FLOWVERS | Page 20 to

Credit: Ele Marchant

FLOWVERS are ones to watch if you’re into indie boy band music. This band’s love for gigging has brought them support from all across the country, being recommended to me from people in Wales, Brighton, and all the way up to Manchester!

LAST year the Portsmouth band appeared on Scruff Of The Neck TV on Twitch and released their The Old Chapel Demos EP, which included an inclusion. At the height of The Great Escape, we (Henry and Matisse) stood ear to ear in the world’s smallest car park outside Fiddler’s Elbows and chatted about stepping back from gigging and sticking to your guns. M: You gotta stick up for yourself and your music. We’ve taken a step back recently and realised that we’re gonna play what we like. When you’re young it’s also so easy to think you’re gonna make it because you’ve met one person for the music industry when in reality you’ve just shook someone’s hand.

Any bands you’re excited for this year?

What are you most excited about this year?

H: Probably 110 Above festival. We took a break away from shows and wanted to take this summer easy. But year 110 Above is on for this summer so we’re looking forward to spending the weekend there. We’re gonna smash out a set on Sunday and wake up all the people with hangovers.

What’s the biggest positives and negatives of the music industry that you’ve seen?

H: Probably just slow replies and false hope. The idea that you’re gonna blow up overnight never happens and you do get over that eventually. Even if you think you’re amazing, unless you’re really lucky it does take hard work and that needs to be spoken about more. At the start of your career you just need to work as hard as you can.

M: Play as many good and shitty gigs as you can find. It’s a lot about chance and having good music does fall under chance. You just gotta get out there. We were always quite reliant on people finding us. For example, seeing us at shows and emailing our manager but it isn’t like that. You gotta be active.

H: You gotta stick to your guns as well. If people are telling you to keep songs on your set list that you don’t like because they think it’s good you’re gonna stop enjoying it. M & H: Fontaines DC definitely. Lime Garden. Porchlight. Harvey Jay Dodson. Amelia Taron. There’s just so many people. This Brighton and South Coast scene is amazing like: Famous People, Flip Top Head there’s just so many.

Anything fun lined up for the next year?

H: Finishing uni! We’re set on getting some demos out. Like we said we’re stepping back from festivals so taking that time to get down to writing. But nothing crazy. We do have an EP coming out but really just getting back into the rhythm of things. I think we found it a little different on the tail end of lockdown. The music looks after itself but in terms of gigging we haven’t been really on it but I’m not sure that many gigs are happening. People aren’t switched on them anymore. Like the kids who were 15 and 16 in lockdown are now 17 and 18 and they’ve never been to a gig before. When we went to gigs at 15, it was a life changing experience- it’s what got me into music and teenagers just missed out on that. But like I said, we just want to get back into the swing of things with writing.

How would you describe your music to someone who’s never heard it?

A healthy mixture between Ride and Talking Heads.

Best song: Daylight Instagram: @flowversband Words by Charley Murfitt