Factory Floor are brain-washingly alluring. The band that have been busily gaining accolades from industry and fans alike with their live performances and brain-washingly alluring eclectic sound. In their second incarnation as a band (Nik Colk, formerly of KaltO joined the band and replaced Mark Harris), this foursome have come on leaps and bounds, particularly since signing to DFA Records with whom the band are particularly complementary of. Here, modular synth playing extraordinaire, Dominic Butler tells us why the band love working with DFA and why FF only truly became FF when singer Nik Colk joined the fold.
So, how did you guys become Factory Floor?
We became Factory Floor when Nik joined. This was the real starting point for FF – everything just locked in and made sense. Some of the elements were almost there but then we began to grow with each other and form in sound and performance. It’s still moving.
How’s it being part of the DFA Fold?
They are so passionate about music. Most importantly we share music between band and label and there is lots of excitement between us and the label – working with them is a real pleasure. We can’t wait to go back to the US for another tour with Kris [Petersen of DFA].
What are your favourite venues to play?
Gallery spaces have always been inspiring to us – we feel we can be a bit more free with what we’re presenting. We really like playing smaller venues with big PA’s, with a strong level of interaction with the crowd, which is much harder to achieve at festivals.
There hasn’t been an FF set that’s sounded the same as the last over the past two years so it’s always being mixed up! But when we’re on tour playing show after show our sound becomes much tighter. There’s a definite change to how we approach it on stage now after our US tour.
Is it true that when you made your debut album you refused to listen to any music other than your own?
Yes, but only because we were sick of hearing any kind of sound after doing these really intense months of tracking and listening to the same loops over and over! There wasn’t much room for anything else in our minds, plus there was a part of us that wanted to get into our own bubble and focus on our sound fully.
Where does inspiration come from for your tunes?
A lot of the time, visual influences and our environment have a heavy impact. If we mix our surroundings when also listening to certain tracks, this always pushes ideas and inspiration for us. Our tracks have been quite abstract to date – a bit like memories or pieces of day-to-day experiences fragmented in our minds.
How do you feel the changes in technology over the last few years have influenced your sound?
Massively, we are definitely able to achieve sounds we always wanted to achieve much more accurately now. With so much amazing gear being produced it just inspires us to keep writing and moving forward. Something we have in common with Chris, Cosey [Throbbing Gristle] and Stephen Morris, is that they are always inspired by how technologies progress, both musically and visually. It only takes one piece of new gear; be it a simple processor pedal or certain clap sound on a new drum machine to inspire a whole track or even an album.
How do your individual music styles and tastes mould together during the recording process?
We each bring in ideas to the tracks from the starting point and throughout the moulding process. What we are each trying to achieve in our musical style at the time gets worked on individually until it’s ready and is working with everyone else’s input. Sometimes we all have to compromise but we all try to allow space for one another. Our tracks tend to rely on segments of each of our sound/ideas coming to the forefront at different times throughout the track and sometimes overlapping and playing off each other so you can get some really interesting results by mixing influences in this way, rather than each of us aiming for the same goal. The most interesting bits are totally unexpected and usually stick.
Engagement is crucial for any band – how do you ensure you stay relevant with fans?
By trying to move forward all the time and not be stagnant. Each single, album and collaboration should bring something new to the table for everyone. We always feel bands shouldn’t be so worried about showing their development – that’s what music is there for. Fans of any band should feel like they are growing with the band and aren’t just consuming one idea for years too.
Words: Kimberley Owen
Illustration: Ewa Mos
