THEY WANT WHAT YOU’RE FAKING
Describing themselves as ‘darkside electronic rock’, Rapid Fiction’s fraught and epic sound is matched by their dynamic live performances. Combining metallic guitars, epic synths, throbbing bass and singer Carl’s powerful baritone, they recall the best and most brooding moments of such post-punk figues as Joy Division, Echo & the Bunnymen, Sisters of Mercy and Depeche Mode, while still conveying originality through a style that brings to mind both the militaristic and the neo-classical.
The band has been going for a little while now, albeit in a few different guises. Bassist Nick takes up the story….“Rapid Fiction has existed in various formats since 2004 when myself, Carl Thompson and a drum machine hooked up, and has since spread in a slow and sinister manner, adding a keyboardist, Marc Picazo, who we found in Loot, and a guitarist, Hugo Bronstein, who was on Gumtree. We replaced the drum machine early on due to musical differences, and after a stint with one drummer and lots of other tryouts, Dan Wing joined.”With a sound and style as defined as that of Rapid Fiction’s, it begs the question as to whether or not there was a specific goal in terms of musical direction from the word go….
“We wanted to create a mix of styles to avoid being too much in one genre. Carl came from the indie side, I came from industrial/goth influences, Marc from electronic and classical and Hugo from metal, so we've tried to put all that together into a dark, electronic, rock kind of affair- hopefully successfully and hopefully not sounding too much like anyone in particular.”Your live shows are known for being rather more exciting than your average indie 'non-performance' gigs you tend to see. Was it a conscious decision to put on a show or are you all natural exhibitionists? Which bands would you rate in a live setting?
“It is frequently a conscious decision to drink heavily, which can have some consequences for the performance when you are dealing with several prima donnas in a small stage space. “I personally rate bands who make the effort to put on a show, like Rammstein, but also bands who don't have all the stage accoutrements but still make for an attention-grabbing show. Deftones have been good at this. There are too many bands around though who just stand there being tedious. If it doesn't look like you are enjoying playing, then I'm not sure why anyone else would enjoy the show.”Along with this, you have a very defined aesthetic as a group - was image important? Also, you (Nick) do the artwork (logo, flyers, etc.) Is the combination of music and visuals an important part of what you do? Also, what with downloading, how do you feel about the decline in the physical product of music?
“Image has been complicated due to our different backgrounds but we have found an image that everyone is comfortable with. I'd like to push it further, but there is the view that too much image detracts from the music, like you are trying to be all image to make up for musical shortcomings. “I think that a band should have a clear visual identity though and given the time, I would make a lot more of Rapid Fiction's. In my design work, I am very keen on building up striking and memorable logos and visuals, which I think is essential in a band distinguishing itself from others - it's often the first contact people have with a band and can make all the difference in making them interested.“I think that not having to press CDs makes life easier for unsigned bands to distribute their music and means that there are fewer industry obstacles to reaching the punter, but clearly the problem of marketing and actually getting people to hear your music remains!”
www.myspace.com/rapidfictionhttp://www.rapidfiction.co.uk/
Describing themselves as ‘darkside electronic rock’, Rapid Fiction’s fraught and epic sound is matched by their dynamic live performances. Combining metallic guitars, epic synths, throbbing bass and singer Carl’s powerful baritone, they recall the best and most brooding moments of such post-punk figues as Joy Division, Echo & the Bunnymen, Sisters of Mercy and Depeche Mode, while still conveying originality through a style that brings to mind both the militaristic and the neo-classical.
The band has been going for a little while now, albeit in a few different guises. Bassist Nick takes up the story….“Rapid Fiction has existed in various formats since 2004 when myself, Carl Thompson and a drum machine hooked up, and has since spread in a slow and sinister manner, adding a keyboardist, Marc Picazo, who we found in Loot, and a guitarist, Hugo Bronstein, who was on Gumtree. We replaced the drum machine early on due to musical differences, and after a stint with one drummer and lots of other tryouts, Dan Wing joined.”With a sound and style as defined as that of Rapid Fiction’s, it begs the question as to whether or not there was a specific goal in terms of musical direction from the word go….
“We wanted to create a mix of styles to avoid being too much in one genre. Carl came from the indie side, I came from industrial/goth influences, Marc from electronic and classical and Hugo from metal, so we've tried to put all that together into a dark, electronic, rock kind of affair- hopefully successfully and hopefully not sounding too much like anyone in particular.”Your live shows are known for being rather more exciting than your average indie 'non-performance' gigs you tend to see. Was it a conscious decision to put on a show or are you all natural exhibitionists? Which bands would you rate in a live setting?
“It is frequently a conscious decision to drink heavily, which can have some consequences for the performance when you are dealing with several prima donnas in a small stage space. “I personally rate bands who make the effort to put on a show, like Rammstein, but also bands who don't have all the stage accoutrements but still make for an attention-grabbing show. Deftones have been good at this. There are too many bands around though who just stand there being tedious. If it doesn't look like you are enjoying playing, then I'm not sure why anyone else would enjoy the show.”Along with this, you have a very defined aesthetic as a group - was image important? Also, you (Nick) do the artwork (logo, flyers, etc.) Is the combination of music and visuals an important part of what you do? Also, what with downloading, how do you feel about the decline in the physical product of music?
“Image has been complicated due to our different backgrounds but we have found an image that everyone is comfortable with. I'd like to push it further, but there is the view that too much image detracts from the music, like you are trying to be all image to make up for musical shortcomings. “I think that a band should have a clear visual identity though and given the time, I would make a lot more of Rapid Fiction's. In my design work, I am very keen on building up striking and memorable logos and visuals, which I think is essential in a band distinguishing itself from others - it's often the first contact people have with a band and can make all the difference in making them interested.“I think that not having to press CDs makes life easier for unsigned bands to distribute their music and means that there are fewer industry obstacles to reaching the punter, but clearly the problem of marketing and actually getting people to hear your music remains!”
www.myspace.com/rapidfictionhttp://www.rapidfiction.co.uk/
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