BACKGROUND
Zoom Unit have been together
since December 2019 when they released their first 8-track album ‘Head
West’. To date they have published 8 full
albums, several singles, and a collaboration with the Chicago-area guitarist,
multi-instrumentalist, singer songwriter Diane Marie Kloba.
Zoom Unit’s music genre is 21st century avant rock fused with electronica, with a helping of krautrock on the side and served up by Andy (Duke) Whitehurst and Andy Pidluznyj of the New Apostles. ZU’s music is best sampled loud!
All words and music by Zoom Unit composers and musicians Andy "Duke" Whitehurst on Vocals, Vox instruments, Guitar, Bass, Microkorg and Andy Pidluznyj on Vocals, Vox instruments, Bass, Korg Kaossilator, Arturia Microfreak, and other assorted electronic sounds. Listen this fine album album on your headphones to immerse yourself in the ZU Experience!
"We're still as productive as ever and still enjoying making music.
Hope you enjoy it too!"
VAVA: Today, I’m here with Andy Pidluznyj of Zoom Unit of Mansfield, UK, to chat about their new 11 track album titled ‘Astrocone, Copperneck and Cyclops’ released on Bandcamp, August 14, 2025. Welcome back Andy! It’s a pleasure to have you here again! It’s been three years since we worked together on the mammoth New Apostles interview of May 10, 2022! Our interview was so much fun! We left no stone unturned on that one Andy. It was a very successful hit on Vavaland!
ANDY: Three years! They've flown by! Lots has happened, we recorded a couple of albums in that period, The Evel Knievel Blues and Cliff Diver, and here we are now with another one. We really enjoyed the last conversation with you, looking forward to this!
VAVA: Congratulations to both you and Duke on the new release!
ANDY: Thank you! We’re very happy with it and it’s been getting a good reaction from people who’ve given it a listen. What’s interesting is people have lots of different favourite tracks, I think that’s always a good sign.
VAVA: How’s that ankle healing? Are you able to get around now?
ANDY: Ha!! Well, I am back on my own two feet and driving again. It was massively frustrating to have broken it, after the operation I was non-weight bearing on it for six weeks, then another six in a moon boot. But I got the all-clear from the consultant and it’s great to be doing normal things again, including standing up to play bass! Although, as a side note, I am guaranteed to trigger the detector when I’m next at the airport with all the metal in my ankle…
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VAVA: I note there are 2 versions of the album, the Digital Download 11 track version and the Compact CD 11 track version plus the 2 bonus songs, Elephant Trap and Under the Surface. What made you decide to add the bonus tracks and is the CD a Limited Edition?
ANDY: We thought 13 tracks was too long for an album, it would have clocked in at over an hour, so we decided to offer a couple of tracks as bonuses on the CD version. And yes, it is a limited edition CD so get it while you can is our advice!
VAVA: When did you start the work on this project and how long did it take you to get to the finish line?
ANDY: We wrote the songs between May 2024 and March this year, recording them as we went along and finessing them until they felt done.
VAVA: Was the album recorded remotely or in your studio in Mansfield and who did the final mastering?
ANDY: We recorded remotely, starting from rhythm tracks, sharing files and adding guitars, bass, synths, other sounds and vocals, at the same time trying to keep a live, organic feel to the music, not overproducing the life out of it. Duke did the mixing and final mastering.
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VAVA: What can you tell us about the unique title and cover art image of the hooded supplicating figures, more specifically the man standing on an arcane emblem? I'm getting a frisson of the occult, divination, hidden beliefs and secrets, supernatural and esoteric concepts.
ANDY: The title may (or many not, for legal reasons) be the nicknames of three people we know... The artwork is a found image of Orthodox priests in a monastery. The shadowy figures seemed to reflect the mood we were hoping to achieve of an element of mystery and intrigue.
VAVA: The album tracklist is very well thought out. Animation Blues is a very cool intro dance
track as the following eclectic 9 tracks steadily escalate to the outro hard
rock psychedelic electro noise, ‘The Invincible Sun’. There are many surprising messages and
learning curves hidden within each track, waiting to be unlocked by the curious
listener. This is one of the cool hooks
of ZU’s music!
ANDY: Thank you! I always think it’s important to pay close
attention to the sequencing of an album to make it flow and take you as a
listener on a journey. We experimented with different combinations until we hit
on what we thought worked best. We like coming up with new twists and turns to
keep us, and hopefully listeners, entertained, whilst at the same time maintaining
a coherence to our music so it’s instantly recognizable as Zoom Unit.
VAVA: I thought I
would take a look through Johari’s Window, and discovered a psychological communication
model of 4 quadrants, representing different aspects of self-awareness and
interpersonal relationships. As Andy keeps
a steady bass line, he sings of all 4 quadrants, he’s backed by a cool lofi
sampler and a panned reverse high hat action.
Duke dives in with gusto on his fierce 80s punk rock riffs and especially
in his 1 min. solo.
ANDY: I had a tune awaiting a title and then my son and I were talking about a course he’d just been on and he mentioned the Johari Window. We looked at each other, laughed and said that it sounded like a Fall song title and so Johari’s Window came into being!
VAVA: Next up is
Analogue Junk. Andy’s super catchy bass
line carries this tune from beginning to end, Duke’s superb riffs guitar riffs reminiscent
of the late 70s early punk movement, with great drum machine action, and an occasional
cow bell, a siren and a sampler, these peripheral touches grab your aural
attention and are really effective.
Does it get any better?
Well, here’s what Andy has to say:
Analogue Junk
Analogue Junk
Analogue Junk
Analogue Junk punk
Put your money in the jukebox
Hit the button let’s hear some punk rock
Put your money in the damn damn juke box now
Put your money in the damn damn juke box
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ANDY: Duke came up with this tune, the last one we recorded for the album – it sneaked in because it had so much energy and life. The lyrics were inspired by my past experiences with temperamental Parisian jukeboxes, which, whatever I pressed, always seemed to come out with Johnny Halliday!!
VAVA: The Invincible Sun is an amazing work of higher plane psychedelia occult rock, featuring Duke’s epic rock guitar, Andy on bass, a fierce analog synth, electronic pagan drums, evoking visions of The Golden Dawn, The Theosophical Society and Western Esotericism. Who did the synth work on the Invincible Sun and did you use your Korg Kaossolator here?
VAVA: Clearwater Overlook opens on a sad and tragic note as Duke’s guitar riff intros the solemn track, to the popular spot for visitors to see the Mt. St. Helen’s devastation and aftermath of the 1980s volcanic eruption where 58 people lost their lives. Andy paints a bleak landscape as he puts lyrics to the death and destruction the eruption left behind.
ANDY: Clearwater Overlook was a potential song title I had made a note of since stopping off there, a remote forestry road around Mt St. Helen’s in Washington State, on a Pacific Northwest road trip. It fitted perfectly with the atmosphere of Duke’s music.
Volcano breathing fire
Fumes choking, cue expire
At the Clearwater Overlook
Ash falling from the skies
Tears forming in our eyes
At the Clearwater Overlook
Sun hidden behind cloud
Grey smoke hanging like a shroud
At the Clearwater Overlook
Night brings a hazy glow
Time passes by so slow
At the Clearwater Overlook
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