Interview with fakeyourdeath, ArcTanGent

Interview

8 Sep

Saturday morning at ArcTanGent Festival was buzzing, not least because we were starting the day the best way I know how - chatting to a new band! fakeyourdeath has moved quickly, building an active show roster and releasing two singles since October that combine menacingly dark imagery and confrontational lyricism. Not quite knowing what to expect from the Brighton-based electronic post-hardcore duo, what we found is a pair as dedicated to their sound as they are the live experiences they create.

GIGS | The Scene - Scenemusicmedia

30 Aug 2024

The Scene

REVIEW: ArcTanGent, Saturday

30 Aug 2024

The Scene

30 Aug 2024

The Scene

fakeyourdeath might be out to make us feel uncomfortable and confront our darkest thoughts and feelings, but off-stage, they’re exceedingly kind about it.

We had the opportunity to chat with the fakeyourdeath duo - Candi Underwood (vocals) and Sam Barnes (drums) - all about their sound, influences and creating memorable, if uncomfortable, musical experiences.

Thanks fakeyourdeath for taking time to chat with us. You’re Brighton-based right? We used to live in Brighton but the scene there is so different now, lots of bands coming out really recently. Can you tell us a bit about being part of the Brighton scene?

Sam Barnes: There's loads of music, loads of bands.

Candi Underwood: Venue wise, we've done pretty well. Obviously, there's been a lot of closures recently but Brighton's been pretty good and we've still had newer ones open. Everyone's pretty good at supporting the scene down there. It’s very saturated, there's loads and loads of music so there's loads of gigs every night. We've got great bands coming out like CLT DRP and Chalk Hands who are both on the bill here at ATG. Lots of mates here today which is nice.

What can you tell us about you - your sound, your vibe and what you’re doing?

Sam: We've been going for about a year. We try to marry our favourite electronic music with heavy music., influenced by bands like Nine Inch Nails, Death Grips, and Health. We’re just trying to do something that’s calling back to some of the old industrial stuff, but with a modern spin on it. Still pretty early days for us, but it’s been a good year.

Candi: We’ve released two singles so far; “Truth” came out last October and then “Consume” came out earlier this year. They've been received really well, it's been great. We’ve played some great shows, we actually got here late this weekend because we were playing with Frontiera in Brighton, which was sick. It's been a good year, we're excited to see what's coming up.

Together for about a year, what led you to start the band?

Sam: We've been playing for about a year, and I guess writing and recording this music for another year before that. We'd been playing in bands on and off since we were kids and used to be in a band together, which was a bit more straightforward rock. Then we just wanted to mix it up. We did the same thing for so long, and it was not very different. Like, I love that music, I’m a sucker for a riff. But we wanted to try something we haven't done before.

Candi: Definitely. Everything is a little different post-pandemic..

Sam: Yeah, a lot of it was written during Covid.

Candi: And that's pretty much where the whole thing came from, just being stuck inside and wondering what we're going to do? So both of us were using that time to up our skills, thinking about what else we can do as musicians that isn't reliant on a guitarist or a bassist? Sam’s predominantly a drummer, but now he's created all this electronic music. I was predominantly a singer and now I'm a screamer as well. Using that time to push the boundaries and get better. Obviously, still doing nothing just like everyone else, playing loads of Xbox or whatever. But also using that time to get better and create something new.

So your first ATG, how’s it been?

Sam: Yeah, it's cool. We’ve just come from watching Copse. They’re a great band. We only got here yesterday and didn't see a huge amount. But just doing the first walk around the site, I think we bumped into about 20 people we know from home. It feels really good to be here and it's a nice place. I've come before as a punter and it has such a nice vibe.

Candi: Yeah it’s really lovely. We saw some good bands yesterday and we're looking forward to seeing a few more today like Health and Loathe. There's loads of bands we’ve got on a list, so we're gonna play and then go.

That’s a lot of activity very quickly. So what is coming up, have you been working on more singles?

Sam: Yeah, we're going to be putting out a new song later this year before we go on a short run with Tokky Horror. Next year, we’re just starting to make some plans and just keep on writing and playing.

Candi: We want to keep playing shows and hopefully hop on some more tours, just keep playing. Because the live thing is pretty important to us. That people come and a…well not good, but have an experience let’s say.

How would you describe your live show experience and presence?

Sam: We want to make people feel uncomfortable.

Candi: There’s a lot of staring.

Sam: Harsh noise.

Candi: Looking at someone and just shouting at them until they can't take anymore and then moving to someone else.

Sam: It’s quite theatrical. It’s nonstop noise from start to finish.

Candi: It's quite powerful. I feel pretty powerful when I’m doing it. It’s quite dominant.

I did watch the video for your last single, “Consume”, and I can see how it's a little terrifying in a great way.

Candi: It sounds awful but it's a great feeling to terrify people. It's great to feel that powerful, you don't get that in everyday life.

But what’s interesting is, that song isn’t a terrifying concept really, lyrically.

Candi: Yeah, “Consume” is about the fact that basically, we're materialistic as…can I swear on this? We’re materialistic as fuck. But that we actually secretly love it, as well. It's pretty political in that manner. But everything's a bit more aggressive live put it that way.

You mention it’s quite theatrical live - what can we expect, seeing your show later this afternoon?

Sam: I think it's trying to add a show element to it, that’s more than just a band playing. Bit hard to explain.

Candi: There’s lost of strobes. Some of the movement is freestyle, and some of it's a bit more coordinated to work alongside the songs and inbetween. There's no break, so there's the time to make people feel uncomfortable and make sure that they're not really sure what's going to happen. And then a song happens, surprise surprise.

But visually, it's pretty theatrical. Making sure the lighting works along the music, but we also play face-on to each other. We don't really face the audience much, we face each other.