Hiya Flat Moon, thanks for joining us in the virtual RGM lounge today. Grab a brew and take a seat.
Shall do! Appreciate you having us! Have you got oat milk? And I hope it’s Yorkshire Tea or we’ll have to double the bags…
What was life like for you before you got into music?
Well to be honest, like many musicians we’ve all been into music our whole lives! From a young age, each one of us has a had a connection with certain songs and instruments, from Matty dancing to ‘Mambo No. 5’ as a toddler to Sam blasting through ‘Wipeout’ on the drums at a young talent competition.
Though we gotta say, your musical life certainly changes massively when you start to play with other musicians and hone your own style as a group.
We’ve all grown massively in confidence and achieved a great sense of self-worth from playing together and working as a musical team. It gives us a sense of accomplishment like nothing else we’ve experienced before!
What’s the live music scene like in Leeds right now? Anyone we should be looking out for (bar you, of course)?
There’s TONS of quality music in Leeds right now, of all different styles and vibes! To start with, the Leeds alt-jazz scene is THRIVING, with massive tunes coming from Plantfood, Afrodesia, Glass Frogs, and the hugely influential TC and the Groove Family, to name a few.
Some incredible singer/songwriters as well – Kindelan, Hannah Rowe, Lucy Robinson, Isaac Malibu – that fuse soul, jazz, folk, R&B etc. to create truly unique pieces of work, not to mention all of them have INCREDIBLE voices.
Post-punk (that’s what you’d choose to call it) of course has a stranglehold on the indie scene, fusing elements of garage rock, math rock, electronic and dance genres – acts like Bathing Suits and Normal Village on Private Regcords are two standout groups that pop off live.
A lotta fusion takes place in Leeds; two groups that come to mind that combine reggae or ska with DnB and jungle elements are State of Satta and Rookie Numbers. Check both these out live when you get the chance!
The metal scene is also kicking, we have less knowledge in this area but gotta big up Sans Solis, these guys are doing bits lately.
Also, gotta big up NotAThing for putting on consistently brilliant line-ups around the city, and for always treating artists with the upmost respect.
Also also, gotta big up the best night out in the whole city: Cosmic Slop! Always a belter of an evening, get yourself down to Slop when you can.
Leeds really has a great scene – we’re talking incredibly talented musicians, brilliantly written songs, and a massively diverse range of sounds and styles! Lotsa love for Leeds.
It seems like being a social media curator has become added to the many jobs of a musician, how do you feel about this?
It comes with the territory for a lot of businesses now; social media is a marketing tool for all creatives at the end of the day. Yes, it’s a mental health drain and an energy sapper, but it’s a necessary evil that we all have to deal with to get information across to individuals who are interested in you and your project.
It certainly helps tackling social media as a team, as it’s important to understand how you come across in order to curate a clear brand for your group.
Sucks that this is the case, but musicians have always needed an image and a brand to promote the material they create and the performances they put on.
Social media just seems to be very hit and miss; it’s irritating that we’re relying on a couple of billionaires and their minions to promote what we do.
How do you manage engagement on your socials?
We try and vary what we post on our socials, certainly in terms of story content as this is one of the most frequent ways people can engage with you.
It’s important to show all sides of yourselves, both as a band and as individuals; we all have personalities and we want these to shine through, and we find of course that different people engage with different types of content.
We try and track engagement on certain types of posts, stories, reels/shorts etc. to see what hits with different segments of our audience, and then upload content accordingly in order to grow.
Nobody teaches you any of this by the way, you have to figure it out yourself, and it doesn’t always go to plan! It’s a lot of trial and error, and a lot of scheduling conversations in order to give announcements that we want the audience to focus on their own time to shine.
What’s your view on the Music industry today?
The whole industry seems to be going through an odd transition, one that is pulling at its very fabric. Artists are becoming more vocal about being barely paid a penny by streaming services, and many are now boycotting Spotify due to this and the fact that they’re complicit in funding wars.
The underground scene feels as if it’s pulling together somewhat to try and support independent artists in a way the streaming services are not by the re-prioritisation of physical media formats and purchasing of other artist merchandise.
Of course, the live music industry is a complete mess, with huge companies having a complete monopoly over large venues and major festivals, rendering it almost pointless for independent artiest to feature on these line-ups.
Live Nation for example seem to be behaving in very scummy ways in order to drain as much money out of the consumer without benefiting the artists, and the gatekeeping that occurs above the local and minor national touring level is a death knoll for many bands that don’t join a major label.
The industry is changing but only a small scale at the moment, we’d like to see a larger revolution in the way it functions in order to benefit smaller artists and allow a larger number of consumers to connect more with a larger number of artists.
Where do you feel you currently sit within the music industry?
We are currently at an awkward stage, to tell the truth; we’re playing to consistently increasing numbers of people in independent venues, selling out headline shows in a number of cities around the UK, and more and more frequently we’re supporting larger artists in larger venues.
We’re looking now to take possibly the largest step an independent band has to take – moving up from a local act that tours independently to a national and international act on a consistent basis.
This step is so difficult because of the afore mentioned gatekeepers of the industry – without a way in via a contact with the right company, it’s extremely difficult to get to the next set of opportunities on the ladder.
What’s the biggest thing you have learned recently as you progress with your music?
You can, should and MUST balance professionalism with fun and rest.
We enjoy playing together a lot, and we enjoy each other’s company (we have to, we spend a lot of time together!) so we have a lot of fun whilst rehearsing, performing, travelling etc. but we can always flick the switch and activate our professional side to sort out any issues as, or even before, they arise.
You’ve also gotta remember that a band is a living breathing thing; all six of us have our own shit going on and time alone and good rest is vital when you’re travelling from show to show, or doing long recording or rehearsing sessions in the studio.
Balancing work, play and rest is what keeps the whole thing well-oiled and moving along smoothly so we can continue to grow!
What was your best experience on stage?
We’ve got a couple stand-out moments:
Jamming some James Brown-style funk with Zamrock legends WITCH at Belgrave Music Hall was a surreal experience. There were around 20 people onstage, all smashing it out!
Playing to some BIG festival crowds like Tramlines and Humber Street Sesh this last summer was amazing, the adrenaline fuelled the shows to the next level.
Supporting both High Fade and Alfie Templeman was fantastic; again, HUGE crowds for us to blast with our weirdo funk.
Finally, our last Leeds headline show at Hyde Park Book Club – everyone was moving and sweating and vibing, it was very emotional to think we had brought all these people together!
What was your worst experience on stage?
Oh god. Had some stinkers for sure. Supporting Secret Night Gang at Belgrave was dire, we were opening the night to about 4 people. Still gave it the beans though obviously.
Playing the WMC in Halifax to one absolutely wasted fella before his own DJ set was also an interesting one! Hilarious in hindsight but harrowing at the time.
Tell us something about you / each member that you think people would be surprised about.
Sweet okay!
Matty has a pilot’s license and has flown multiple planes. He gave it all up to play funky rhythm guitar, and he only started playing at 18. Despite this he is somehow the clumsiest person in the known universe, earning him the title “The King of Spill”.
Scarlet can’t swim. She simply just hasn’t learned. We’re also not sure if she knows how to even just… float. Bodies of water are not her friend. She is however the most artistically gifted of the group, being responsible for the t-shirt and bag designs featured on our merch!
George is a big ukulele fan; he owns approximately 12 ukulele or ukulele-style instruments. He had a massive George Formby phase. This may have also coincided with his bow-tie phase. However, they’re all in the unit right now.
Jacob wanted to be a palaeontologist – his interested in prehistory began at the age of 2 with the purchase of the Comprehensive Dinosaur Encyclopaedia from Meadowhall. Upon discovering his ADHD riddled head has neither the commitment nor the brain power necessary to undertake this role, he now just bores everyone to death with half-baked talk of glaciers and the Permian extinction.
Sam has what appears to be a phobia of vegetables. The man once asked, with great concern, what dhal is made out of – upon finding out, went to buy a chicken sandwich. Speaking of chicken however, he will demolish any cuisine consisting of chicken and potatoes, no matter its format, within a matter of minutes. It’s the lesser of his talents, being the incredible drummer that he is, but it’s a talent nonetheless.
Finally, Ali does not have control over his right hand (despite being predominantly right-handed). Ever since battling vertigo a couple of years ago, Ali’s right hand has taken upon a life of its own – it now goes by the name Mr Dic Dohmon, an Australian long-distance runner who helps Ali out by running up and down his bass strings. Ali wouldn’t be half the player he is if it wasn’t for lil Dic.
I hear you have new music. What can you tell us about it?
Yes! It’s our debut album, Cookin’ Up A Groove, a culinary-themed exhibition of our collective tastes and influences, musical and otherwise. Throughout the album the we merge our erratic funk with elements of Latin, psychedelia, progressive rock, afrobeat, hip-hop and jazz, as well as field recordings of archetypal human experiences, captured in both solitary and social settings.
Lyrically, the song topics on the album range from insomnia, overstimulation, social anxiety, manipulative relationships and substance abuse to pure elation, self-confidence, inner strength and untapped potential.
It feels amazing to get together our first LP and release it on vinyl too; a childhood dream for all of us.
What was the recording process like?
We recorded the tracks predominantly at Eiger Studios in Leeds, with a couple of the sessions (‘A Moon’s Bouche’, the overdubs for ‘Dizzy’) being held at the music studios in Leeds Beckett University.
The process was quite piecemeal – nearly every track was recorded with a different producer in a different session, with overdubs being recorded sometimes months done the line.
Following the recording sessions were many late nights mixing to get each track sounding as weird as we wanted it.
We wanted to create some cohesion between the very eclectic mix of tracks so in the mixing sessions we also composed and captured various interludes, some of which then featured field recordings taken from Beckett Park, The New Headingley Club, and Eiger Studios’ main room after the rest of the studio had closed.
What was the biggest learning curve in writing the new tunes?
Cookin’ Up A Groove was in fact given its name because we kept comparing our song writing process to creating a recipes! Each musical style is an ingredient with its own flavour. Combine these flavours and you’ll get something that’s altogether different from the sum of its parts.
When you’re “cooking up a groove”, ie. creating a piece of music, much like with a real recipe it’s fun to experiment with different ingredients to see what can happen.
The tracks on this album are our musical experiments – the ones that have made the cut, at least! Not every crazy flavour combo works out for the best, but we’re incredibly happy with our ability to convey how much fun we have playing together in each and every track.
We took a lot from the experience, but the main thing we learned was to be experimental in your approach and play different versions of the same song – based on what they make you feel, you can make a decision on how you want them to sound!
Would you change anything now it’s finished?
Possibly the only thing would be to add a little more material on Side One – we have a couple minutes spare on the vinyl pressing but we didn’t want to disrupt the narrative we’d created so we left it blank. We figured it’s better to focus on the listening experience rather than chuck a half-baked track on for the sake of it! If we’d have known this to be the case earlier, we may have created a little extra material that could fit in that gap, but with the deadline approaching on the masters we had to let it go – it is what it is, and we’re still massively proud of it!
Is there anything else you would like to share with the world?
Don’t take everything so seriously. Obviously, that’s easier said than done, and impossible for some situations – if the bailiffs are knocking on your door, then yeh, maybe don’t just blow raspberries at them through your letterbox.
We just see a lot of people putting up fronts for the sake of being “cool” – cool is boring and sad, you gotta freak yourself out a bit and let yourself go a bit more often. It’s good for ya. World’s already shite, don’t be another shite within it.
Thanks for having us! Much appreciated, big love to yer!
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