fang
About fang from Auckland
A Short History of Fang
Fang's first EP (Employee of the Month 1999) and the first album (The Origin of Species 2000) contained the tracks Employee of the Month (bFM Top Ten No.1), Disphoria and a number of other b-net favorites. It was a lo-fi, hi - energy blast of quick fire songs, described by one reviewer as about technology, cool people and getting back to nature tongues firmly planted in cheek. Other reviews were positive echoing the sentiment that Fang were a promising outfit. The original line up was Sonya Waters, Andrea Holmes and Ben Howe.
During 2001-2002 Fang set to work on their second album called Somewhere Out There. They also recruited guitarist Francis Hunt (The Stereo Bus, Sleepers Union and other bands) on guitar, who was eventually replaced by Steve Reay (The Subliminals), who played the guitar on Somewhere Out There. The album was released at the end of 2002 to excellent reviews (see below).
It was described variously as a departure and a daring imaginative and accomplished trip into other musical atmospheres or shiny and impressive. In the year following the release of the album Fang played numerous gigs around New Zealand with Bob Mould, the Chills, the Phoenix Foundation, Pine, Ghostplane SJD, the World Series and numerous other shows. They also contributed a number of new tracks to the Arch Hill compilation CD The Hill is Alive. A video was made for the track Man From the South with Richard Bell who has also made videos with U2, Beck, Johnny Cash and others.
On August the 2nd 2004 they released their third album SWIM UP STREAM
Since the last Fang album (SOMEWHERE OUT THERE – 2002), the band was transformed with three new members and their unusual musical perspectives. First on board was Bronwen Robertson on violin, guitar, percussion and reluctant keyboards. Trained and tortured at high-ranking classical music schools since before she could walk, she now works hard at unlearning her learned musicality. Tom Clark was next recruit on guitar - forging ahead with evil electrotrash 80s tendencies (he is also in the Fanatics); Tom is the bands breakfast beer drinker - well disguised by immaculate personal hygiene. Finally there was dynamo drummer Brignall Wood - philosopher, father and beat minimalist.
The hi-octane new blood was initially a shock for long haul members Sonya Waters and Ben Howe. But in the spirit of change a strict new songwriting regime was introduced. Sonya was forced to internalise and stop collecting forensic pathology clippings. ‘Write songs about yourself’, Ben demanded. Another epic historical murder narrative was consigned to the wastebasket (OK - so one did get through). In return Sonya required Ben to make good song stories; ‘Everything is interesting’ she said, ‘it just depends on how you look at it’. When things got tense Sonya retreated to the garden befriending stray birds and cats. During the hard times each was heard to grumble to themselves about the other ‘…you’re not putting enough efforts into MY songs’.
And like most stories of musicians at work, the recording process was hell. The easy part was recording the instruments – the hard part was finishing. Tracked and mixed by Ben at Arch Hill Studios, he was almost driven crazy in his freezing bedroom above the cluttered studio control room. At night, in the rare sleeping hours, the songs haunted his dreams. During the day, red bug eyed and restless, the band struggled with engineering ethics and problems of production: ‘Technology. Cut. Splice. Paste Or the puritanical road - self-expression and the single take’ These were troubling questions. A notice appeared on the studio wall: ‘no-one will ever hear this song’. Apparently this might encourage some kind of detached ‘music for it own sake’ sort of attitude.
The album is called SWIM UP STREAM because making quality music is never easy. The struggle to try and find something new is a hard but necessary road. On this album the left-of-center melodic hooks remain, and they continue to be embedded in minimalist rhythms, haunting keyboards, dark violins and angular guitars. But the tracks on this album also represent a more focused and dynamic Fang: better performances, better production and better songwriting. The first three singles ‘I Can’t Help It’, ‘Yellow’ and ‘Something Good’ are the more accessible end of the album (the first two singles have already had extensive airplay on the b-net, ChannelZ and videos on C4 - ‘Something Good’ has a video in production). Other tracks on the album such as ‘Milkshakes and Orange’, ‘A Reckless Moment’ or Snowtown are more expansive and cinematic in scope.
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