A QUICK CHAT WITH FAN GIRL

Congratulations on the release of your latest EP! The title real or staged seems to hint at some ambiguity. Can you elaborate on the concept behind the EP title?

Ambiguity is a great way to describe it. The concept of ‘real or staged’ works on many levels across the EP, tying it all together in pretty different contexts from song to song.  In one song it’s about the capriciousness of memory, and then on another it’s more related to having two contrasting feelings at once and not knowing which one to trust. It also definitely works within the musical and thematic dynamics of the EP. There’s such an unruly grandness about the EP at times and then at others a contemplative delicateness, so it also kinda helps put reason to the EP being a real mixed bag.

Each track on the EP seems to have its own distinct mood and story. How did you decide which songs would make the cut, and was there a particular narrative you wanted to build throughout the five tracks?

EPs are great we love EPs. Sometimes, they’re just a collection of singles. Sometimes they’re highly conceptual and considered. ‘real or staged’ probably sits somewhere in the middle. They’re all songs that seem to really live together, whilst still (hopefully) holding a bit of variety and colour. Some of these songs were being saved for this EP, and some of them were written relatively last minute under the pressure cooker of late stage capitalism. It’s all a bit dark and broken and grand and stuff innit?

real or staged marks a darker new chapter for Fan Girl. In what ways do you feel this EP differs from your previous releases, both musically and in terms of where the band is at creatively?

There has definitely always been a splash of darkness in our stuff, just sometimes showing up in weird little corners instead of upfront like a lot of this EP.

We just try and make whatever kind of music we want to. No real consideration most of the descriptives. ‘real or staged’ just feels a bit more self assured than our previous stuff. We stopped caring about certain less important aspects of the whole process of making and releasing music, and have just honed in on the bits that are more fun and fulfilling. At least that is what we tried to do. Hopefully that is evident in the music (we didn’t stop caring about songwriting though so please be nice about the songs).

Your new video for "mid century" gives fans a glimpse of life on tour. What was the highlight of those shows leading up to the EP release?

Legitimately, that last tour was probably our all time favourite. Very good, very fun, very wholesome stuff. Made a bunch of friends and played with some of the best bands (and people) in the country. Truly an honour. Also the live side of FG is just at an all time high fun-wise. And playing the EP in full before it came out has been really nice. Lowlight was definitely tracking the ‘mid century’ vocals in a motel. Many many more exciting things to do in Sydney than comp a vocal.

There were apparently thirteen different versions of "away" before you settled on the final mix. What were some of the most drastic changes the song went through, and what ultimately led you to the final version?

That song was the bane of my (Vince) existence for a moment there. An idea I believed in enough to not let go of, but a total fuckaround finding its place sonically. The first idea was the verse chord progression, which landed originally as a synth bass line on a jungle song idea I was toying with. It then morphed into a Bowie-esque acoustic number. It lived as an all electronic track for a while - and then became very piano-centric. Some versions had drums, full band vibes. I ended up putting all 13 versions together in a dropbox folder and we picked out our favourite bits of all the demos, and smashed them together. The stuff that worked is what we were left with. As an act of self care, I have strictly decided to never write a song with this process again. Simply never. I hope it sounds okay.

You’re heading to the UK and Europe soon for some shows. How do you anticipate abroad audiences will respond to the new tracks, and what are you most excited about with these upcoming gigs?

Hopefully positively, or at least amused. We are definitely going against the grain being a guitar band going to UK. I’m not sure they have guitars over there. 

There is such a great scene of incredible bands and artists there at the moment. Very inspiring. And we are playing with some incredible artists that we love. Hopefully our chaotic little band will be able to win some hearts (and sell some merch).

Lastly, If you could distil the essence of real or staged into a single word or phrase that listeners should feel when they hear it, what would it be and why?

Tricky question there Aus Music Scene…. ‘an explosion of colour, chaos, catchiness, with a dark and honest edge,’ - this works for sure. The EP hopefully captures the wild, turbo time that we had writing and recording it. Often immediate and energetic, sometimes really raw and honest. It all comes together to create 20 minutes of warped ups and downs. Hopefully there is something on the EP for everyone.