There are few artists who can boast a discography as long as that of Fucked Up's. This is particularly impressive given that their original demo only came out six years ago, but the band's punk rock work ethic has ensured an almost constant stream of vinyl singles and one acclaimed album, 'Hidden World'. Recently signed to Matador Records, the band will release their second album, 'The Chemistry Of Common Life', in October. Before that, on 22 Jul, Matador and What's Your Rupture? release a new EP, 'Year Of The Pig'. We spoke to guitarist 10,000 Marbles.
Q1 How did you start out making music?
I used to make rap tapes in grade 6 with a friend during sleepovers. We had a tape player that we recorded into and an acoustic guitar, which was good because it was late at night after everyone in the house had gone to bed, and we were whispering so everything had to be really quiet. Later we started listening to The Sex Pistols and plugged the acoustic guitar into an amplifier and started practicing during the day time. Years later, I would get an El Degas electric guitar and a Marshall amp and the rest is history.
Q2 What inspired your latest album?
I tried to bring the natural elements of 'Hidden World' further into the record this time. The LP isn't about ideology, it's about reality - things that never change. The songs are about lightning, the sun, birth, death, these elemental fixtures that are the basis of everything else. Look into the sun and empty my mind.
Q3 What process do you go through in creating a track?
This time we were in a rush so we only gave ourselves enough time to write the most basic pieces of the song before we went into the studio. When we started recording we only knew about 25% of each song, and just wrote the rest in the studio. The entire process took about nine months - two months to write in the practice space, and six or seven months to record. We recorded the drums and bed tracks, went out tour with the rough mixes for a few months, and then went in every few days to add new things when we had ideas. It was like painting a picture over a really long time period. If we wanted in the middle of something, to have a French horn, or a guest vocalist, we would just call them and resume recording when that person would come in.
Q4 Which artists influence your work?
The sun, thunder, lightning, mucha, Fernando Torres.
Q5 What would you say to someone experiencing your music for the first time?
To be patient.
Q6 What are your ambitions for your latest single/album, and for the future?
We just want people to like our records. We want to be able to use the band to visit a lot of places and people in the world, and that's it.
More: www.last.fm/music/Fucked+Up