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It’s not often you hear a British band with the potential to cross over and out of its homeland — it’s even less common for a new band composed of a vocalist, a drummer and a guitarist to defy that standard ‘rock’ stereotype, both musically and individually.
This is where Flash Fiktion comes in.
Unleashing their own brand of music onto the somewhat stagnant London music scene, Flash Fiktion is worth putting on anyone’s radar. Psychedelic rushes accompany each of the band’s tracks backed by a danceable beat created through drummer, Dan Peranic’s, flair for Latin music. This, by itself, would make Flash Fiktion noteworthy — but after adding in Matt Bishop’s crooning vocals twisting to each dark story and Ollie Thomas’ seventies-inspired and cleverly-inserted guitar riffs, the following becomes undeniable:
Flash Fiktion has its own sound, and despite the difference between each track they throw down, this sound completely embodies the collaboration of each distinctive member.
Flash Fiktion covered the creation of their “lyrically verbose” music, the difficulties of establishing themselves as a new band and their new album, released on September 15 in the UK, in a recent email correspondence with Musefy’s Musebox.
MB: How would you describe the London music scene? How does it compare to other areas and/or countries?
Flash Fiktion: I think at the moment, the British music scene is in a bit of a slump, with respect to bands anyway. There doesn’t seem to be that much coming through, with the rock/indie scene still dominated by artists who came to prominence over six years ago or more. There are far more interesting things going on in the States and Canada at the moment, where in my humble opinion there seems to be more diversity in musical styles.
MB: How does Flash Fiktion fit into this scene (if it fits in at all)?
Flash Fiktion: We’re not really too fussed about fitting into a ‘scene’ or anything like that, which is just as well because I don’t think anybody is making music like we are right now. It’s quite richly detailed and lyrically verbose especially compared to popular bands of the moment such as, say, The Vaccines. Perhaps we’ll go for a stripped back approach later down the line, just when everyone else is becoming more grandiose!
MB: How would you describe your music?
Flash Fiktion: Dense, mysterious and danceable.
MB: What are your influences?
Flash Fiktion: We are all influenced by many different things. The three Davids: Cronenberg, Lynch and Bowie are big ones for us.
MB: I know that Matt and Ollie were in Switches before — how did you find Dan and know that you wanted to create music with him?
Flash Fiktion: Ollie and I were working on this project after the disintegration of Switches, and Dan happened to have a drum kit in the room next door. We bonded over campy 70′s rockers like Bolan, Mercury and Bowie. As soon as we saw him play, we were blown away by the limber fluidity of his exotic, latin-tinged drumming style which helped give Flash Fiktion its most distinctive, defining feature.
MB: What do you think is the hardest difficulty as a new band?
Flash Fiktion: I think new bands struggle to find their sounds first of all. We definitely did. Then after that, it can be incredibly difficult to get yourself heard. There is so much music out there nowadays, it’s like finding a needle in a haystack.
MB: Ollie has been quoted as saying, “Flash fiction refers to a story written so it can be fitted on a sheet of paper, or on the back of a postcard. It’s not like a novel, drawn-out, something that thickens and develops. It’s a narrative with a quick impact — an idea that you can communicate in a three-minute song.” What is your writing process?
Flash Fiktion: A lot of the time, Matt comes up with the basis of a song idea, then the whole band throw musical ideas around until we have a vague backing track. Then Matt goes away and finishes the lyrics. Sometimes the band does the same with one of Ollie’s ideas. Then, sometimes the band all jam ideas together and a song forms there. Its can produce the most interesting and original results.
MB: What stories are told through your music?
Flash Fiktion: All sorts of stories. Stories about lapdancers, bus journeys, girls who sell legal drugs, journeys across North Africa. Whatever catches the imagination.
MB: Any favorite flash fiction story?
Flash Fiktion: Too many to have a favourite, that’s like saying, what’s your favourite song of all time. There are just too many.
MB: I’ve read that you don’t record with studio producers — is this true? And are there any added difficulties from this decision?
Flash Fiktion: We wanted to have 100 percent creative control over our record, so we could get exactly what we hear in our heads down onto the track. We don’t feel there are any producers out there capable of achieving the sound we create. Of course the difficulty comes with figuring out how to get the sounds we want which often means it takes us a lot of time until we are satisfied with what we have.
MB: What is your recording process?
Flash Fiktion: It really varies. We have no set process. Sometimes we start with a drum loop, others we’ll begin with a keyboard riff. The possibilities are endless.
MB: What, in your opinion, is the best way to branch out to new fans?
Flash Fiktion: I personally believe that bands should carry on putting out as many songs, videos and multimedia content as possible so they have something to actually branch out with. Playing gigs is of course excellent, but you need to be playing to an audience of new people, which is often difficult.
MB: When does your debut album come out? What do fans have to look forward to?
Flash Fiktion: Our album came out in the UK on the 19th of September. Fans can look forward to a dense, vibrant and hopefully fascinating 40 minutes of twisted storytelling.
MB: Why music? If you weren’t able to be musicians, what career do each of you see yourself as having?
Flash Fiktion: Music is all we’ve ever wanted to do. We all grew up playing music at a very early age. It’s what we live for. Without music, Ollie would probably be a car mechanic, Matt would probably set up his own brewery and Dan would be a videogame tester!
MB: Lastly, if there was anything you could tell aspiring musicians, what would it be?
Flash Fiktion: It’s a tough, long road, but if you love it with a passion you’ll always be happy following your dreams. Just be prepared for anything!
