FLY53 ZINE
ATARI TEENAGE RIOT SCROOBIUS PIP RANDOM IMPULSE ZULU WINTER THE FUTUREHEADS GALLOWS ISTROPICAL & MORE...
W W W . F LY 5 3 . C O M
THE
FLY53 ZINE
Welcome to the Summer 2012 FLY53 Fanzine in association with Artrocker magazine. We have worked together to interview, photograph and video some of the most kick ass UK bands out there at the moment and present them exclusively to you in a different light. FLY53 has eighteen years of affiliation with music and each time we work with bands and DJ’s, we love it even more. This shit never gets tiring. Ever. The artists in these pages and the ones we didn’t have space to include that have given time and creativity to us over the years are seriously amazing. Credible and interesting musicians that work like true pros at creating their own path. This Zine was so much fun to put together as we threw questions and situations at the artists they weren’t expecting, but handled with consummate ease. This is a labour of love for us so we want to extend a massive thanks to everyone that lent a hand in making it.
Gallows, Atari Teenage Riot, Zulu Winter photography Will Hutchinson The Futureheads photography Beki Cowey
Enjoy the pages. Dive in and don’t forget the exclusive smash-up Utah Saints mix.
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NEW NEW BANDS BANDS GENER A L F I A S C O
From Bellaghy, Co.Derry, General Fiasco write and
play infectious pop with staccato guitars and ear-worm
choruses. “Waves EP” took the attention of Radio 1 and with a new album out soon, these boys look to take the step up.
www.generalfiasco.co.uk
ALL THE YOUNG
Renowned for their incendiary live shows, and favourite new band of Morrissey. Stoke’s very
own All The Young combine energy and huge riffs, the kind of fist-pumping fodder that’s made them
THE JE Z A B E L S
festival favourites.
Australian four piece The Jezabels have spent the last year
www.alltheyoung.co.uk
honing their genre defying craft, selling out shows across the UK along the way. Their debut album ‘Prisoner’
VICTOR TALKING MACHINE
is infused with the band’s own brand of emotionally
London newcomers Victor Talking Machine write
charged, adrenaline fuelled classic rock/pop. The
songs that “recall the grubbier, sunnier side of
Jezabels are one of the most mesmerising bands to
pre-britpop indie” (NME). Big scuzzy riffs and
emerge in the last 12 months. www.thejezabels.com
memorable choruses, this band is definitely one to watch out for. www.facebook.com/pages/VictorTalking-Machine/8615752507
THE HEARTBREAKS Morecambe newcomers The Heartbreaks supported both Morrissey and Hurts across Europe playing to arena and theatre filled crowds of more than 200,000 people. They pen uptempo, punchy indie pop songs with melodic vocals and
SKETC H E S
majestic guitars about young romance and growing
Sketches are a 3 piece hailing from Leeds, who self
up in a small seaside town.
recorded their wonderfully crafted debut album ‘Bastion’
www.theheartbreaks.net
in a garage and shipped it off to Chicago to be carefully mixed by an old friend. From the ethereal, haunting
THE 1975
guitars of Bleed Victoria, to the grandiose crescendos
New Manchester based band’s influences range
of Carnivores, ‘Bastion’ is full of light and shade from a
from Brian Eno to Coco Chanel. Their lead track
band that have never wanted to just ‘blend in’.Sketches
‘The City’ has already picked up airplay from Zane
have already accomplished a lot, with warm support
Lowe, Fearne Cotton and Huw Stephens amongst
from BBC Radio and slots at Reading/Leeds Festival,
others.
they now offer you their first full body of work.
www.the1975.com
www.sketchesmusic.co.uk
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“I WILL LET YOU ALL INTO A LITTLE SECRET, I WAS SICK BEFORE WE WENT ONSTAGE THAT NIGHT.”
THE
XCERTs INTERVIEW ONLINE AT FLY53.com
W W W. F LY 5 3 . C O M
HITTING BACK “just seeing a smiling politician on TV… it doesn’t mean anything to me
Atari Teenage Riot
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POLITICAL-MINDED ELECTROHEADS ATARI TEENAGE RIOT DISCUSS DIGITAL ACTIVISTS ANONYMOUS, GETTING INTO FISTFIGHTS AT COACHELLA AND NEW UK BAND MEMBER ROWDY SUPERSTAR... This year’s UK shows at the Old Blue Last and The Garage
Alec: In the summer of 2010 I wasn’t really sure if we should make a new record, but it seemed that there were so many things we had to speak about that we could write a lot of new songs. A lot of people still find the topics we were speaking about in the ‘90s relevant corruption of government, wars etc. But then technology shifted - and right in that time was Anonymous and Wikileaks - all these topics that were constantly in the news, and actually this was inspiring.
were really well received. Rowdy Superstar, were they your
On the record, there’s ‘Black Flags’ which is mostly about the Bradley Manning
first gigs with the band?
case - whistleblowers and how they’re treated, and the Wikileaks that expose
Rowdy Superstar: It was really good - all my people in London had been asking questions; ‘you’re with Atari? How is it?’ and blah blah and everyone came to it. It’s a brilliant venue The Garage, I ended up swinging from the curtains!
corrupt governments and the army… there’s so much more. That song, we thought: it’s so important as citizens to have more information so we can make a decision who we want to vote for, if we want to vote at all. Because just seeing a smiling politician on TV… it doesn’t mean anything to me. It’s a new way of carrying out non-violent, direct action.
Everyone has been impressed at how ATR has survived through the decades but also maintained it’s intensity.
Yes, and a new way of educating people. Now at that point there was no contact [between ATR and Anonymous]. The contact happened when we did the ‘Black Flags’ viral video concept. It was a last minute decision to do this viral concept.
Alec Empire: That’s the Atari computer more than us - it’s all programmed! Could you tell us about about your connection with and
Another video director we wanted to work with didn’t happen, so we said: OK why don’t we actually try something like this with the fans. Basically [we asked fans to] send in video footage of you lip synching the song, or something that we called at the time ‘corpsing’ - you go into a public space, lie
admiration from Anonymous
down on the floor like a dead person with the black flag over your head and do
group?
this silent protest thing. And people sent in crazy stuff - they did it in shopping malls and in front of statues, like the Bundestag in Germany. Sometimes in the background you can see cops going ‘what is going on there?’
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If you see ten people doing this it’s a very powerful statement. So then we got the first clips in from Anonymous activists, who were like ‘OK, we can’t lip sync the song because we wear these Guy Fawkes masks, but can we still send in footage?’ We were like ‘Yeah of course, thank you!’ A few weeks later all the Occupy protests started to happen, and it was kind of interesting how that video evolved from just this simple idea that we needed fast, into almost a documentation of all these protests - because we got stuff from the student protests from Chile, anti Nuclear protests in Japan because of Fukushima, then in December my favourite moment came when Wikileaks gave us this footage of Julian Assange speaking at Occupy London. And this because a little documentation of the past nine months of what activists were doing around the world. And to me that was quite good - because usually as an artist you control the music video, but when we opened up this platform something much more interesting came from it. You can tell by the way that your new video clocked up over a million views on Youtube that ATR has a lot of support across the digital spectrum.
“HE GOT INTO TH E F I G H T, T H E N H E CAME BACK AND WA S L I K E ‘ F U C K YO U COACHELLA!’ IT WA S V E RY G O O D ”
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If you think about it, it’s almost two years since we
suing 20,000 people than from the record! But that is
started playing again - and we’ve toured so much,
why they made the record, to sue people. And to me
playing in countries that we didn’t visit in the ‘90s.
it’s like… this is why you’re making music?
We just played Mexico City and it was out of control, it was great.
“ I THINK OUR MAIN RO L E H A S A LWAYS
Atari Teenage Riot are on a roll at the
B E E N TO J U S T
moment, is it the plan to release a new album
There’s a cliche that bands aren’t political these days. It could be argued that ATR are a powerful quasi-political group, a separate
next year now?
M OT I VAT E P E O P L E . . .”
Alec: Yeah we’re just making it.
entity to Anonymous. So what do you see the
Can you give us any exclusive, you know,
role of a rock and roll band being in all this -
juicy details?
how can you make a difference?
Alec: It features Rowdy Superstar – the first English
I think our main role has always been to just motivate
member of ATR. It’s a big change – we played in
people. The first thing is to get people to even think
America and a few other shows, and it worked really
about these things.
well. People in America look at us and think ‘Ah the
Some people would
Europeans!’ I think it fits perfectly, and I was thinking
say ‘but is that the
‘why didn’t we do this much earlier?’
point?’ and I’d say
Rowdy: Well, as an artist you can talk about the
yeah – because it starts in your mind. It’s so important for artists to go out there and express their opinions about these topics. We find this very
music sometimes, but I think in this case we’ll make it, then once you get to hear it you judge it and see if you like it, rather than [us] giving it the rundown of what it’s going to sound like. Music isn’t something to be torn apart while you’re making it. I think it would be damaging for us to talk about it too much
important. If you look at the
about a year now – I’m not looking forwards
was being censored here in the UK a few days ago. I was saying I think that’s wrong, but I also have criticized Pirate Bay in the past because of certain things with the ads and how it’s also sometimes working against independent musicians. But if you’re going to get armed police in to protect your songs… I’m totally against that. Ha ha! But if I even express that I see someone [online] say: ‘He has criticized Pirate Bay!’ and I see 300 less people on my profile… ha ha! Well, I have to live
watching the trailer for Prometheus for to it anymore! Alec: One thing we can say is that Rowdy brings in something else.You can tell from his solo stuff too – like if you look at the Alec Empire solo work there’s a cross over point where you can say ‘this is a bit more like the Atari direction’, but if you look at the electronic stuff I’ve done, or the solo records Nic has done, it’s the same with Rowdy – if you know his solo work it’s not very logical; he brings in something really special. And it’s very angry stuff,
with that, but that’s my opinion.
right?
It’s not back and white though is it? Sometimes
Rowdy: Yeah!
the owners of these torrent sites are revealed to be
Alec: When we were playing Coachella, some of the
greedy businessmen in Bermuda shorts with two
other bands were like ‘Oh my God! This new guy’s in
swimming pools and five cadillacs. It’s not simple.
a fist fight by the second song!’ I was like, damn. He’s
Yeah, it’s a very complex debate. But I don’t think we
stealing the show. To get into a fistfight at Coachella?
should shy away from that debate even if it sometimes
It should have been me!
makes you less popular. A lot of bands are like ‘Hey,
Rowdy: Well I didn’t choose it! This guy obviously
it’s cool guys, take all the songs!’ – and then they go
felt that I was rubbing him up the wrong way, so
in the back room and hire five lawyers! There was a
he decided to come to the front. I jumped into the
German band a year ago who released a record, and
crowd and he punched me in the face, so I punched
had all the lawyers in place, and then sued everybody
him back, then took his hat and wore it for the rest of
they could track that had downloaded it illegally for
the show. It’s my new favourite accessory – and he’s
3000 Euros. So they actually made more money from
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crowd and shouting ‘YEAH! COACHELLA! ARE YOU READY?’ then he got into the fight, then he came back and was like ‘FUCK YOU COACHELLA!’ It was very good. Well, it must be reassuring to know that if there was
right now. I know what you mean... I feel like I’ve been
way the Pirate Bay
Alec: It was great. At first Rowdy was going into the
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ever a sniper at an ATR show, they’d be taken out pretty quickly. Alec: Yeah… we sense these kind of people.
Z WE CAUGHT UP WITH ZULU WINTER IN OUR OFFICES AS THE SUMMER STARTED TO BREAK WINTER’S BACK AND SUNSHINE LEFT IT’S WINTER CAVE. THE DISCUSSION WAS BRISK AND BANTER FLOWED FROM A GROUP ABOUT TO EMBARK ON A SUMMER OF GIGGING AND THROWING THEIR NAME ABOUT WITH WANTON ABANDON.
U
L
U
W
Language is a fast-evolving thing. No matter which
lyrics to their own means”. Despite the inadequacy
form it is in, ambiguity is an essential part of it. Zulu
of verbal language, there is a certain sense of
Winter know it well and despite their outfit’s name
legitimacy that lies in purely ambiguous forms of
being purely random, they have spent a lot of time
communication such as art, poetry and music. Mr
on the concept and the title of their debut album.
Walton adds: “obviously music is our language.
Language - released by Play It Again Sam Recordings
It is in many ways a form of communication able
on May 14th – is a compendium of perfectly-
to convey moods and atmospheres and it is more
crafted Pop tunes and oneiric atmospheres, in which
truthful than picking up words and getting ideas. It
ambiguity plays a central role. As guitarist Henry
is a slightly pure aesthetic. It is quite immediate and
Walton asserts: “we were always interested in writing
simple”. Hence a lot of musical and lyrical content of
in a way that was sort of ambiguous, it is up to the
this slowly conceived body of work relies on giving
listener to decipher the meaning and to interpret the
people room to interpret it in their own terms.
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I
N
T
E
R
The record follows an old traced path through a
imagery and using ideas, images, icons to bring up a
Wasteland that was tracked by the likes of T.S. Elliot,
feeling rather than just relying on words”.
one of the main literary references of the band. Walton states “the song Let’s Move Back To Front was inspired by Walt Whitman and the album in its entirety was influenced quite a lot by TS Elliot’s The Wasteland. And that takes us back to the idea of ambiguity. That’s something that TS Elliot does incredibly well. He’s dealing with a huge range of
“Music is our language.
Of course Language is not a pretentious piece of
It is in many ways a form of
record full of catchy melodies and epic moments,
communication able to convey moods and atmospheres...”
post-modern avant-garde. It is an alchemical pop it fits into the ipod and yeah, you can play it in the shower. However, despite most of the stuff we are used to nowadays, it is an intelligent and insightful
issues like love and death, childhood and manhood.
Pop gem. Produced by Tom Morris - Lydia Lunch,
He does it in a way that is always modest rather than
Faust, Basement Jaxx - the album was entirely
providing any sort of answers. He relies more on
recorded on tape.
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“A lot of the things we run through are about looking for something simpler and less aggressive,
Z U L I N T
claustrophobic and pressurised”
After the astonishing buzzing followed by their
jobs, raising the money to keep on recording without
early singles – more than 100,000 plays on Youtube
any interfering. It’s a relief and it’s exciting now
in only four days for We Should Be Swimming
because we are all genuinely proud of the record
– the five piece London outfit made up by Will
that we’ve made. We haven’t played shows until
Daunt, Iain Lock, Dom Millard, Henry Walton
September and that was really difficult because of
and Guy Henderson has gained many legitimate
course you wanna get out there. It was a pretty
and illegitimate comparisons. Press dropped out
isolating experience”. However, isolation and escape
names such as Friendly Fires, Wild Beasts and even
of reality are probably the keys to the nature of the
Coldplay. Walton says: “You don’t wanna sound
record. “A lot of the things we run through are about
like an ungrateful little shit, we are grateful of the
looking for something simpler and less aggressive,
attention and we wanna get the record out there
claustrophobic and pressurised. I think that is
to as many people as possible. Obviously when the
definitely the result of London. We all love London,
media say certain things it’s useful but I think that is
we have friends and families here, the things that
just the result of having a large body of work behind
you can go out and find are incredible but it comes
you. There are lots of comparisons I don’t really get,
with it’s negatives as well. Every time I venture into
but you know, people have to sell their stuff. In a
central London I have a feeling of aggression and
month’s time it’s gonna be somebody else. It’s kind of
that’s quite hard to live with. I think music is an
the death of you to be honest but it doesn’t count for
escape from that. It is a sort of release of that tension.
all that much. For us it is all about exploring music.
The most direct song on our record is People You
Our advantage is we just lock ourselves away and we
Must Remember. People asked if that was about the
write.”
riots but it was actually written before the riots. It’s interesting now to listen to it and then think about
The whole record is in fact the product of nearly
the riots. I think this is what happens when you deal
two years of isolation from the outside world, the
with some of the simpler issues growing up looking
endless buzz and the industry. Walton explains: “It
at what’s going on around in your environment”.
wasn’t really intentional. It’s just that we recorded the majority of the album without management and without label so we were working full time crappy
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BOTH SCROOBIUS PIP AND RANDOM IMPULSE HAVE TROD A DIFFERENT PATH IN MUSIC TO GET TO WHERE THEY ARE NOW. PIP STARTED HIS OWN LABEL AND WORKED AS A BEARDED WHITE GUY IN RAP, PULSE LEARNED GUITAR FROM YOUTUBE WHEN WANTING TO GET AWAY FROM THE GRIME SCENE. BOTH ARE CLASSIC FLY53 BATTLERS WITH A WILL TO SUCCEED AND KNOCK THE OPPONENTS OUT. SO WE PUT THEM IN A BOXING RING TOGETHER
Album vs single?
grabbing’. Cause I made a point of saying that no money will go to charity, this
Impulse – I think every single label should concentrate on the albums.
will all go to me and my label. But again, the actual act of Ebaying didn’t make any difference its just the story of Ebay that made a difference and made the press. It is trying to be interesting so it doesn’t have to be ‘you’ve got to be this polished thing’ it’s working with what you’ve got and making a story of it.
Pip – I write albums and then the label makes the singles. The label can then take the album apart and choose which song should be released as a single. If they say that’s the best thing to do then cool. But what I do is sit down and I write albums. I
Impulse – Yeah, the important thing is that the music is what you do. So make the music. Don’t have any thought about marketing when making the music. Then once you have that beautiful piece of innocent, pure work then you think ‘how can I be a pervert and completely violate this’. So the packaging etc make it seem more.
don’t sit down and write singles. Other people can go that singles route…
Solo vs band? – You’ve both had a go at this one.
Impulse – Don’t do it bruv.
Pip – Yeah
Pip – It’s such a fickle audience these days.You will have stuff in the charts one
Impulse – Nah I haven’t. Oh when I play on stage? Its weird though cause for me
week and no-one will know about it a month later. Whereas when me and Dan
they’re like a backing track. Know what I mean? So it’s not like we all four build
(Le Sac) wrote an album that we were happy with and after our first song did
music together. I prefer having other live musicians on stage other than just having
well, people then looked at the album. That’s why we have continued to have a
a mike and decks.
fan base over the last 5 years. Rather than having that one moment of success then fading away. We didn’t just go: ‘right were gonna rinse this one single for years and do 10 remixes’. We made more songs and toured our asses off.
Pip – For me its all about variety. On tour at the moment with my live band. With drums, guitar all that. I love that energy because I grew up in little punk bands. But equally I do stuff with Dan. And that’s the equivalent of having a band
Style vs substance. Is it how you look as opposed to what you do?
because Dan’s doing so much. There’s so much
Pip – You can’t fake it.
beats and live stuff,
Impulse – What it is yeah – One of my favourite stories is about Jack White
but also doing spoken
from the White Stripes. Because he wanted his music to be more bluesey it wasn’t
word, I love having the
marketable. He said he was going to make everything else other then the music
variation.
so plastic and stylised ‘we’re just going to wear black and white’ and ‘this is my sister’ even though it wasn’t. All these other stories so that the label was like ‘oh my God this is great’, but they forgot that the music is totally untouched and its just two people playing. Pip – Everyone’s scared of the word marketing. There’s nothing wrong with marketing and pushing it if it’s to bring something you want people to hear. When I put Introdiction out, in the video I cut my beard off and then I Ebayed my beard. I didn’t need to Ebay my beard. But it was a news story. It got people talking. Going ‘that’s ridiculous’ some people saying ‘that’s terrible, you’re money
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VS
Leg vs breast? Pip – Breast Impulse – Leg Pip – You see, this shows my warped priorities at the moment. I instantly thought of KFC Impulse – Same.
There’s different appeal and different pay offs if you
gig. And if those people who are way far back, I
Pip – And I always go for leg. I wasn’t even thinking
know what I mean. After a gig with the band or with
personally wouldn’t be happy at a show being that far
of it as a sexual question. I was like ‘I always go for a
Dan, I’m sweating and knackered, I’m pumped.
back, but if they’re happy, then all the better man.
drum stick’
After a spoken word gig I’m kind of like ‘Yea that was
I would prefer not to do arenas and stuff like that, I
good, I’m a bit drunk and I’ve been talking loads.’
think that’s just ridiculous. Too much like, ahh I can’t
Impulse – I was actually thinking of food but then I
see anybody, I can’t tell if they’re liking it or not. Do
switched just so as not to feel silly. But I’m glad you
ya know what I mean?
said that. I was like I’m hungry, I haven’t eaten today.
Pip – You see you’ve caught me at an awkward
Manga vs MMA?
Big vs small gigs? Impulse – I like big gigs. I dunno like small gigs are…. I like big gigs, fuck it man.You know why? cause big gigs you get everyone at the front. But if you think ahh this it too big, just look at the first 200/300 people and you feel like you’re at a small
time for both of us. I was playing at Wembley arena on Friday (Impulse laughs) in front of 11,000. It was amazing, but honestly generally its about the
Impulse – vs Manga? Manga, the most amazing
But with the Wembley one it was as exciting looking
thing ever put on this planet
was actually being there. It was more to go ‘WOW
SCROOBIUS PIP
my shit.
variation. I’ve done gigs that I enjoy more than that. at the photo we took from stage afterwards, than it
“I’M SWEATING AND KNACKERED... I’M PUMPED”
Pip – Ahh MMA all day long. Mixed martial arts is
Pip – Ow yeah...
there’s that many people, but the actual gigs I’ve got
Impulse – Obviously Manga. Like MMA, Ok loads
the most buzz from have been the little rowdy ones
of city men running around fighting each other. Or
where you get the crowd just going crazy. It’s really
Manga.
rare. Pip – You’ve admitted to me already that as soon as Impulse – Yea it’s a happy medium like 2,000, that’s
MMA gets Manga on the ground, theres nothing you
big for me. Cause some of us ain’t Scroobius Pip.
can do.You just get tapped out, you get arms broken,
Pip - Well just another Friday night you know what I mean. Just a Friday night knocking about at Wembley… (both laugh)
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you can break your balls out and shit. Impulse – Nah man. Manga. Think about it bruv
come on. Manga is too much. Why you even… the artwork, the stories…. Do you know what. If you ever said what’s my biggest inspiration – Anime and Manga. Think I’m joking? If you could somehow put all that into real life, not the fantasy crazy ones just the normal ones. The storylines are so deep. MMA’s just senseless fighting. Pip – I’m gonna ignore that bit of goading. But I think its true. I don’t think people realise how much can be influenced by film and things like that,
“NAH MAN. THINK ABOUT IT BRUV COME ON. MANGA IS TOO MUCH” RANDOM IMPULSE
2 years old. I never used to listen to music. I used to listen to music on the radio, but I was in my books
by Manga, by comics. There are amazing graphic
and science was all I cared about. I had no interest
novels out there with crazy ideas, but people always
in music. So I remember MTV raps being on. But
assume that because I come from a spoken word
Impulse – hahaha
I never used to like go and watch it, if it was on I
or what authors have influenced you the most. It’s
Pip - No honestly. Look it’s a chess game that gets
and stuff, but it’s more just the discovery of new
like Garth Ennis the graphic novel writer. He’s done
me excited more than anything.
music. But big up Jamal you know you’re my boy
background; They’re like, what’s your favourite poem
amazing stuff. So yeah it’s that whole thing of where inspiration has come from. But in conclusion MMA is better Impulse – Does MMA influence you? Pip – Yea hugely. Genuinely, the craft of a good ground battle.
didn’t mind.Yeah SBTV. Even though SBTV is live
innit.
MTV raps vs SBTV? Pip – It’s tough. I would say MTV raps. But that’s just because I’m a sentimental old man. Impulse – I got into the scene late so it’s different for me. To me Radiohead’s a year old, Queens Of The Stone Age are a year old and the Beatles are like
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CHRIS LANCASTER HITS THE CAMDEN CRAWL TO TRACK DOWN THE
You’ve taken risks musically by recording a
hour and then went and sang it live straight on the
whole album of acapella songs. How did that
radio (laughs) and that was a much bigger risk than
come to pass?
anything we’d done up to that point, although we enjoyed taking that risk definitely and got a lot out of
FUTUREHEADS TO FIND OUT WHY THEY TURNED OFF THEIR AMPS AND LET THEIR VOICES DO THE TALKING
Barry: We did a session for Jo Wiley and when you
it. It’s similar to when you play a bunch of new songs
do a session for the Live Lounge it’s a good little
live at a gig, the feeling of relief when you’ve played
challenge as you do one of your own songs, you have
them, and played them all correctly, is worth all the
to do an arrangement of someone else’s song that
built up anxiety beforehand leading up to it. It’s that
is in the charts that week so we chose ‘Acapella’ by
risk that’s important because if you don’t care then
Kelis and we managed to arrange it in about half and
what are you risking?
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THE FUTUREHEADS THE FUTUREHEADS I N
H A R M O N Y
Ross: I think that a lot of bands feel misunderstood
Barry: Led Zeppelin 3 mainly, they took a risk there
by others at certain times but with an acapella album,
and it didn’t really pay off for them but at least they
what’s there to misunderstand? You can’t really miss that one, you can’t hide behind anything, and it’s really upfront. Have there been any outside bands or artists that have influenced the writing and playing
“NOWADAYS IT’S NOT AS MUCH ABOUT THE CRAFT - ITS ABOUT BEING CRAFTY...”
of the recent albums/recordings?
then followed it up with number 4 and ‘Stairway to Heaven’ so you have to think would they have ever written that if they’d never made number 3? Ross: I think it was just speaking to each other as well that influenced the album, saying ok well we’ve always sang in 4 part harmony and added certain acapella parts to songs so why not try and do a whole albums worth of purely acapella songs?
Ross: Led Zeppelin T H E F LY 5 3 ‘ Z I N E
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I think that by reducing the instruments as well it helped push the idea for a live situation as well as you can’t really do a whole 80 minutes of acapella music, you’d be asking too much of the crowd to sit there in silence throughout, especially when a good 90% of people aren’t capable of giving that much attention to something for that length of time when they’ve come to a rock and roll show. I mean no disrespect to anyone but it is very intense to do that for a whole show so we added the acoustic and older instruments like mandolins and cellos. Barry: We like the old instruments as well as they are so old as they are very ancestral instruments to us so it’s a good feeling when the songs go across in this way, songs like ‘The Keeper’ are very elemental in their presentation, we are trying to present something old as new songs, the melodies are so strong and so familiar as well, as they were written in an era when the songs meant more and there was more of a craft, where as nowadays its not as much about the craft, it’s about being crafty (laughs) Ross: that’s what we really like about these songs as well, they are so simple in their construction, there are no mathematical riffs to remember or strange time signatures to remember, it’s about getting up there, playing the songs and having a good time. Barry: I’d say that the build up over the previous four albums have been a kind of apprenticeship to this stage that we’ve arrived at now and once you get to that stage it’s almost validation of what you’ve achieved and you can then look at things objectively and say right, what can we do now? Have you heard Todd Rundgren’s 1985 album ‘Acapella’? If so was it an influence on the concept? Barry: You mean Dolph Lundgren? (Laughs) Ross: It’s when he sampled himself and used the
vocals through a synth type emulator.
it or anything like that, they are literally recording whilst travelling which I think is quite amazing really.
Barry: Oh no, no I haven’t heard, I’d like to though definitely.
Ross: Although they usually fly everywhere in jets so they must have to have a REALLY good idea to
Jaff: I saw him when he came over for the ‘A Wizard,
take the bus (all laughs) that’s really big deal megastar
A True Star’ gigs in Hammersmith and that was
stuff really, the best we’d get would be a 8 track in
amazing although I wasn’t too sure about him also
the van.
doing the blues band stuff at the start but the main show was really great.
Barry: Obviously when you’re travelling in a vehicle or walking somewhere, that tends to be a common
Barry: It might be a good idea actually to have a bad
time for you to have ideas, when you’re kind of
support band then the crowd is so appreciative of the
distracted, so I think in a sense songs begin on the
first note of your set (laughs)
road when you’re just going about your daily business and then you have to make a date really and decide
Do you write on the road?
to work on the song on this day and record it on this day and then the rest of the process just takes over.
Ross: Its quite difficult when you’re touring as you’re preoccupied with doing the gigs and enjoying the experience of being ‘on tour’ although you do remember individual ideas that you’ve put to one side for a better time that you can then bring to the table when we get back at a later date. But writing on the road isn’t really something we do; I don’t think many bands do it either that we’ve met. Barry: Linkin Park! I heard that they have a tour bus that is a recording studio, there aren’t any beds on
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“IT’S ABOUT GETTING UP THERE, PLAYING THE SONGS AND HAVING A GOOD TIME...”
You don’t stop writing a song until it’s mastered. I
work if not more as you have the original attachment
‘achieve’ an album, nothing more; it’s nothing about
consider the mixing process just as important as the
to the song and the initial relationship so in that
the demographic (laughs)
lyrical process or the guitar process, it’s not finished
respect you have to let them change and evolve.
until you essentially press stop.
Ross: It’s very rare that you play every song off
Ross: we just feel we’ve become better musicians as
an album live anyway so it’s only when we’re re-
we’ve progressed and are trying new things out and
Is a song ever finished? For the ‘Rant’
arranged them that they have actually made it to the
it’s just as valid an experience to us as anything else
album you’ve re-recorded some songs from
set, they just seemed to fit better in that acoustic
that we’ve done.
your back catalogue for example and then
setting this time around.
performed them live including different arrangements once again.
What are the plans for The Futureheads for Can you see a time where you’d do both
the summer/rest of the year?
versions in a live setting? Barry: In that sense, in the terms of a life of a song absolutely it never ends, you can stunt its growth
Ross: We have a handful of festivals through the Barry: I think you could get away with that.
(laughs) or you can be really rigid with it and play
summer and a gig at Shepherds Bush Empire coming up, then after we will be releasing the next part of
it the same every night but that’s quite tedious for
David ‘Jaff ’ Craig (Bass/cello/vocals): Well in
the acoustic albums. We have also been recording
the band so everything slowly starts to take its own
fact a friend of ours who heard ‘Rant’ said “well
each of our shows on the tour so hopefully we’ll have
quality, but what we’ve done on this acoustic album
there were a couple of the re-recorded ones that
a live album out as well to follow.
we’ve made, as when we made ‘Rant’, we re-
were better than the original and some that weren’t”
invented some of our old songs for other instruments
which was strange because we then had to explain
Can the fans expect a return to the electric
not just vocals.
that we weren’t trying to replace any of the originals
line up after?
or do them better as such, we were just trying Ross: Help give them some CPR! (Laughs)
something new and trying them out in this setting
Ross:Yes well we have a gig next week that’s full on
and arrangement for our own enjoyment really.
band, so sooner than they think (laughs).
songs to us and it’s strange that for some people,
Barry: It’s strange that people always need to attach
Barry: It’s been a very rejuvenating experience
when you’re releasing albums that aren’t entirely of
reason to things. Sometimes there isn’t a valid reason
playing acoustic and acapella so going back to
new material that they think “Oh they must have ran
behind something and you have people asking “so
electric instruments after such a long time off will be
out of ideas” but to re-record an old song is as much
what are you trying to achieve with this album?”
exciting, we can’t wait.
of an idea as writing a new one; it takes as much
and we have to say…well nothing, we are trying to
Barry: By doing this they really do feel like new
T H E F LY 5 3 ‘ Z I N E
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IST IS IST
"FUCKING TINS OF FISH EVERYWHERE IN THE VAN & IT STINKS...."
TROPICAL S TROPICAL ISTROPICAL WAS FORMED OUT OF
Gary: Never to fly Ryanair would be one of them
THE ASHES OF RATTY RAT RAT WHERE
Simon: Yea it would be good to do a tour of places as well like around India, China, South America
TWO OF THE BAND CUT THEIR TEETH
and places like that. We’re planning to do a South
America tour in September this year. We played a few
TOURING AND RACKING UP THE MILES
places in South America, which worked out well for
IN THE U.K. NEVER KNOWN TO DO THE
us. So yeah we’d like to take that further and do some
SAME AS EVERYONE ELSE THEY ARE
doesn’t often tour.
AS CREATIVE WITH THEIR MUSIC AS
Dom: To travel and not be poor basically
places like China and stuff where Western music
As anyone who saw their
THEY ARE WITH EVERYTHING ELSE IN
THE BAND. THAT’S ONE OF THE MANY REASONS KITSUNE SIGNED THEM.
FROM LIGHT SHOWS TO THEIR BAND
Greeks, which notched up
Do you think you’d survive a South American
over a million views in a
tour?
week, you’ll know what
we are talking about.Partly
Simon: Yeah, it’s a bit sketchy, when we played in Venezuela and Caracas we
because of this creativity there wasn’t any hesitation
TEES, THEY ALWAYS HAVE SOMETHING
when we asked them to do this photoshoot with
ADDITIONAL AND INTERESTING TO DO
When arriving in for the shoot in Hackney and
WITH WHAT’S IN FRONT OF THEM.
Gary: A string of no.1 hits. By string, I mean at least 3.
breakout video for The
weren’t allowed to leave the side of the people looking
three pigs heads fresh from the local butcher shop.
after us because they have
express kidnaps there. They
seeing the pigs on the floor, there wasn’t a single
primadonna strop or even any real amazement, just an acceptance of it being just another day in their lives.
The guys are legends. Ultimate goal?
Simon: Ultimate goal is to not be on the bread line to be on the croissant line. Eat lobster.
"TABLE & CHAIRS ALL WENT OFF THE ROOF....” “BUT IT WASN’T OUR FAULT"
kidnap you have credit card machines to make it easier, for real. So that was the one thing when we were trying to book this is that it’s a bit sketchy. I think South America is quite famous for their planes
Gary: Everyday Dom: I look forward to paying for all my World of War Craft accounts, which would be a good end goal
T H E F LY 5 3 ‘ Z I N E
said there were people who
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not staying in the air.
ISTROPICAL ISTROPICAL ISTROPICAL ISTROPICAL
IT WASN’T OUR FAULT.
IT WAS THE DEMONS THAT TOOK OVER... ...ALCOHOL DEMONS
Will you still wear masks when you’re coming back in decade’s time?
Gary: We will probably have breathing difficulties by then.
Dom: Oxygen masks and cannisters. Simon: Hideously over weight.
Gary: Opening each other’s mouths just trying to get some air. Simon: Yeah mobility scooters and oxygen masks.
Gary: We don’t want to pay the lawsuits so we have to tone it
Dom: It’s a waste. Gary: Driving, round drunk and crashing into things,
Simon: Yeah Yeah. Don’t wanna
thats pretty bad.
get sued out there.
That’s what the plan is.
Simon: Quite costly.
Got any bad tour habits?
You tour lots as well; do you ever end up
Dom: Fucking tins of fish everywhere in the van and it stinks. Simon: Obviously the places we get to. Turning up and not having enough time to actually look around where we are. Like just spending a few hours in some cities which is a pretty bad habit.
down a bit.
trashing the places?
So you’ve been asked tonnes of questions before from everybody. Are there any questions you
Simon: No, no we tend to be quite respectful at the places. Except if we get a bit too drunk and end up at some random house or something like that. One time we got an email from a solicitor, demanding we pay money for a BBQ set we threw off the roof. Dom: Plastic table and chairs all went off the roof.
haven’t been asked but wish you had? Simon: It’s weird, it’s one of those things like jokes you don’t remember a joke at the right time right. Gary: We had a really great one once in France, which was about your favourite sex playlist. So you had to make like a 10 song playlist that you’d like to
Simon: But it wasn’t our fault. It was the demons
make love to. It’s hard to do off the top of your head
that took over. Alcohol demons. Hopefully everything
but..
goes to plan, our next tour is around America with Crystal Fighters and yeah there might be a chance to
Dom: Mostly Bon Jovi for hair inspiration. Simon: But also 10 songs, he was being a bit ‘phew’
get a bit more in trouble.
it’s quite a long playlist.
WE DON’T WANT TO PAY THE LAWSUITS SO WE HAVE TO TONE IT DOWN A BIT. T H E F LY 5 3 ‘ Z I N E
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Gary: What snippet of songs would you put together… Dom: Ha, what - 10 intros’s for a minute long list.
UTAH us sat in a studio for weeks, so even when a track is
on the radio you find it hard to get your head around the fact that people are actually listening. We’re
pretty harsh on ourselves in terms of constantly setting the bar really high, making good music,
SAINTS We set a task of mixing a very diverse crowd
audience can on the surface appear very different in
of collaborators from the Zine, how hard was
terms of age and dress, the attitude and energy levels
it to mix?
are pretty universal - people are still up for a great
Challenging! It’s always good fun to be given a set
party. What was your biggest argument about (if
luckily we’ve had a bit of practice over the years with
you argue)?
never know where it will end up.
and like anyone who makes anything, you need self doubt, painful as that is, to keep driving you to up your game. What else freaks you out? Everything pretty much -give enough thought to anything and you can freak yourself out. We’re always really pleased when people have love for Utah Saints, more recently there are a number of big new acts (… too modest to name them) who have come up and told us how much we influenced their music, which we didn’t expect and we found that an awesome thing to be honest. We were influenced by some great acts, so for that to pass on is an amazing feeling. It’s your NY Eve party 2012 - who’s the line up?
of tracks this diverse and shoehorn them together sampling, so kind of know where to start, although
finding good music and being good at what we do,
Hard one. OK - Utah Saints, Jeff Mills, Dave Clarke, Lost Prophets, AC/DC, Knife Party, Skrillex, Plan B,
We’re lucky in that we each have different skills, and don’t overlap too much, so not too many arguments.
David Bowie, Feed Me, Hadouken, Tantrum Desire, Foo Fighters, Switch, Abba Tribute, Lee Fields, Pyramid, Punks Jump Up, Public Enemy and Bill
You have spanned two decades and have a
Disagreements, if we have them are usually the other
history to be proud of, what’s changed in the
way round, “You have the bigger piece of cake, no
crowds from the first gigs?
YOU have the bigger piece” etc etc
Any thanks?
It’s funny, it’s a great time for music right now,
Also the odd musical difference, but nothing too
as everything has fallen back under the banner
major, and one of us does still want to buy a tank for
Yes, thank you for the questions, thank you for
of EDM, so sets can be really diverse - when we
a tour bus.
started in 1991 it was similar - no genre barriers, just good exciting electronic music. We play a lot of very different gigs from main stage at festivals to small underground clubs, and although the
Bailey.
reading, thank you for listening and thank you for checking out our Soundcloud - www.SoundCloud.
Do you get freaked out by fans and their knowledge of your music?
Twitter www.Twitter.com/UtahSaints.Visit FLY53. com for exclusive zine video content, unedited
Yes, making music is a weird thing, as it’s just two of
T H E F LY 5 3 ‘ Z I N E
com/UtahSaints and thank you for following us on
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interviews and the Utah Saints Mix.
T H E F LY 5 3 ‘ Z I N E
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GALLOW
GALLOWS THE SHOCK OF TH
THE SHOCK OF THE NEW “MAKING THINGS MORE PUNK ROCK AGAIN, THAT JUST WORKS FOR US”
It’s fair to say that when they burst out of Watford in 2006 Gallows caused quite a stir. A lot of heads were being scratched at how five heavily tattooed men who took their musical cues from Scandinavian mathcore and classic hardcore could play sold out shows across the globe, headline festival stages and sign a seven figure deal with one of the biggest record labels in the world. It’s also fair to say that in the 3 years that have passed since the release of ‘Grey Britain’, a concept album about the decline of British society, that the state of the band has been as bleak as the subject matter of their music.
Now to turn it on its head, what has Wade brought to the band? Stu Gili-Ross (Bass): Well lyrics. Plus we have to get out of bed really early and work hard whereas normally on the last record we just used to turn up whenever the hell we wanted Laurent Barnard (Guitar): Yea I think Gallows used to be a lazy band, probably the laziest band ever. We used to have zero work ethic and one band practice a year. When Wade joined the band he was like ‘You guys never practice?’
However it’s all change in the Gallows camp. New singer, new album and a brand new record label and, it seems, a brand new fire in their collective bellies. We travelled to a garage studio in Watford to talk organised chaos, writing a record while being split across the Atlantic and how America and Canada is NOT the same thing
and we went ‘nah not really, gigs were practice’. It’s definitely made us up our game since Wade joined the band. On your studio blog you say that Gallows has always been a mess but it was this mess that made ‘Orchestra of Wolves’ and it was this mess that made ‘Grey Britain’. Do you guys think you have to be a mess to
First things first, how has the band’s new singer and former Black Lungs and Alexisonfire member Wade McNeil been settling in?
make something good? Wade: I think it’s out of the mess of the band almost falling apart and the band pulling itself back up by its bootstraps that’s going to make this record great.
Wade McNeil: At first it was absolutely insane. I joined the band, I flew over here, recorded a song, we went on tour all across the States, we made a record in two days. We didn’t know what the fuck we were doing and it was unbelievable some days and it was an absolute disaster other days but it worked. Everything fell together when we played that Christmas show at XOYO. I feel like nobody knew
Stu: It’s sort of like organised chaos this time You’ve chosen to record the album in your hometown of Watford. Why did you choose this environment?
what was going on and we were finding our stride as a band on that first tour. It’s
Laurent: It’s familiar ground, we’re working with Steve & Mitch (of Watford
almost like starting over again in a lot of respects but I think we knew everything
band Spy Catcher who Stu also plays bass for) who we’ve known for years. It’s
was gonna be fine when we walked onstage at XOYO, we knew it was going to be
kind of like how ‘Orchestra of Wolves’ came together. ‘Grey Britain’ was an
ok. Now we’ve been writing this record and it’s been the most inspiring thing I’ve
amazing album but people always talk about the first record, I’m not sure if they
done in years, it’s the record I’ve always wanted to make.
are always going to talk about it but it’s going back to those DIY hardcore roots, as much of a cliché as it is, making things more punk rock again. That just works for us. T H E F LY 5 3 ‘ Z I N E
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GALLOW
THE SHOCK OF THE " I T ’ S S O RT O F L I K E O R G A N I S E D C H AO S T H I S T I M E . . . "
Stu: We’ve always demoed here, even for ‘Grey Britain’ all the demos were done
here and you always end up going into an expensive studio trying to recapture the sound of your demos so it just made sense to record the album where we do the demos.
Wade: It’s just the way it is too. We gotta make it work.
When bands record they often have weird reference points and working titles that people wouldn’t expect but can be indicative of how the record will sound. What are your reference points on this
The band is now more transatlantic with a couple of you living in the USA and Wade being in Canada. Has it been a challenge to write in that way?
record? Wade: The first one I think that really blew people’s minds was when I was like ‘Ok, don’t write this off right away but Fleetwood Mac part’ and everyone was
Wade: I’m glad it’s obvious to some people, as I’m getting sick of being told I’m
like ‘What?’ cos I was coming in from the other room and I don’t think they were
American!
ready to hear it the other day.
Stu: I think the space and the distance with writing has allowed people to write at
Steph Carter (Guitar): It was the Fleetwood Mac song you were asking us to
home as opposed to bringing riffs to a practice and having to play in front of four
play. That’s why we weren’t ready to hear it.
other people. It’s been a bit easier to come with structured songs to work on as opposed to “well I’ve got this riff guys” and spending a whole day trying to learn it. I think a lot of bands do it that way these days, writing over emails and stuff like that so the record hasn’t come together since we’ve sat in here.
Stu: I think every band writes things like that.You want to write a riff that in your head sounds like an influence. For instance on the last record (2011’s ‘Death is Birth EP’, the first to feature Wade on vocals) we had this song with the working title ‘Cold Snakes’ cos it was Hot Snakes influenced to us. It didn’t sound anything
Laurent: We basically start the recording process with an idea of where the song
like them but the rhythm behind it where it was all downstrokes sounded to us
is going to go.You’ve got riffs and stuff lying about. When we did ‘Grey Britain’
like Hot Snakes. I think every band has that. We have stupid working titles on all
we started from scratch and went into the studio every day and there would be
the songs.
days where everyone just sat with their instrument and no one was really pulling together but this time around with riffs being sent around you know what’s going
Wade: That’s the best part.
to happen and you know what to expect
Care to share any?
Stu: It gives Wade a head start on vocal ideas and rhythms and stuff.
Stu: Spatula Tits is a favourite of mine.
T H E F LY 5 3 ‘ Z I N E
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" W E J U S T M A K E H E AV Y R E C O R D S . . . "
Wade: To be honest there are better ones. There’s a sequence of ‘Fuck Off’, ‘Fuck
with a bunch of the guys that worked on our record and that’s just what it is.
Right Off’ and ‘Wig & A Wind Machine’
There’s a lot of theatre in rock and roll and sometimes it needs that; just to keep
You guys announced your new label (the bands own Venn Records)
things going otherwise it would just be fucking boring really.
and with it came quite a scathing statement about people you have
It’s been 3 years to the day since ‘Grey Britain’ came out and you guys
previously worked with. How do you think those people would feel
have been around but in the intermittent time there have been a huge
when they read it?
amount of hardcore bands rise to prominence. Where do you think
Wade: Well I wrote that. I can say what every band feels like, that they just don’t have the grit to say it.
Gallows fit now? Laurent: I don’t think we’ve ever tried to fit anywhere. We’ve never put
Laurent: It doesn’t affect us because Wade wasn’t in the band at the time (all laugh).
ourselves into one scene, we just played the music we wanted to play. I don’t think you could listen to any Gallows record from old ones to new ones to the one we’re about to release. I mean it all sounds like Gallows and that’s what
Stu: I think people that work at major labels know they’re part of this machine. I don’t think they’re under any pretence in how it’s regarded.
Gallows is, our own sound. Stu: If people were saying ‘Oh, Gallows are sitting on throne for UK punk’ we’re
GALLOWS
Laurent: I know so many people who work at major labels and I’m still friends
not ever the ones who said that about ourselves. Someone else put us there. We just make heavy records.
THE SHOCK OF THE NEW
GALLOWS
THE SHOCK OF THE NEW
" I T WA S T H E F L E E T W O O D M A C S O N G Y O U W E R E A S K I N G U S T O P L A Y. T H A T ’ S W H Y W E W E R E N ’ T R E A D Y T O H E A R I T. . . "
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W W W. F LY 5 3 . C O M