NME sat down with Dodie, Orla Gartland, Greta Isaac and Martin Luke to discuss their new project Fizz
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00:00 I think the secret to life is bubble tea.
00:05 - What? Don't steal that from me.
00:07 (laughing)
00:08 - It is though.
00:10 Just straight up vibes.
00:11 (laughing)
00:14 Do you want me to say something else
00:15 so you can say bubble tea?
00:16 - You have stole my personality.
00:19 (laughing)
00:20 - Okay.
00:20 (upbeat music)
00:23 - Hi, I'm Hannah from NME,
00:28 and today I'm joined by Fizz
00:29 the latest in our In Conversation series.
00:31 Hello, how are you doing?
00:32 - Hello. - Good.
00:34 - How is everything in Fizzville?
00:36 - It's pretty good. - Peachy.
00:37 - Peachy. - Peachy.
00:39 - The cards are turning.
00:40 - Sun is shining.
00:41 - It's all happening.
00:42 So I think the only right way to treat this interview
00:45 is go right back to the beginning.
00:46 And how did Fizz come together?
00:49 You've all known each other for a very long time.
00:51 - Yeah, we've all been friends
00:53 for the best part of 10 years now.
00:56 We've all worked on each other's projects
00:58 in various forms, like all in place in Dodie's band.
01:02 Me and Martin supported Dodie on her tour
01:04 like eight years ago or something.
01:06 So yeah, we know each other in all these different ways.
01:09 And we are friends with this guy called Pete Miles,
01:13 who is an incredible producer and an engineer
01:15 down in a studio called Middle Farm Studios.
01:19 And he invited us down and Fizz was born.
01:23 - Yeah.
01:24 - Yeah, I'd say he had a heavy hand in the--
01:28 - Puppeteering. - Puppeteering of it.
01:30 He knew us all individually
01:31 and he loves encouraging play and chaos
01:35 and just like bursting out from whatever sort of cages
01:40 you've managed to put yourself in creatively.
01:42 So I think he was sort of sowing the seeds
01:46 among us individually for a while
01:47 and really kind of babysat the whole thing
01:51 in a really crucial way.
01:52 - I think the best way we were all like
01:55 growing a little stuck in our artist projects.
01:58 I know that I was desperate for an escape of some kind.
02:02 And yeah, I feel like we've had,
02:05 we had a lot of nights where we just like
02:07 hang out and write stupid songs.
02:10 And then yeah, this is kind of like a joke
02:14 that's been taken too far as I'm seeing right now.
02:18 (laughing)
02:20 Yeah.
02:22 - And at what point were you kind of like,
02:23 oh, we can make an album.
02:25 Like was there a specific song you wrote first?
02:27 Was there just the songs kept coming
02:28 and you're like, oh, surprise, we've written an album here.
02:32 Pretty much that one.
02:33 Yeah.
02:34 - Yeah, our first song, "High in Brighton",
02:37 we were actually in Brighton.
02:39 - Hi.
02:41 (laughing)
02:42 - We were driving back and I think there's like
02:45 a voice recording of me, Martin and Dodie
02:47 just like singing in the car.
02:49 And we came up with that as like a silly song idea.
02:53 - But then Oliver wrote the rest of it.
02:54 - Yeah, and then Oliver helped us write the rest of it.
02:55 Yeah.
02:57 So yeah, just like super joyful and fun.
02:59 And honestly, unlike any other experience
03:01 I've ever had making music, it was a trip.
03:05 - Yeah, for sure.
03:06 - I feel like BlinkedIn it was over
03:07 and so much of it was unspoken, telepathic,
03:11 like so little conversations were had about the music
03:14 that we were making and what it would be,
03:16 would it be an album.
03:17 And I think we were all pushing that very intentionally
03:19 to the back of our minds when we were in the studio
03:22 so that it could just be all about that moment.
03:25 - And Dodie, you just touched on this,
03:27 but in the intro there's that line
03:30 and it's a little bit tongue in cheek,
03:31 but you say you're embracing the secrets of life,
03:33 kind of getting out of a funk.
03:34 Did you find this album did get you all out
03:36 of maybe a creative funk?
03:38 - Oh my God, totally.
03:39 I was utterly stuck.
03:41 And this was just like,
03:42 we just said yes to like everything when we were writing.
03:46 There were no bad ideas.
03:48 In fact, there were too many ideas.
03:51 And yeah, I've never written songs so fast and so fun.
03:56 - Yeah, it felt like we were just running
03:57 the collective tap in a way that I had definitely
04:00 not experienced for a really long time, if ever.
04:03 And it was like the energy of us all being there
04:06 made the writing really different.
04:07 I felt like when someone's energy dipped,
04:09 someone else could pick it up.
04:11 And that's not something I had ever experienced before.
04:14 I'm used to like writing and my projects in general,
04:17 going at the pace that I can move it.
04:19 But this felt like a passing around of the baton
04:23 the whole time and someone's dipping
04:24 and needs to go and make the dinner.
04:26 So you do this first.
04:28 And it just felt like passing it back and forth
04:31 like a little hot potato, like Martin quick,
04:33 like you do this and then, oh, I'm kind of flagging now.
04:35 So maybe you can track the guitars for this,
04:38 like really reactive and really like impulsive
04:41 in a really fun way.
04:43 - I guess in that way, you've mentioned it
04:45 as kind of like super fun
04:46 and you're coming out of your comfort zone.
04:48 Did any of you have something you really,
04:49 you've like never been able to do in your own music.
04:51 You're like, I really want to try this.
04:53 Can we please do this?
04:55 - I think all of it is that, isn't it?
04:57 Like, yeah, we sort of joke about the sort of essence
05:02 of Fizz being an exercise in letting go
05:05 and just saying yes to everything within reason.
05:10 But that reason is like, not like a sensible reason,
05:14 is it like we still have some like ridiculous songs
05:17 and ridiculous lyrics and ideas that we like.
05:19 - Should have said no to.
05:20 (laughing)
05:22 I think the grand finale is a good example
05:25 of something that I've always wanted to do,
05:26 which is like a theatrical sort of takes you
05:29 on a bit of a journey.
05:30 Bit like an opera, to be honest.
05:32 I'm really picking this up.
05:34 (laughing)
05:35 This album's an opera.
05:37 - Phenomenal.
05:38 But it is kind of, it's got acts, isn't it?
05:41 And I think that has, yeah, also,
05:43 I've always really wanted to write
05:44 a really like long, indulgent, winding song like that
05:48 that just throws the shackles of verse chorus,
05:53 verse chorus, middle A chorus.
05:55 - Yeah, I like having drums of any kind in my songs now.
05:59 Our songs, cool.
06:00 And I was gonna say like, the reason why we're so like,
06:04 it's easy to like compliment our own music
06:07 is because it doesn't feel like it's just ours.
06:11 Like I would never be like this celebratory
06:13 about my own project.
06:14 I'm sure, like, I don't know.
06:16 You should be.
06:17 But I feel like 'cause we're all so involved,
06:19 like it's so easy to.
06:20 - I'm really proud of it as well.
06:22 - Yeah, so that's something I've always wanted to do,
06:24 be utterly proud of something.
06:26 - Yeah, the essence of it is so, it feels so pure.
06:30 Like, yeah, it really genuinely is just like a formate.
06:34 It's like having a laugh.
06:35 Like that is, that is it, isn't it?
06:39 And everything since then has just been like,
06:41 yeah, like elaborating on that and like building a world
06:44 and like continuing to just like try and have fun.
06:46 And that is like the whole point of the whole thing.
06:50 Whereas I think in our own projects,
06:52 there's like, it's maybe a little bit more neurotic
06:55 and less pure than that all the time.
06:58 - Do you think that this experience will change
07:00 how you write for your solo projects?
07:02 - Yeah, definitely.
07:04 I think like letting go a little bit more
07:09 will hopefully allow some doors.
07:11 I think before Fizz,
07:13 what's like BF?
07:16 - BF.
07:17 - BF.
07:18 - Before Fizz.
07:19 - Yeah, BF.
07:19 I feel like, I felt like there was like a structure
07:23 I had to stick to and like a lane that was mine,
07:26 but AF, constantly.
07:30 Yeah, I don't know.
07:32 I don't feel so afraid to like do something
07:34 a little bit different now.
07:36 - Yeah, I feel like I'm more ambitious now.
07:40 Like everything feels achievable
07:43 after you've written a song with eight key changes.
07:46 (laughs)
07:47 Yeah, I feel like before,
07:50 like the sort of task of like aiming for something
07:54 like big and grand was, I don't know.
07:57 I'd talk myself out of it a lot of the time.
07:59 But I don't think I would now.
08:01 - Yeah, I definitely feel much braver
08:03 and like I trust my instinct a little bit more creatively.
08:07 I think just being around these guys
08:09 and feeling like validated in your experience
08:11 really helps like your creative process, I think.
08:15 And I'll definitely carry that into my own music for sure.
08:18 - Same with me, just learning to trust your gut
08:19 a bit more and listen to it and stand behind it a bit more.
08:23 I think I'm quick to talk myself out of the ideas
08:27 that I have, but I think this experience has taught me to,
08:31 when you have that little fire in your belly
08:33 and you really feel strongly about something
08:35 to like, to give it the air time it deserves
08:38 and like really see it through.
08:40 - I'd love to dig into some of the songs,
08:41 starting with "As Good As It Gets."
08:44 That chorus is incredible.
08:46 Who kind of brought that idea to the table?
08:49 - I think we were playing, I was like doing like
08:52 these like down strummy, like plucky things
08:55 on the rubber bridge and we wanted it to feel
08:56 like quite punky and like had a lot of drive to it.
09:00 And originally it really did sound like American Idea.
09:03 Like very post-punky and like loud
09:05 and a lot of energy behind it.
09:07 And I think slowly it turned,
09:09 it like, we kind of built a little bit
09:11 of a story around it, didn't we?
09:12 We wanted it to sound like soft and like feminine
09:15 and beautiful to begin with.
09:17 And then it sort of erupt into something much more angry
09:21 later on in the song.
09:22 But yeah, Martin, you know, you stepped away from it.
09:25 You helped arrange it.
09:26 And then when it came to lyrics and recording the vocals
09:29 and stuff, Martin stepped away.
09:32 Yeah, very respectfully stepped away
09:34 and worked on another song.
09:37 So, but yeah, that whole process was incredible.
09:39 We had an assistant engineer called Soren Bryce
09:44 with us at the studio, who has also got a project
09:47 called "Tummyache", which is like very sort of dark,
09:50 yeah, and like post-punk and beautiful music.
09:54 And so I think she kind of felt like quite a subtle
09:58 reference point for us creatively for that song.
10:01 And she actually sang on the song with us.
10:03 And I was having a shit day that day.
10:05 And it was, it felt like a really sort of cathartic moment.
10:10 It felt like that anger that I was like holding in my body
10:14 was fueled to be able to sing this song
10:16 'cause it's really hard to sing,
10:19 but really, really cathartic and good.
10:22 - Is there maybe a specific moment that inspired
10:25 or is it kind of a lifetime of moments?
10:28 - Oh man, there's definitely a few nuggets
10:31 of real stories in there that we all just inherently know.
10:35 Because we've shared experience.
10:37 - I think a lot of experiences of just not feeling enough.
10:41 I think particularly like as a female,
10:44 like for sure in the industry and out of it,
10:46 just moments where you're, I don't know,
10:48 you just get that little fire in you
10:51 and you're told or shown in some way
10:55 that you and your feelings aren't enough
10:58 and just kind of squashes it down.
11:00 For me, it just, when it does erupt
11:02 into that really high note that Gret sings,
11:04 it just feels like that's been building up for years.
11:08 And I think that maybe is why it felt so cathartic
11:11 for you to sing and then us to track the vocals around you
11:13 'cause it just felt like, I don't know,
11:16 loads of like pipe down, pipe down, pipe down
11:18 and then just having like this huge eruption
11:20 and this huge, like, tantrum sounds too kind of bratty,
11:24 but like it's much more like guttural than that.
11:26 - Yeah. - Yeah.
11:28 - It feels like the whole thing is like a pressure cooker.
11:31 And I think definitely in my experience,
11:34 I've like equated a lot of my worth to like my appearance
11:38 or how like palatable I am to dudes.
11:43 And I think like deconstructing that
11:46 in my twenties has been really powerful.
11:49 And I think this song is a direct like mirror to that.
11:53 - And another song I wanted to ask about is "Hell of a Ride"
11:56 which resonated with me, who's terrified of turning 30.
12:01 But are there any specific situations that inspired that one?
12:04 - Just like feeling old.
12:07 - I think lockdown for sure.
12:10 I remember that was like something we kept going back to.
12:13 - Yeah, we wrote it right after lockdown, didn't we?
12:15 - Yeah. - It kind of was.
12:16 Like we were in LA for that one.
12:19 It was the start of 2022,
12:21 but it was still weird.
12:25 Like people were wearing masks everywhere
12:26 and like it was odd.
12:29 It was an odd time, wasn't it?
12:30 And I don't know, all the verses in that song
12:32 are very sort of like pseudo lockdown,
12:34 some sort of like catastrophe.
12:37 - Yeah, there's like end of the world imagery in there
12:40 as well, like turn on the music.
12:42 - Yeah, I felt really resentful that we had lost
12:44 the time that we did.
12:45 I think everyone felt that in different ways
12:47 and I don't think there was any good age to be,
12:49 but I did really feel like robbed.
12:53 And I think that comes out in there for all of us.
12:55 And also for me, like, yeah, fear of getting old,
12:58 but like particularly fear of getting old in music.
13:01 Like we were talking the other day about the hellscape
13:03 of the over 25s and the X factor.
13:06 - Oh my God. - That like,
13:07 maybe that's the source of it all,
13:09 but I do feel like the messaging,
13:11 even when you're not in music,
13:12 is like there's a point where you literally expire.
13:15 And so I think I was definitely feeling that as well.
13:19 - What was really nice about writing that song though
13:21 was at the end where all it has like a really beautiful
13:25 moment at the end of the song.
13:27 I think it kind of all comes back around to like being,
13:31 I don't know, just like being with you guys, you know,
13:33 and like in the midst of feeling quite really
13:37 like self-conscious about those things
13:39 and feeling like your time is running out.
13:42 And especially for me, like I feel like needing to like
13:45 accomplish a lot in my life
13:46 and not having enough time to do that.
13:49 I think it all comes down to just community
13:52 and, you know, making friends and trusting your friends
13:57 and I don't know, and family.
14:00 And I think I can get like caught up in the neurotic,
14:05 neurotic, is that a word?
14:07 Sure.
14:08 In all of that.
14:10 But then forgetting like what around you,
14:13 what is already around you is valuable.
14:15 - You mentioned the over 25s there.
14:17 And I did want to ask about,
14:19 the music industry has changed hugely.
14:22 The landscape has changed hugely
14:23 since maybe you began your career.
14:25 Were there things you felt like you had to consider
14:28 maybe TikTok or things like that
14:30 when working on this project?
14:32 - I think not when doing the music.
14:33 I actually think for me, I think for all of us,
14:36 the releasing of it was just so not referenced
14:41 or thought about during the making of it.
14:43 And maybe for me, out of a sense of dread
14:45 for that being not the funnest part, honestly.
14:49 And so I think essential to the like bubble
14:53 that we created making it was ignoring completely
14:56 how it might come out and how you might present it
14:58 or even whether we would put it out at all.
15:00 I think there was points where I was thinking like,
15:03 I would be so happy if this music never came out.
15:05 It was so about the process and about the time.
15:07 But I also felt really proud of it
15:09 and felt like I wanted to put it out.
15:11 But yeah, it has changed a lot.
15:13 Definitely since I've started, since we've all started.
15:17 And God knows where it ends up.
15:19 - It's crazy out there.
15:21 - Yeah, I really feel like the culture of it
15:25 is so apparent what we're about,
15:30 without us having to shove it down people's throats.
15:33 I think if people come across it, they will get it,
15:38 even if they absolutely hate it,
15:39 which I'm totally fine with.
15:41 And I think people will hate it as well.
15:44 - It's very nice.
15:45 - But it's like, it is what it is.
15:46 And it's so boldly what it is.
15:48 And I think that in and of itself is so amazing.
15:53 'Cause I know people can just discover it.
15:56 And that's amazing.
15:58 I don't feel like we're fighting
16:00 for a way to cut through the noise.
16:02 Like, I think we're so unapologetically like this.
16:06 But that's not really an issue.
16:10 - We mentioned the finale earlier,
16:11 and that's almost an antithesis to creating something
16:14 which is 30 seconds long.
16:15 And there's so many different ideas.
16:16 And I mean, I don't suspect you made it for that reason,
16:20 but it does show that it kind of wasn't
16:23 maybe number one consideration.
16:25 - Yeah, definitely, like Paula said,
16:27 definitely not while writing.
16:28 In fact, I feel like we made a point
16:31 to put those restrictions at the door before writing.
16:36 We were just like, who knows what this is gonna be?
16:40 Let's just not think about it.
16:41 - Yeah.
16:42 - I feel like the whole,
16:43 like the conception of this project is like,
16:47 it's like an act of rebellion against the industry.
16:50 Like, it's ironic that we've ended up signing with DECA,
16:53 who are like a lovely team and like are really on board.
16:56 But like, we've been in the industry in our own ways
17:00 for like the best part of 10 years
17:02 and have seen like the evolution of the industry
17:05 and like streaming and TikTok
17:06 like becoming more and more prevalent.
17:08 And I think us going to Middle Farm
17:10 as like a holiday, as friends,
17:12 was purely like a holiday from music
17:15 because it is so cynical and horrible as a landscape, truly.
17:19 So like, no, we didn't think about TikTok.
17:23 And I still don't want to think about it.
17:26 Like I know, you know, it is necessary
17:29 and people consume music really differently nowadays.
17:31 But I think the whole conception of this project
17:34 is very counterculture.
17:36 And hopefully people get that
17:38 and they see that we're putting out a song
17:39 that's five and a half minutes and think, that's cool.
17:41 People aren't doing that anymore, you know.
17:43 - I think what's really nice about the tone of it all as well
17:46 is that it's like, it is very like theatrical
17:50 and playful and loud and maximalist, I guess.
17:55 I think I personally like really miss that in music.
17:59 You know, I really miss the days of like, I don't know,
18:03 like Queen and this is a band called Jellyfish I love
18:05 from the nineties.
18:06 And there's just a, I don't know,
18:09 like an uncompromised sense of like theater
18:13 and like grandeur to it that I love.
18:15 Like the last dinner party, like do it so well
18:17 that they're incredible.
18:18 - So now the big question,
18:20 you've got the tour later this year.
18:21 Beyond that, what is the future of Fizz?
18:24 Is this a one-time thing?
18:26 Do you want to get back in the studio?
18:28 - We've already been back in the studio.
18:30 - We can't help ourselves, truly.
18:32 - I think the writing is like, it's too easy.
18:36 It's too easy.
18:37 - It's so fun.
18:38 - Yeah.
18:39 - Yeah, it's refreshing, honestly.
18:41 I feel like it's still such a joy that the ideas
18:46 and the want to work together is like still pouring out
18:51 of us, even though the albums, you know, just do,
18:53 the first album's just due to come out.
18:55 So yeah, I'm really excited.
18:57 I'm gassed to like go back in the studio
19:00 and just see what we make.
19:02 It'll be interesting to know how the songs change
19:05 now that the product is out and people have heard
19:08 the songs and I'm wondering if what they expect
19:13 from us will filter into how we write the music,
19:17 which will be really interesting.
19:18 - I really hope not.
19:19 I hope we can keep the same feeling that we had.
19:21 I think we've managed it so far with the little bits
19:24 that we've been doing, our silly songs.
19:27 Yeah, I think we'll be able to just like put all that
19:30 on a shelf and just once again, come at it with just like
19:34 fun and pure vibes.
19:35 - Okay, I've got two questions left.
19:37 Firstly, what is the secret to life?
19:39 - The secret to life.
19:42 I think the secret to life is gratitude
19:46 in the little things.
19:47 And I've been saying that so much recently,
19:49 but not taking my own advice.
19:51 So I really should think about that more.
19:54 But yeah, for me, just finding your people,
19:58 just finding your little weird family,
20:02 like you guys.
20:06 - I think the secret to life is bubble tea.
20:11 - Don't steal that from me.
20:14 (laughing)
20:15 - It is though.
20:17 Milk tea with tupping balls.
20:19 Just straight up vibes.
20:21 (laughing)
20:23 Do you want me to say something else
20:24 so you can say bubble tea?
20:25 - You have stolen my personality.
20:28 (laughing)
20:30 - Okay, let me say something else.
20:31 - Go on, say hope.
20:32 Say hope again.
20:33 - Hope is a song.
20:34 - Hope is a song.
20:35 (laughing)
20:37 No, my secret to life is just chill out, man.
20:45 It's not that deep.
20:46 Life's just a laugh, isn't it?
20:48 We're all gonna die.
20:50 - Yes, you heard it here first.
20:51 (laughing)
20:53 And finally, I love a cheesy question.
20:55 How do you want people to feel when they hear this album?
20:59 - Oh, great question.
21:01 I want people to be like, "What? What?"
21:05 That's what I want.
21:05 Confused.
21:06 - I want people to rise to it.
21:08 I want to give people permission to just be really loud
21:13 and unapologetic about screaming and noshing
21:18 and whatever it is, crying,
21:21 just to go there fully as encouraged by us and our yelling.
21:26 - I'm definitely expecting hate.
21:29 (laughing)
21:31 But in a way that I think is--
21:33 - Bring it on.
21:34 Martin always hates me.
21:36 We've had so many interviews recently
21:37 and Martin's been like, "I think our album's shit."
21:39 (laughing)
21:41 I think people are gonna hate it.
21:42 And I'm like, "Martin!"
21:43 - No.
21:44 I think, no, but you know what?
21:46 I think for all of the positives of it,
21:48 it's so amazing and we're so,
21:51 the biggest versions of ourselves
21:53 and really colorful and uncompromising.
21:56 And I think there are a lot of people that don't like that.
22:00 They don't like seeing people
22:03 really allow that for themselves.
22:05 Yeah.
22:06 I think I'm especially talking
22:07 from a man's perspective as well here.
22:10 Like I think there's a lot of men
22:11 that don't allow themselves to be really expressive
22:15 and free and fluid and colorful.
22:18 Yeah, I just want to say you're all welcome.
22:20 It's fun.
22:21 - Perfect place to end.
22:22 Fizz, thank you so much.
22:23 - Thank you. - Thank you.
22:24 - Thank you so much. - Thank you so much.
22:25 (upbeat music)
22:28 (upbeat music)
22:30 (upbeat music)