What was the beginning pint for your music career? How did it all start?
A couple of teenagers, grown up on hard rock and metal, and thinking that rock bands are the coolest thing in the world. That’s our start. There were several band “attempts” back then, but for some reason Flush was the one that survived and we stayed committed to. Maybe it was the songs and just somehow everything clicked. A few band iterations later, with mostly bass players coming and going, this current line-up has been the most solid and productive.
Was there any bumps on the road? What kind of challenges did you have to deal with?
Just simply holding everything together is a daily challenge. A band is not an isolated thing and it’s nobody’s day job or any source of income, so we must constantly find ways to make sense of this and make it all work. The one thing that helps is to be really honest and clear amongst us on what we want this band to be. Patience, loyalty, acceptance and commitment probably best summarize why we’ve stuck together so long.
What was the most fulfilling and satisfying moment so far?
Big releases, like our second album coming out 29th November, are huge moments. Recording a full-length album is a significant effort for a band in our position. Sold-out shows are other big moments, as are the times we get to travel to new places to play. E.g. Kaunas and Bratislava have left fond memories in our minds.
How would you describe the music that you typically create?
We have started to call our style of music “Community Rock”. We write and perform these songs to provide temporary escape or relief from the pressures of the world, and we want people to feel a sense of togetherness, community, when attending our shows or listening to our music. Lyrically, we write about our lives, what we see around us and what happens to us. Musically, our thing is guitar riffs, lots of dynamic elements in the songs, and the occasional sing-along choruses.
What is your creative process like?
Lasse writes our songs and brings them to practice for the band to arrange. Some of them are more ready than others, and some can change quite significantly during the process. There is no systematic approach to the writing; sometimes the lyrics or a catchy line come first, sometimes it’s about a cool riff or an interesting chord progression. The most important part of the process is when the band puts it all together and it all ends up sounding like Flush in the end.
If you could change anything about the industry, what would it be?
There are so many things to change! Maybe the biggest issue is the distribution of money at the moment. The big names collect unproportionally large revenues from both distribution and live performance. Everything is designed for big names, big shows, and big releases. I wish people would realize that spending 50-100 USD/GBP/EUR on a few local band club shows is more important than spending 5 times that amount on some reunion arena concert for an artist who does not create anymore. If we continue like this, we won’t have meaningful and creative new music soon anymore. Instead, it will be music that sounds like everything else and is made purely for commercial interests.
If you were asked to give a piece of advice to upcoming bands, what would that be?
Figure out amongst yourselves what you are aspiring for. Is it about the creative process, about playing sold-out shows, about making money, about fame and admiration, or about something else? Or is it just about having fun with your friends?
What has been the best performance of your career so far?
It should be our next upcoming gig, our album release show in Helsinki on 30th November! Until then, our best performance would have been our previous one.
If you didn’t become a musician, what would you be doing now?
It is likely that many of us would be involved in sports somehow… Probably football (soccer). Music really saved us from sports!
What is new with the band at the moment? What are you currently working on and would like to share with the world?
Our second album ‘Noises’ comes out November 29th and it’s released by Wormholedeath Records worldwide. We’re really happy with the album and proud of the whole collection of songs on it! It includes songs about space satellites and owls, about love, heartbreak, death, violence and anxiety; all intended to provide temporary relief and comfort for the listener.
