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When asked their preferred drink, Connor replied a cold Starbucks frappuccino. (with
cream. Obviously.) Zaks reply was a nice simple cup of tea. (Tetleys mind you.) And frontman, sorry frontwoman, Karishma honestly replied anything thats going to keep me awake from dusk till dawn mate. With a high flying 24/7 packed schedule, MM were lucky to get a few words that fell from the lips of the brand spanking new kids on the block formerly known as The Mundanes. Have they got good vocals? Check. Have they got great hair? Check. Have they got soul? Check. Have they got class? Definitely. Have they got a badass style? Theyve even got that too. Is there anything that the alternative indie rock trio dont have? Well there is one thing, Zak says as we speak with him briefly at the Nickelodeon Awards where theyre due to perform, peace and quiet! Nah, Im kidding the fans are great, its just my comfy, tatty old couch whilst watching Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and sipping Tetleys tea is great too! Well they certainly looked anything but tatty when we first interviewed them back in May this year right before the Mundane Mayhem as its now known as kicked off and the young trios lives were flung in a whirlwind of fame. Where did it all begin? Well, we can even tell you that it was in the garage of 59 Holwood Drive in a small town known as Watford. This was the house of Mr and Mrs Labiad, who, for months on end were forced to listen to the wailing sounds of their son Zak practising his saxophone and piano all through the day and all through the night. Previously Zak admitted: I feel so bad for my parents, I would torment them with my practising for hours on end. Id never admit it then, but I will now- I was quite cr** really! Zak was determined he would be the next Frank Sinatra, his mother Lilian told us, he was so dedicated to his playing, Id often have to go and remind that there was homework to be done too! Though Zaks iPod contained nearly of Sinatras albums, something still didnt feel quite right for him. I wasnt feeling it, he tells us back in May, something was missing. It was only when Zak was wandering through Baker Street Station a couple of years later that he heard a busker busking out some Radioactive by Imagine Dragons that he realised he had downloaded the wrong genre onto his iPod. I stopped right still and even closed my eyes and fell right in love. I ended up joining in with him at the end! There I was, singing away when I heard this other, strong, deeper voice join in with me on the last chorus. I looked around for the source and saw a tall fellow wearing a real sharp suit. Not what I expected, Connor interrupts thats right Mundane fans, Connor was the Baker Street Busker. Kicked out of high school for truancy, he found himself on the streets, doing what he loved best sharing his musical passion. A naughty boy on show, a soft music genius at heart. Education just werent for me you know, he says, all that Chemistry cr**, all that bubbling and fizzing in those tubes wheres that gunna get me? So I took off. The only lesson I enjoyed was music but I felt too stupid to do it at A-Level. So I stopped going. So Connor found himself buying a cheap guitar, and a keen singer anyway, taught himself to play and began to perform on the pavements. Connor knew what he wanted to, and had an

ambition at last to get into music college. He studied (and partied) hard, but there was still one problem. I couldnt afford it. And since my parents were still pretty cheesed off about my truancy, they werent ready to dip their hands into their pockets. Especially my dad, who said that music school is a waste of time, effort and money. Youll n ever get in anyway. While Connors relationship with his mother was quite firm, he admits there were often arguments between him and his father. And music school was a sore subject. Vases were thrown, insults hurled...it was terrible. Busking wasnt making near enough money, barely enough for a rucksack, let alone the course itself. So Connor retells us how he went and got himself a job in Waitrose, working there for a couple of years, starting off as a check out boy, climbing up the ranks, until he became an assistant floor manager. I was nineteen years old by the time I left Waitrose, Connor said, and every Monday and Thursday evening when Id busk, Id see Zak take the Metropolitan line towards Watford, wearing the same sharp suit and the same sad expression. So one day I stopped my playing and went up to him and asked him whats wrong. And he tells me, Im unhappy. Unhappy with my job, my relationship, my house. The only thing that actually makes me smile is your music man. At age 19, Zak finished his A- Levels just scraping through with 3 Cs but achieving an A in music. Despite this, he decided to take over his late uncles business in engineering. Two years he stayed and built an engineering empire, but knew deep down it wasnt for him. Id wait around for Connor, just so I could hear him play, Zak admits, It made me feel better. Cheesy, but true. Since that meeting the pair continuously contacted each other and fast became friends, despite the two year age gap. Gradually in September 2010, they hatched a plan to form a band but just as a duo. Tuesday, Friday and Sunday were their rehearsal nights spent in Zaks garage. Connor says that For two or three hours wed get ourselves immersed in pure music sometimes trying to copy original songs in our own style, sometimes we would try to make up our own, and sometimes we would try and teach each other how to play the instruments we loved guitar, keyboard and drums. A couple of months passed, and the duo, who named themselves A Cry For Help in reference to each of their background sufferings, were invited to play at low scale gigs and events, school concerts, discos, local festivals, even a few rocker weddings. Our mums were our managers, Zak laughs, they were the only ones organised enough! At this point Connor had raised enough cash to afford the music course, and so for a whole year he stayed in music college, playing truant only a couple of times as well as regularly keeping in contact with Zak, who also decided to use his skills in engineering and play his hand in a new career as an assistant audio engineer. I worked with some of the best people, Zak says, I even once got to work with Jay Z on a new album of his. It was totally friggin awesome! But there was a downside. I missed Connor. I missed our garage session together, the fantastic tunes we used to smash out. Working inside the studio wasnt enough for me; I wanted to be on the other side of the glass. Connors course finished in November 2011, achieving an A in his qualifications and the pair were reunited. They set up a YouTube Channel (ACryForHelp01) and uploaded videos of their collaborations weekly, and by February last year they had over 100,000 views. Aged just 20, Connor joined 22 year old Zak in his career of music and became an A&R Scout Manager, on the lookout for younger people with a music potential. And thats how the

third member of the band came to be found Connor tells us how he sought Karishma out. It was a cool, crisp April night and I was just on YouTube, checking over our past videos. One comment caught my eye. It read you guys could do with a female voice to hit the highs. I got me thinking; never had myself or Zak considered expanding our group, let alone have a female accompaniment. I talked it over with him, and though reluctant at first, he eventually gave in, and it was my job as a scout to find the missing piece to our jigsaw. It took a good couple of months to find her it wasnt until August that I stumbled across her YouTube Channel (naikmusic_92) that I knew Id found the right person. Connor and Karishma eventually got in contact with each other at the end of August 2012, sending emails and swapping numbers. Karishma was perfect, Connor says, her style, her voice, her age she was the missing piece. However Zak was still wavering about the decision to let another member into the band. In a previous interview he told how he was concerned she would let us down but then how Karishma blew that thought away the instant she sang live for us. The three agreed to meet in a studio where Zak worked in September. I wanted to really put Karishma in the spotlight. I think back now how mean I was. I just wanted to see how she could cope with all this promising equipment around her, and how she sang in front of two strangers. It was probably the scariest thing Ive ever done in my entire life. Even more so than turning up for my exams with no revision done, Karishma jokes, Me and Connor already had quite a good chemistry, and I knew it was Zak I had to impress. My start was a little shaky, but as I got further into the song (Titanium by David Guetta) I relaxed and sang what I felt. Zaks frostiness melted away and eagerly welcomed Karishma into the group. When asked to describe herself Karishma answered: A little fiery, a little crazy and a little mad, but you know something? All the best people are. From September to January this year, the trio worked their socks off, which proved to be difficult as 20 year old Connor, 21 year old Karishma and 22 year old Zak all had part time jobs. In an earlier edition of MM, the trio describe how their lives were a chaotic mess of mayhem. Karishma also wanted to change the name of the group as she said I felt left out. Theyd created that name when they were a duo. Were a trio now, so we all should have an input! Eventually they decided upon The Mundanes, with Connor and Karishmas favourite book series being The Mortal Instruments as well as Karishma arguing that Its a sophisticated name, its got that cool, eerie, earthy vibe to it. Since January, the trio worked together every time they could, and now with Karishmas vocal addition, their stats on YouTube flew up to a staggering 650k views and 600,000 subscribers. When asked what the comments included Karishma replied Youre always going to find a negative comment in there somewhere. But when I have, I just ignore it focus on the thousands of people that compliment and congratulate you! It was in March this year when The Mundanes truly made their mark upon the musical world, when they first appeared on The Voice UK. Spurred on by the positive comments they had received, as well as the many bookings to perform at various events, they decided to give it a go.

I wasnt sure if the audience or judges would like it...our style of music isnt the same as everyone elses. We like to shake it up a bit, but sticking to anything indie or rock. We wanted to prove we were different. Zak. And after smashing an acoustic version of Coldplays Viva La Vida in their first round, they found all four judges turn round. It was overwhelming, Connor says, To find the audience up on their feet and all four famous faces applauding you...its a feeling I cant explain. And with a mentor like Danny O'Donoghue, who can blame them? With his help, The Mundanes made it all the way to the finals, but just losing the winners crown to R&B wannabe, Rebekah Anderson. I was gutted, Karishma said, But you know what? It spurred us on even more. Being that close to winning...I wanted for us to be known even more than ever. Since their appearance, theyve been signed to Epic Records, the same company that sign The Script. Back in May 2013, the trio revealed how they had already worked with The Script and acted as backing singers for various music acts, and have appeared on several TV programmes, including The Jonathon Ross and Graham Norton shows, as well as performing and being interviewed on Alan Carrs Chatty Man. Before they had to go, the group was asked one final question: What will the future hold? Do you know what? I dont know, and to be honest I dont want to know. We are having the time of our lives, and we are still only in our twenties. We work hard, and are currently producing our first album which is called Beware of the Moon. Its a follow on from our single, Star Gazer, which tells the story of people wishing for something they want to achieve. Its a very personal song, as its a reflection of all of our lives. We just hope that people like it as much as we enjoyed making it, and who knows? Perhaps one day well be performing on the stage of Glastonbury. The Mundanes November 2013. Star Gazer is out on the 6th December 2013 Beware of the Moon is out 21st March 2014 Article written by Sophie Boston.