Zabrinski

Zabrinski took their name—albeit misspelled—from the cult 1969 film Zabriskie Point. In the opening years of the twenty-first century, the Welsh group surfaced as likely competitors to the Super Furry Animals, another psych-pop outfit from the same region. Schoolmates Matthew Durbridge on vocals and guitar, Iwan Morgan handling electronics and keyboards, and Gareth Richardson on guitar established the group in Carmarthen, located in western Wales, during the final years of the 1990s. To advance their musical endeavors, the three principal members moved the operation to Cardiff. Screen Memories, the band's debut effort funded independently, appeared toward the end of 2001 via the Microgram imprint they controlled themselves. March 2001 saw the issuance of the single pairing ‘Freedom Of The Hiway’ with ‘Rattlesnake On Ice’ as a contribution to the Boobytrap singles club. Increased acclaim brought opportunities to open for Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci, Coldplay, and JJ72, while extra performers augmented the basic trio. Securing a deal with Ankstmusik granted additional studio latitude, resulting in Yeti and Koala Ko-Ordination; these releases heightened the stakes by weaving psych pop, trip-hop, and electronica into a captivating synthesis drawn from the group’s array of sonic inspirations.