FEATURE: Spotlight: FIZZ — Music Musings & Such

FEATURE:

Spotlight

PHOTO CREDIT: JP Bonino

FIZZ

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EVEN if modern-day supergroups…

PHOTO CREDIT: Em Marcovecchio for DORK

might not have the same stature and clout as some of the classics, I think there is more variety now. In terms of the great artists who can come together and form a new project. In the case of London-based FIZZ, we have Orla Gartland, Dodie, Greta Isaac and Martin Luke Brown. Before coming to a few other interviews with them, back in September, the BBC introduced us to the amazing FIZZ:

“It started as a way to blow off steam in the studio. Now it's become a fully-fledged psychedelic pop group.

That's Fizz - a sort of indie supergroup formed by Irish singer-songwriter Orla Gartland and her musical friends Dodie Clark, Greta Isaac and Martin Luke Brown.

Over the past 10 years, all four have achieved a degree of success as solo acts, with Orla and Dodie both scoring top 10 albums. But the music industry can be a lonely place when you're on your own. The pressure to create, promote, find money and drum up opportunities often becomes a treadmill.

"We'd been working on our own projects so hard and for so long that they started to feel like jobs," says Martin.

"I was like, 'I want to go on a holiday but still do music'."

Plans were hatched in a WhatsApp group. The quartet booked themselves into a studio in Devon and went crazy.

Over two weeks, they recorded an entire album from scratch, using every colour in the crayon box to create a giddy, freewheeling pop sound that shrugs off the straitjacket of streaming algorithms.

"We were like, 'Let's play, with no thoughts about what playlist the music's going to be on'," says Martin.

"We wanted to be completely uncorrupted and have a laugh... And as soon as the chains were off, of course there were so many ideas."

"It happened so fast," adds Orla. "We didn't have time to overthink it. No-one was like, 'Ooh, is this guitar part right?' It was all done on pure instinct.

"I think it sounds like happiness bottled."

With this anything-goes approach, producer Pete Miles encouraged the group to pick up instruments they'd never played before, from clarinets to pipe organs.

Vocals were recorded as a gang, standing in a circle, rather than isolating each voice to obtain a clean recording.

"Pete understands that if we spend too much time getting everything sounding really polished, everyone starts to feel lethargic and demotivated," says Greta.

"He really focuses on capturing the energy, and we definitely just sing differently when we're all together."

For Greta, this even involved singing in character as "two old ladies" for the backing vocals on the single High In Brighton.

"Silliness is definitely good and to be celebrated in this band - and perfection doesn't matter," she laughs.

Indeed, if you listen to the individual vocal recordings (which the band kindly shared on their podcast), there's what you might call a relaxed attitude to pitch. Mariah Carey this is not. Instead, the music gains a giddy sense of fun and togetherness.

"All together, we sound so powerful," says Dodie. "But if you take everyone else away and it's just your vocal, you sound like a child."

Unused to musical democracy, members make compromises and concessions that dilute what makes them unique.

The opposite seems to have happened for Fizz. Maybe it helps that Dodie, Greta and Martin share a flat, so the group dynamics were already in place. Or maybe it's because they've established a musical shorthand by working on each other's projects.

"I know exactly what you mean about how the edges can get sanded off," says Orla, "and I think if we didn't know each other so intimately, that could have happened. But instead it was about pushing each other to be braver and more confident and more untethered and just slightly feral.

"You know, Dodie sings famously quietly but this was like, 'Dodie, get out there and yell!'"

Fizz made their debut at the Great Escape Festival in May and signed to Decca Records soon after. The album is due in October and, in tandem with the music, there's a lack of inhibition to their presentation.

Speaking at July's Latitude Festival, the quartet are kitted out in colourful outfits from their childhood.

"I'm dressed like a baby," laughs Martin. "If you saw a five-year-old wearing this you'd be like, 'Oh my God, cute!' But because it's me, in my 20s with a moustache, I'm getting some interesting looks!"

The band's high concept artwork has already spawned imitations

The Harlequin aesthetic extends to their artwork and music videos, which are set in a fictional theme park called Fizzville. And although it's still early days, fans are starting to adopt the look.

"Everyone's definitely on board with the circus vibe, Willy Wonka chic," says Martin.

"Even online, we're getting tagged in a lot of messages from people who are dressed up and saying, 'I'm feeling very Fizz today'," adds Orla.

"The band seems to be encouraging people to be creative and elaborate and loud."

"I think we're missing theatre in pop music," Greta agrees. "We had it with Queen and Abba, that high-camp theatricality, inviting people to let go of themselves."

And that, says Martin, is what makes the band special.

"When I was a kid, that's all I wanted from the show: To be outside of myself.

"If something's too cool, you shrink. You feel like you have to like play the role of a cool person in a cool crowd.

"It's nice to just be, like, part of a big group of people screaming”.

FIZZ are just about to complete a string of amazing live dates. I suspect that they are going to be appear on a few festival bills. Even there are not many interviews from the past few months, I will take us back to late last year. One of the acts that are going to make some big moves this year, FIZZ should be on your radar. Their debut album, The Secret to Life, was released in October. It is an album I would recommend people seek out. In September, FIZZ spoke with NME about their album and how the band’s dynamic and songwriting will affect how each member writes as a solo member. An act of rebellion in the industry, FIZZ definitely got people excited and intrigued:

“NME: ‘The Secret To Life’ begins with ‘A New Phase Awaits You :-)’, where you offer listeners something to “lift you up and get out of that funk”. Did you find making this album got you out of a funk?

Dodie: “Oh my god, totally. I was absolutely stuck, and we said yes to everything when we were writing, there were no bad ideas. In fact there were too many ideas, I’ve never written songs so fast and so fun.”

Gartland: “It felt like we were running the collective tap in a way that I had definitely not experienced for a really long time – if ever – and it was like the energy of us all being there made the writing really different. When someone’s energy dipped, someone else could pick it up, and that’s not something I had ever experienced before.”

Do you think this experience will change how you write your solo projects?

Dodie: “Definitely. I think letting go a little bit more will hopefully allow some doors to open. Before Fizz, I felt like there was a structure I had to stick to and a lane that was mine”

Brown: “I feel like I’m more ambitious now. Everything feels achievable after you’ve written a song with eight key changes. Before, the task of aiming for something big and grand was something I talked myself out of all the time.”

Isaac: “I definitely feel much braver, and like I trust my instincts a little bit more creatively. Being around these guys and feeling validated in your experience really helps your creative process. I’ll definitely carry that into my own music.”

‘As Good As It Gets’ is a powerhouse single that sees you take on misogyny in a really cathartic way. How did it come together?

Isaac: “I was doing these down plucky things on the rubber bridge [of the guitar], and we wanted it to feel quite punky and have a lot of drive to it. Originally it really did sound like ‘American Idiot’, very punk-y and loud, with a lot of energy behind it. Slowly it turned into something different. We built a bit of a story around it, and then we wanted it to sound soft and feminine and beautiful to begin with, and then erupt into something much more angry later on.

“We had an assistant engineer called Soren Bryce at the studio with us, who’s also got a project called Tummyache, which is very dark and post-punk and beautiful. She felt like quite a subtle reference point for us creatively; and she sang on the song with us. I was having a shit day that day, and it felt like a really cathartic moment. It felt like that anger I was holding in my body was fuel to be able to sing the song.”

Was there a specific moment that inspired that song lyrically, or is it a lifetime of moments?

Dodie: “There’s definitely a few nuggets of real stories in there that we all just inherently know, because we’ve shared them.”

Gartland: “I think a lot of experiences of just not feeling enough. Particularly as a female, in the industry and out of it, where you get that little fire in you and you’re told or shown in some way that your feelings aren’t enough. For me when it erupts into that really high note Greta sings, it feels like that’s been building up for years.”

Isaac: “It feels like the whole thing is a pressure cooker. In my experience, I’ve equated a lot of worth to my appearance or how palatable I am to dudes, and deconstructing in my 20s has been really powerful, and this song’s a direct mirror to that.”

The music industry has changed hugely since you all started your careers. Were there things you felt like you had to consider – like TikTok – when working on this project, you didn’t before?

Gartland: “I think for all of us, the release plan was not thought about during the making of the music. What was essential to the bubble that we created making [the album], was ignoring completely how it might come out, and how you might present it, or even whether we will put it out at all.

“There were points where I was thinking ‘I would be so happy if this music never came out’; it was all about the process and about the time. But I also felt really proud of it and felt like I wanted to put it out. But yeah, [the industry] has definitely changed a lot since we’ve all started. God knows where it ends up!”

Brown: “I really feel like the culture of Fizz is so apparent, what we’re about, without us having to shove it down people’s throats. If people come across it, they will get it, even if they absolutely hate it, which I’m totally fine with.

“And I think people will hate it as well. It is what it is, and it’s so boldly what it is, and that in and of itself is so amazing, because I know people can just discover it. I don’t feel like we’re fighting for a way to cut through the noise”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Karina Barberis

I will move on to an interview from CLASH. Speaking with FIZZ in October, we get to learn more about a fascinating group. For those who have not heard of them or experienced the music, go and check them out on social media and investigate what they have put out so far:

“Welcome to Fizzville – your new favourite indie supergroup has arrived. Fondly referring to their fans as ‘fizzlets’ and sporting bright, clashing colours, FIZZ is infused with the psychedelia, euphoria and sheer imagination necessary for when friendship is the only thing saving you from disillusionment with an extractive industry. Comprised of Martin Luke Brown, Orla Gartland, Greta Isaac and dodie, the band blend everyday moments with surreal levels of theatricality on debut full-length, ‘The Secret To Life’.

In spite of their respective successes as individual artists, FIZZ evidently provides the opportunity for a new era of experimentation for its members. ‘The Secret To Life’ is a cathartic release of emotion and tension, blending the band’s musical maturity with a charmingly youthful spirit for life. The process behind the record was crucial. Motivated by an inherent desire to avoid overcomplicating music-making, FIZZ’s time at Middle Farm allowed them to go back to basics and focus on the most crucial theme of all, friendship.

Describing this project as infused with play and a liberating sense of creative freedom, it’s clear that the four friends believe their solo work has been enhanced by FIZZ. Providing the perfect chance to embrace their inner child, ‘The Secret To Life’ is about exploring the weird and wonderful spectrum of emotion.

CLASH caught up with the super group to discuss origin stories, avoiding the tendency to overthink and the delirious laughter that takes over when four friends decide to record together over two weeks.

What was it like recording as a group at Middle Farm?

Dodie: It’s the best bit for sure. We were writing and recording at the same time because, again, we were really trying not to think too hard about anything. Pete Miles is the producer at Middle Farm, which is the studio we went to. He really encourages play. He basically set us up little recording stations where we stayed and recorded. There was a lot of red wine and vibes. Yeah we had a great time. Lots of fits of giggles.

Greta: So many hilarious vocal takes that are probably still buried somewhere in the album if you listen closely. I think simultaneously singing together is so powerful, and kind of spiritual in some ways. But then also can be fucking hilarious if someone sings a bum note or pulls a funny face when they’re singing or whatever.

Martin: We tracked all the vocals round; we had four mics and we were all facing each other tracking vocals at the same time. By the nature of being directly opposite each other and being able to look at everyone – just the faces that people would pull while they’re hitting certain notes – we laughed a lot for sure.

Greta: There’s something about also singing with your friends, when you’re laughing in a recording environment and you’re not meant to laugh, because of time, pressure or tiredness and you just want to get it done. There’s something about that kind of laughing. It’s almost like vomiting, it’s like involuntary vomiting. You’re just like, I need to stop laughing but I can’t.

What are each of your favourite moments on the album?

Orla: The second verse of ‘Close One’ right at the beginning, where it goes “careful”, and it drops. That’s just so fun.

Greta: There’s a guitar solo in ‘The Secret To Life’ at the end where Orla is playing it, and it’s just so sick, and so sexy I always forget that Orla can play guitar so amazingly.

Martin: There’s a bit in ‘The Grand Finale’, which is the last song in the album. Me and Gret do a verse. We call it ‘Paul’s a Plumber’. That’s the section. And it’s like Thomas the Tank Engine meets…

D: The Beatles, I think.

M: Yeah, it’s just so so silly. It’s such a fun thing. Maximum, maximum silly. I love it.

D: My favourite is in ‘As Good As It Gets’. There’s a note that Gret hits, that when she was recording it I was literally like ‘Ahhh!’ It still gives me goosebumps, literally it will always give me goosebumps.

The album explores a variety of different emotions so effortlessly. How did you go about approaching the blend of emotional intensity and playfulness?

Martin: We honestly just did it. We just did it and afterwards we were like “Oh, it worked! Cool.” Yeah, truly.

Orla: I think so much of it was unspoken about intentionally because it felt like such an experiment. The only thing I was intent on, and felt across the board, was fighting the urge to overcook or overthink any decision. It’s not something that we’ve ever discussed as a band, because the whole point of it was not to discuss anything and build up a trust in your own instinct that I definitely lost in my projects. The speed at which we wrote with, lent into fighting the urge to overthink things. We would just go in and throw the vocal down, and the vocal you sing the first time is the final take. It’s like this really fast fever dream.

Martin: It’s how we were feeling on the day. We were just gassed and excited because it was this playground for us.

Greta: Yeah, the songs are like a huge mirror of how we were feeling that day. We were writing them and finishing them in a day or two essentially, there wasn’t much time spent on properly going through the tracks and tweaking anything. We just didn’t allow time for that. I think Martin’s right – each song is a true reflection of how we were feeling that day. We have sad songs and more funny, stupid songs, which is testament to the full spectrum we allow ourselves as a friendship group; to both be vulnerable and cry one minute, and then crack jokes and chat about Paul the Plumber the other.

Much of the album feels like they’re almost a guttural scream into the void. Were they cathartic to record?

Dodie: Yes, totally.

Orla: Especially ‘Hell Of A Ride’ for me. I think I was thinking about aging so much at that time, without even ever having acknowledged that within myself. There’s something really amazing that happens when you have a feeling in you that you haven’t said out loud, and then someone else suggests a lyric that is literally like a mirror to that. ‘As Good As It Gets’ as well, but in a different way. It was the three of us gals and our friend Soren Bryce, she was like a character in the studio for the whole album and her own projects are post-punky amazingness. We channelled her energy when all four of us were yelling around the mics. That was so cathartic”.

I am going to end with a snippet of a NOTION. Even though there may not be a set long-term plan for FIZZ in terms of how long they are together, you can tell they are going to be around for a long time. Lots of exciting music to come. The bond and chemistry between them is incredible. You can feel how much they love recording together:

“What are the challenges of being a young band in the UK music industry?

I think the hardest thing has been navigating social media as a group. Portraying four distinct personalities through one channel has been challenging at times. We all care so much and are so involved in every decision, it feels much more democratic than our own projects, which we all dictate individually.

Why did you feel it was the right moment to produce your first album?

It just felt serendipitous. Orla was between albums, dodie had just released an EP, Martin was wrapping up his first album campaign. It logistically lined up and just felt like the right time in our lives to fuck shit up and try something completely different for a sec. I think the project itself and all of our individual projects can only ever benefit from that new perspective.

Can you discuss your journey with The Secret To Life album? what inspired it, what were the highlights and what were the challenges?

Truly, there were very minimal challenges. It was a complete inverting of our usual way of working. No ego, no cerebral overthinking about how it was gonna be perceived; it was just total joy and escapism. We’re all so proud we managed to follow through on that intention. I guess it’s been hard at times navigating business and pleasure but again it all just boils down to trust and communication and we’ve got so good at that now.

PHOTO CREDIT: Karina Barberis

What are each of you most excited about going on this tour?

All of it: the singing, the costumes and the energy. The campaign has felt largely online so far but nothing compares to that sense of community you get being in a room of like-minded people having a daft old time, singing, dancing and celebrating life. We’re all gassed for that. Orla always says you top and tail campaigns with the fun stuff, the tour feels like the reward for all the hard work.

Aside from your tour, what will you be working on the next few months?

We’ve already started writing for whatever’s next, we can’t help it. Orla is prepping for her next release, we’re all working on various bits and pieces, but we’re all open to being reactive with FIZZ too. It’s all completely unknown and out of our control so we’re doing our best to prepare for absolutely anything!

Where do you hope FIZZ will be 2 years from now?

On holiday.

Do you have a collective dream as a band?

Honestly, no. The band is the dream, everything else is a bonus!”.

Go and follow the brilliant FIZZ. This is a group that are going to make some exciting moves through this year. After the release of their debut album, The Secret to Life, they are going to be looking ahead. They put out their Acoustic E.P. last month. A few acoustic versions of track that appeared on their debut album, I am sure that we will get a further E.P. later in the year. The music of this wonderful quartet…