Interview: Flush (Written)

Out on November 29th, 2024, via Wormholedeath, ‘Noises’ is the new album from Helsinki, Finland’s Flush. The first single ‘Headspinner’ is out now and in this interview we get to know them a little better.

1. Hello! Thank you for taking the time to chat to us. First things first, tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started.

We are Flush, a rock band from Helsinki, Finland. The core of the band dates back all the way to the late 90s, where punk rock and alternative rock inspired some young kids to start doing music. Fast forward a few “band generations”, we are now a 7-year old set-up, about to release our second full-length album called ‘Noises’.

2. Someone comes to you and asks you to sum up what kind of music you play – what do you tell them?

Our community rock has its roots in punk rock, alternative rock, grunge and metal, and is a vibrant mix of all of those. We write about the real stuff in life; anxiety, depression, relationships, politics, and abuse. This is a coping mechanism for us.

3. What’s currently going on in your camp? New releases? Tours? Etc.

Our second album ‘Noises’ comes out November 29th (2024) and is released worldwide by Wormholedeath Records. The first single ‘Headspinner’ was just released and we’re eagerly looking forward to playing the album on our record release show in Helsinki on November 30th at Bar Loose!

4. What has been the most positive experience of making music to date for you?

The best thing about doing music in an independent band is the community, by far! The fellow bands and musicians, all our friends and fans, the sound engineers and other professional, the photographers and movie makers… and the venue and bar staff. It feels like a big, somewhat weird family, and it keeps us going.

5. Likewise, what has been some of the more challenging aspects and how have you overcome them?

There are many challenges to doing this and I would not really advise people to start bands without thorough considerations of expectations versus effort and passion. Nothing comes for free and most often not even hard work pays off. The industry feeds on safe and comfortable sounds, and favours fast release cycles over creativity or quality. One of our trusted advisors once put it nicely: It’s a marathon of shotgun shooting, where most never hit anything or make it to the end.

6. How do you handle the modern expectations of being in a band? Always online, having to put out content constantly, your success measured in likes and follows?

Internet and social media have their pros, mostly the reach and networking. We occasionally get messages from people on the other side of the planet, who have found our music and connected with it. The challenge, though, is that we want to create and play music in person in the same space, and while it is also quite fun to talk about the music in interviews like these, having to come up with content to drive social media algorithms is not at all why we got into music. People’s attention spans have becoming terribly short, and it worries me, not just for our music but also for the future of humankind.

7. What’s something that really ‘grinds your gears’ about the industry/business these days and what would you propose is done to combat it?

There are many, but the one maybe most present to us, is the lack of live venues for small or independent bands. The 100-300 capacity venues keep closing down because it’s financially not a viable business. At the same time, we see all these mega-artist reunions selling our stadiums and arenas multiple times. The thing is, there won’t be a new Oasis if people don’t go to local clubs to see the upcoming bands. In simple money terms, I would really hope and encourage people to spend 10-20 EUR/USD/GBP on local gigs instead of ten times the same amount on artists who no longer bring anything new to the artform. The local venues and the artists need that money much more than the big guys.

8. Speaking directly to listeners – what would you ask they do to help support your music?

Listen to our songs. Take the time and space to listen. If you liked it, tell a friend and/or tell us, and come see us play or follow us on some social platform – it all counts. If you didn’t connect with it, that’s fine too. Then move on to the next new thing you haven’t heard yet. One of them is going to make you feel something and that’s what music is about.

9. Outside of the music, what’s do you do to relax?

We are known to often be found in bars, and we like our beers and whiskies. We’re four different individuals with different interests in life, and they range from being family men to playing video games, and from watching TV shows to doing sports.

10. Where can people find you?

Geographically, in Helsinki, Finland, and pretty often at a bar called Barley & Bait! But I think you want these internet addresses.

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