Artist Interviews

Q&A: Flash Fiktion

By | Published on Thursday 28 July 2011

Flash Fiktion

South London-based electro fusionists Flash Fiktion first formed a couple of years ago, settling on their present line-up when founder members Matt and Ollie recruited Croatian-born drummer Dan to add some percussive expertise to their existing act.

The band worked with studio engineer and mixer Alex ‘Lexxx’ Dromgoole (Wild Beasts, Crystal Castles) on their debut double A-side single ‘Leni/Science Of Sleep’, also posting parts from the songs on their SoundCloud page for fans to tamper with. Still brimming with a glut of angular, Afrobeat-infused dream-pop music, the trio then took to the studio to begin recording their eponymous first album.

As latest single ‘Me And Mr E’ receives airplay from the likes of Zane Lowe, Annie Mac and John Kennedy, the band are to release their now-finished LP on 15 Aug via Split Records. They will celebrate with a same-day release party upstairs at The Garage in London, later playing an in-store gig at Rough Trade East on 17 Aug.

With all this in mind, it seemed there was nothing left to do but pose our Same Six Questions to the Flash Fiktion lads.

Q1 How did you start out making music?
We started making music at a very young age, before the days when kids (like our drummer Dan) became too gripped by PlayStations and Xboxes. Our time was split between endless Amiga games and recording mysterious childlike demos on Tascam four-tracks with our schoolfriends. Luckily, we grew out of the former activity.

Q2 What inspired your latest album?
The album was recorded in a small room in rather uninspiring circumstances. Inspiration came from within our increasingly twisted imaginations, fuelled by severe cabin fever and lots of strange, old David Cronenberg films. We were longing for a technicoloured surreal universe to open up from our windowless room in grey urban London.

Q3 What process do you go through in creating a track?
We seldom follow a set routine in writing. Sometimes rigid and strong ideas are formulated in our heads, sometime’s Matt’s demo’s will provide a blueprint, and sometimes we’ll all congregate in our studio and thrash through riffs, chord progressions and themes until we come up with something we like. Which is how we came up with ‘Mo Ping Pong’.

Q4 Which artists influence your work?
We tend to listen to and absorb as much music as possible, old or new, to trigger ideas. We actually get a lot of inspiration from the production of records we love. We’re particularly in awe of Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, MGMT). It’s amazing the way he takes the music and splashes his sonic paint all over it.

Q5 What would you say to someone experiencing your music for the first time?
Put your headphones on, pour a drink, and lose yourself…

Q6 What are your ambitions for your latest album, and for the future
Ultimately, the songs on this album are the foundations which we plan to build and expand on in the future. We’re not after overnight success – which is just as well these days! We would love as many people as possible to get the opportunity to listen to this album, immerse themselves in it, and love to listen to it as much as we did creating it. Perhaps one day we’ll get the chance to tour the world, so we can gather new experiences and meet different people from all walks of life. Amen.

MORE>> www.facebook.com/flashfiktion



READ MORE ABOUT: