Heavy Dreams

Well now, Zoo Freaks, the Zoo Crew has got something special spinning for you right here on THE ZOO, and it is that heavy rocking groove called Heavy Dreams from the Basement Saints and their album of the same name. These hippie and rock n roll biker DJs of ours have been digging through the crates and this one just jumped out like a chopper firing up on a long open road. Basement Saints come at you with that pure seventies spirit, no bass player in sight, just a snarling Hammond organ and a pair of Leslie cabinets that shake the walls the way those old legends used to. The song itself is this anthem that hits hard for anybody who has ever chased a dream while the world keeps saying you better keep ten other jobs just to earn the right to breathe. That is straight from the band themselves when they dropped the track, calling it out as a rallying cry for the faithful who stick around through the feathers and tar of the struggle.

Those lyrics dig deep into the sweat and the nerves of putting yourself out there. Pins and needles when the people show up, a heavy chest trying not to show what is going on inside, working hard through the feathers and tar because there is nowhere else you would rather be. Then it flips into pure gratitude for the ones who stay faithful, even while you feel that little jealous pull toward the free ones who never had to grind. Sometimes dreams do come true, but until then a dream shall do, and may your dreams come to life if you work hard enough. There is power in that thunderous sound, and the line about what if it does work when somebody says it might not, that is the kind of defiant heart that keeps a band rolling through the years. They even put out an acoustic version of the same song a bit earlier, raw and stripped back, capturing that same heartfelt blast of vulnerability and strength, filmed in a place that let the emotion sit right up front before the full electric roar took over.

The way this track came together fits the whole story of how Basement Saints got rolling in the first place. Anton Delen, the South African guitarist and singer who landed in Switzerland and learned the local tongue so well you would swear he was born there, founded the band back in 2012 down in Grenchen. Word is they got started in an old band room that once belonged to the Swiss hard rockers Krokus, which feels just right for a crew that wants to light up the night the old way. They began as a duo, collecting riffs and rhythms and words in those early rehearsal days, then brought in a drummer to complete the trio and cut their first EP called Free Souls in a single day of pure fire. One of those early tracks, Brother, ended up in a trailer for an Xbox game and suddenly the sound was traveling farther than they ever expected. That led to the debut album Get Ready, recorded live in the studio after a successful crowdfunding push, and then tours through Germany and Spain plus a slot at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Bohemian Boogie followed, keeping that vigorous rock n roll alive with the fingerprints of southern rock and the wild seventies all over it.

After a pause that saw some original members step away, Anton reformed the band with Swiss drummer Simon Molly Moll and eventually Austrian Hammond player Robby Keys, also known as Robert Grausberg. They doubled down by putting the organ right in the driver's seat instead of chasing a traditional bass line. The holy trinity of guitar, bass and drums is the legend, but these cats could not care less. They drag that original Hammond and two damn Leslie cabinets onto every stage like subtlety died sometime around 1973 and nobody bothered to bury it. Ten minutes into a show and you are itching to climb on a chopper without a helmet, chain-smoke something unfiltered and make some questionable choices with a room full of unshaven strangers. The fingerprints of seventies and southern rock are everywhere, loud and greasy, and a Basement Saints night leaves you vibrating, slightly rattled, and painfully aware you were born a little too late. They have opened for the likes of ZZ Top and kept the passion burning through boozy nights, broken strings and all the rest, and Heavy Dreams feels like the latest chapter in that long ride.

The video for the song was shot at the Locarno Film Festival in the Rotonda by Mobilliar, with Anton handling the edit and the whole crew capturing that live energy. Written by Anton Delen, Robert Grausberg and Simon Moll, it sits as a single on Basement Saints Records, pure independent fire. Fans have been calling it out for picking up where bands like Deep Purple, Uriah Heep and Wolfmother left off, the organ work especially magical in the way it rides the groove. You can dig deeper into all of it on the official Basement Saints website, where the Heavy Dreams video sits right up front alongside the shop for vinyls, CDs and shirts. Follow along on their Facebook page and Instagram for the latest from the road and the studio, the posts full of that same unfiltered rock n roll heart. Keep it locked right here on THE ZOO, Zoo Freaks, where the freeform album rock keeps spinning the deep cuts and the stories behind them, just the way the original KZEW spirit intended, commercial free and full of that Texas-sized swagger for listeners all over the world. This is the kind of track that makes the long hair and the open road feel alive again, and the Zoo Crew will keep the needle in the groove for as long as the faithful stick around.