Can you tell us about the origin of the band name, a history of the band and a little bit about the various members?

The band name comes from a place in our hometown Tangier (north of Morocco. 10 miles from Spain) called the wall of the lazy people. It’s a little wall people sit on and you can see Europe very clearly at night. The band was formed in Reading, UK in 2003 as a 3 pîece and we moved back to Morocco in 2007. Apart from the 3 founding and actual members (Nao Monz and Youssef), we had many friends joining us in different periods of the band. From Wales, to Hungary, Iran or England. And of course Moroccan artists like Younes Fakhar, one of the greatest Oud players in the country, who was previously part of the band but still join us on stage for our acoustic shows.

Are you all from the same area? How did you get together as a band?

We are 3 brothers so we’ve been together since day 1. We first formed a band in Spain in 1998 and got signed to Warner Spain. After releasing an album in 1999 and touring Spain, we decided to move to England in 2003 and form Lazywall. Youssef had to leave for family reasons and joined us back 10 years later in 2013.

Who are your favourite artists/bands and how have they influenced your own sound?

We grew up listening to 80s rock then got really hit by the Grunge times. Now we listen to all bands from the 70s till today but the biggest influence to create our today sound has been the live show No Quarter from Led Zeppelin in 1994 with the arabic orchestras. The heavy parts we got from System Of A Down. That was the proof we needed that Rock and Arabic sounds and rhythms were perfectly compatible. We added the Oud and all kinds of oriental percussion to our electric guitars. The Drop D tuning fits so well with the Oud tuning but also with the Guembri (African bass).

Did you always have the ambition to be a musician and in a band or did you originally have other plans?

Music wasn’t part of the plan at all. Here in Morocco in our early days there was no music scene so we discovered music when we moved to Europe for our studies. Now, it’s different, the Moroccan scene has grown so much anyone can form a band at a very early age. Thanks to the L’Boulevard Festival who brought rock & metal to all young rock fans here. In 2006, we were still living in England and we got invited to play at this festival in Casablanca. We went on stage in front of 20.000 moroccan fans hungry for rock. We never thought Rock had so many fans in Morocco. After finishing our show, we knew we had to come back home and be part of this scene.

What songs or albums are on your current playlist?

Arabic rock bands like Jadal, Akher Zapheer, Myrath, ACYL or Orphaned Land. And many other indie rock bands from Jordan, Lebanon or Tunisia.

Do you sing in the shower?

No, we meditate. It’s quite hard to sing under cold water. But we do sing in the car, a lot. Any excuse is a good reason to practice our singing. Vocal harmonies are very important in the sound of Lazywall. That’s one of the reasons we do many acoustic shows as well, maybe as many as plugged shows.

Do you have any plans for the band for this year and into next year?

This year, play as many European shows as we can. We did play in France and the UK and we are working on some upcoming dates in Belgium, Spain and Germany. In today’s world of cover bands, tribute bands and Karaoke talent shows, we want to offer people something different. Original songs sung in a different language and performed with different instruments. Youssef, our guitarist plays the Guitaroud, which is a unique self made guitar that has a double neck. One neck for the 6 strings guitar part and one neck for the 12 strings Oud. Nao plays with the Bassentir, another self made unique 5 string bass. 2 strings for the bass part and 3 strings for the Sentir (african bass also known as Guembri). Monz replaced his tom by a Darbouka but also plays the Bendir or Tar on stage.

Do you currently have any new songs/albums ready to be released?

In July we will be releasing our 3rd song since the “Switch”. The band has previously released 5 albums in English, but for the last year we have changed to singing in Arabic and with the new language we have released 2 songs so far. After that, we are planning to release more songs or maybe our first EP sung entirely in Arabic later this year. July 21st, put this date in your calendar ! « Dem 3la Dem » will be our third release. This is the song that defines Lazywall the best. A perfect mix of rock & oriental sounds including a battle between Oud guembri and darbouka against heavy guitar riffs played through a Mesa Boogie.

If you could play at any venue in the world, where would you choose?

Live at Jools Holland. One of the best music TV shows ever. As for festivals, Hellfest in France or Resurrection Fest in Spain obviously. But to be honest, any venue or festival where fans truly respect the bands and vice versa. There are many festivals we would love to be part of their experience and we will be working hard to be there.

Do you have a favourite album? If so, what is it?

Audioslave by Audioslave. This album made us change the way we see Rock music. As we said earlier, we grew up listening to 80s music. This album by Chris Cornell and Rage Against The Machine members has deeply connected with us. We changed our songwriting but also how we see live shows. Every song in this album is amazingly well written and performed. With the best magic ingredient in producing a rock album : Keep it simple.

Do you have any guilty pleasure songs/albums?

Any Daft Punk albums. These two geniuses have changed music around the world around the world. During Covid, we even decided to take a break from Lazywall’s album « Zoochosis » and decided to write a full electro / dance album with 20 tracks. Influenced by Daft Punk and never released of course. But this break was really needed so we could retake the recordings of Zoochosis with a refreshed energy. We even rewrote most of the songs.

If you were putting together the greatest show on earth, who would be playing?

Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rage Against The Machine, Alter Bridge, U2 and of course Bob Dylan feat. Van Morisson as headliner. Opening band will have to be Lazywall. It will be somewhere in Morocco of course. The Desert would be a great place. U2 would come, that’s for sure. They love Morocco, previously they hid in Fez riads to compose many songs.

Can you remember the first album you bought with your own money? What was it and do you still have it?

Hotel California by the Eagles, CD version. Yes, we still have it, the case is broken though. First purchase had to be a special album, we knew each song was worth the price you put for the entire album. There were many albums released at that time with one or two good songs that sold the album but you end up frustrated for the rest of the album. This one was definitely not the case. Classic album.

As your fans will be reading this, is there any message you would like to send out to them?

Come to our show. We miss your faces. We have been away for too long but now we are back with a different touch. We sing in our native tongue. Those who speak Arabic finally connect with us through our lyrics too. Those who don’t speak Arabic still come to us saying they felt a special connection. Arabic is not better, but it’s us.

Finally, let us know all your social media sites so your fans, old and new, can find and follow/like you!
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
Spotify
Official Website

We, at The Metal Asylum, would like to thank you for your time. Is there anything further that you would like to add?

Thanks to The Metal Asylum for having us. And thanks for the review, we loved it.

This interview is the property of The Metal Asylum