years!” begins frontman Fuzz (who I can’t help but notice has the winning combination of the speaking voice of Stephen Merchant and a singing voice not too dissimilar to Freddie Mercury).
“Funny you should say that, as one or two years ago when I was working at Waitrose at Christmas I was on the tills and Stephen Merchant actually showed up... he seemed absolutely miserable! So, Merry Christmas!” he laughs. “Maybe it’s the tone of his voice, or maybe it's just the misery of the lockdown!”
The group came together under Fuzz who headhunted drummer, Mark, at a David Bowie tribute act.
“I got a call that someone was looking for people to make up a David Bowie tribute band, so I said I played the drums,” says Mark. “I got there and Fuzz was the Bowie, so to speak. He asked me to join his band. The lightning bolt was the real clincher for me, just scrolled across the face…”
They then auditioned guitarists Dan and Kostas, who insisted they came as a pair. Bassist Arnie was the final piece to the puzzle, and Fuzz Skyler was born. Inspired by David Bowie, Muse, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and – yes – Queen, Fuzz Skyler interweave piano, densely textured guitars and blistering drums, and are dead set on ushering in a new wave of anthemic rock. On being compared to Freddie Mercury, Fuzz says he gets that a lot:
“When I was about 19 years old, somebody told me that I sound a little bit like Freddie Mercury, and then I started listening to Queen and I kind of saw the resemblance. That obviously influenced my songwriting a lot as well. But it's just evolved. I listen to a lot of hip-hop, I listen to a lot of soul, a lot of Motown and a lot of Persian music – because my parents are Iranian, so there’s a lot of Iranian influence in my music as well.
"It doesn't always show in the rock songs, but it's definitely there. Being compared to Freddie is definitely not a bad thing – I can't help the shape of my vocal cords. But it's definitely not the worst person to be compared to!”