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The Dartmouth
July 9, 2025 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

Dragons of Zynth slated for FNR

Dragons of Zynth classify their own music as "auto-physio-psychic," an esoteric term coined by their mentor, the famed jazz saxophonist and flutist Yusef Lateef. The New York Times calls them "psychedelia tweaked by hardcore math-rock besieged by feedback and buzzing Minimalism hijacked by power-trio riffs." Based on these frenetic attempts at description, it seems that a song, or in this case perhaps a live performance, is truly worth a thousand words.

Dragons of Zynth will be offering just that on Saturday, thanks to Friday Night Rock. FNR will be starting out its Winter term with opening band Babewatch -- a pop act hailing from Connecticut -- and the acclaimed Dragons of Zynth. The Dragons are the brainchild of Cleveland-raised twins Aku and Akwetey O.T.

"I'm always hoping people will rise above what they expect: simple songs," Aku said in a phone interview with The Dartmouth. "It's always a chance to take it to a higher level in someone's mind. We try to make a small conversation equal a live performance for 20,000 people."

Named one of the Top 10 Bands to Watch in 2008 by NME magazine, Dragons of Zynth was also dubbed the #1 New York Times College Music Journal "artist to watch." Their debut album "Coronation Thieves" was called, "if not one of 2007's best albums, then at least its greatest discovery" by Prefix Magazine.

It's the band's unique style that has most music gurus enthralled and some simply perplexed. While they're compared to "TV on the Radio played backwards" by Pitchfork Media, WNBC reports that Dragons of Zynth "combine punk, dub, funk, soul and heavy metal in a way so fresh it's been given its own name: Afrotek."

Aku clarified the band's self classification as "auto-physio-psychic": "'auto' being the self and soul and 'physio' being the physical implementation of the psychic," he said.

"You don't know what you're going to get," says FNR spokesperson Hayley Kennedy '08, a member of The Dartmouth Staff. "It has so many influences from American cultural music, it should definitely be accessible and interesting for the Dartmouth student body."

In fact, this inclusive attitude seems to be the basic goal of Friday Night Rock. "FNR is for the student body, and we want to make this a venue for students to do something different at Dartmouth," Kennedy said.

"It's an interesting, alternative social scene," Maia Pfeffer '11 said. "[It's] a different crowd than your typical night out at a frat."

Dragons of Zynth and Babewatch will perform on Saturday, Jan. 26, in Fuel. Doors open at 9:30 p.m., and the show will begin at 10:00 p.m.