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myfavebandfizz · 2 months

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Wonderland Magazine - Interview - Feb 28 2024

The band — which consists of artists dodie, Orla Gartland, Greta Isaac and Martin Luke Brown — tells us about the origins of the project and its visual identity, and lets us inside with some BTS from their shoot.

“The whole FIZZ gang! We look really sad here but believe it or not this shoot was a truly joyous experience”

From FIZZ: Sometimes in life, you sit round a kitchen table with your friend-family and throw around a dream idea with each other. It could be; “let’s move to the countryside, build ourselves a little commune with a vegetable garden and cook dinners for each other every night”. Or perhaps; “let’s start a band using all of our experience of the music industry we’ve gathered over 10 years of being solo artists and write the most unserious, least-pressured album that is bursting with joy and saturation. Then let’s build a world of circus-y, wild lore around the whole thing in which we all live in an imaginary part theme-park, part alien-town called FIZZVILLE complete with a strawberry jam volcano, fireworks and ferris wheels.”

“Secret To Life” video BTS — Dodie wears collar & trousers RENLI SU and dress DALSTON COSTUME HIRE; Martin wears shirt, suit & trousers VIVIENNE WESTWOOD and cape & hat DALSTON COSTUME HIRE; Greta wears bodysuit & cap PRANGSTA COSTUMIERS; Orla wears shirt DALSTON COSTUME HIRE, corset CAT O’BRIEN, trousers FRASER, belt ROSIE EVANS, and earrings THE VXLLEY “These photos were taken on set for our music video for ‘The Secret To Life’ – shoutout to our photographer Karina Barberis for always capturing each moment perfectly. These were taken right before we had to chain smoke 20 cigarettes just to get one shot (worth it).”

The commune is yet to be built, but our wacky, wonky, maximalist band idea somehow grew legs and crawled its way over to our favourite studio to record an album under the band-name; ‘FIZZ’. Our record needed some accompanying visuals, and so in May ’23 our baby band travelled to Barcelona to work with an incredible creative director and his team – JP Bonino and ‘The Rats’; a creative collective we knew could match our vision of an alternative world. Our darling friend and visionary Karina Barberis came along to capture the vibes.

This was our first photoshoot as a band, and the novelty of it all was exhilarating; focussed makeup artists and hair stylists would be flicking their brushes on cheeks and tugging extensions on hair, all while we watched our glossy best friends pose to imaginary scenes dreamed up by JP, jumping on trampolines to his encouraging directions between camera flashes. “The joke’s gone too far, guys” – a quip we found ourselves saying constantly, to try and process the huge gratitude and luck we felt to have such a talented team on our side.

Left: Orla wears bonnet MAISON GRACIEN; jacket MIETIS “Orla looking like the most ethereal dreamgirl the world has ever seen” – Dodie

Right: Greta wears necklace BOMBA Y LOLA; dress MIRO MISLJEN DESIGN “I think this might be the best photograph of anyone, ever?” – Orla

Left: Orla wears necklace PIA GLASSWORKS; jacket MIETIS “The apple was fake but the the smile was not – I felt VERY powerful in this coat. This look was from the ‘High in Brighton’ artwork” – Orla

Right: Orla wears full look VICTOR VON SCHWARZ; earrings AGUSTINA ROS “This was my look for shooting the single artwork for ‘Close One’ – it was one of my favourites from this whole shoot!” – Orla

Left: “Secret To Life” video BTS — Dodie wears collar & trousers RENLI SU and dress DALSTON COSTUME HIRE Right: Dodie wears top ANEMONE; corset RAMP TRAMP TRAMP STAMP; shoes MERRFER “I don’t usually totter about in kitten heels, but these made me feel like the princess I never knew I could be” – Dodie

The FIZZ family portrait that came from that shoot was the first time we sat together as a band – a familiar feeling of being in front of the camera but with an added giddiness of feeling part of something bigger, the weight of standing alone shared.

After a whirlwind album release, we bookended our campaign with the music video for “The Secret To Life” – a meta, Truman show-esc story created by director Lulu Vicedomini and brought to life by another dedicated team, including Art Directors Studio GAAS and our favourite stylist, Rubina Marchiori. The novelty of sharing space on set together was still very much alive – smoking cigarettes and miming to our own song, as if we had stepped into an imaginary playground game. But 6 months on from our Barcelona shoot something felt different – we had settled into ourselves individually and as a group, and we felt comfortable standing there in our outfits crafted by Rubina, mixing our own personal styles with the funhouse brief from Lulu’s world. We positioned ourselves together on camera, adjusting automatically to our wild range in height as a band and making sure to equally disperse attention – this was not our first rodeo anymore!

Left: Dodie wears Dodie jacket NIMPH; top ANEMONE; trousers VICTOR VON SHWARZ “Shortly after this I had a member of the production team put their legs over my head (don’t ask).” – Dodie

Right: Martin wears top and skirt ANEMONE; trousers OUTSIDERS DIVISION “Slay. Just slay” – Greta

Martin wears hat OUTSIDERS DIVISION; top MACOSCH “Introducing the new Strawberry Shortcake… I love this shot of Martin, taken on set whilst shooting our single artwork for ‘The Secret To Life’” – Dodie

Left: Nails by Isabella Ching “Shoutout to Isabella Ching for these crazy, powerful nails.” – Greta

Right: Martin wears top THE ARTELIER “When Gorka attached this giant mohawk to my head I was like damn this joke has got out of hand. God bless tho. Tribrows is it let’s go” – Martin

Left: Greta wears corset LUPE; Dodie wears top NIMPH “Dodie & Greta in their looks for the family portrait shot that we used to first launch the band!”

Right: Dodie wears jacket COMO LA TRUCHA AL TRUCHO; top ANEMONE “Rapunzel Rapunzel, let down your hair babe. I LOVE THIS LOOK FOR DODES! – Orla”

BTS Photography - Karina Barberia

"Secret To Life" Video BTS Styling - Rubina Marchiori

"Secret To Life" Video BTS Styling Assistants - Francesca Russo, Jingying Tohi, Erica Welhenage

"Secret To Life" Video BTS Makeup Artists - Georgia Olive, Esme Horn, Molly Whiteley

"Secret To Life" Video BTS Hair Stylist - Giuseppe Stelitano

Main Shoot Photography - JP Bonino

Main Shoot CGI - SanPol2000

Main Shoot Production - The Rats Company, Tomás Pintos, Casiana Flores Piran

Main Shoot Styling - Mora Giordana, Lupe Galinarez, Sofía Osiadacz

Main Shoot Makeup - Maria Baaten, Isabella Ching, Laura Martin, Victor Aragon

Main Shoot Hair - Gorka Larcan, Catalina Sartor

Main Shoot Art - David Méndez Alonso, Raquel Magyary

Main Shoot Artwork Lights - Cecilia Gil

Main Shoot Artwork Digital Assistant - Guillermo Delgado

Main Shoot Studio - D105 STUDIOS

#fizz #yourfavebandfizz #fizz band #all #interview #bts #photoshoot #photoshoot bts #barcelona photoshoot

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myfavebandfizz · 8 months

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Introducing: Greta Isaac

🐷 FIZZVILLE RESIDENTS PLS ASSEMBLE 🎢 ALL STAND IN HONOUR OF OUR WELSH PRINCESS @gretaisaac 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🫡

GRETA OR ‘GRET’ (OR ‘GREB’) (OK NOT GREB) IS SMALL BUT MIGHTY, OUR BAND’S TINIEST TREASURE 🐣🍭 LOVER OF FASHION, LOVER OF COOKING VIDEOS, LOVER OF DOING A SILLY ACCENT 🌝 SEE STARTER PACK ON SLIDE 2 AND STUDY UP

🍄 BITESIZE GRETA FACTS: WELSH IS HER FIRST LANGUAGE ! SHE MAKES THE BEST GRAVY IN ALL THE LAND ! 🍗🥔

‘AS GOOD AS IT GETS’ IS THE CROWN JEWEL OF OUR ALBUM & GRET’S MOMENT TO SHINE 💎 SHE HITS *THAT HIGH NOTE* & WE GET GOOSEBUMPS EVERY TIME 😵🥁

#fizz #yourfavebandfizz #fizz band #all #greta #greta isaac

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myfavebandfizz · 9 months

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🔑 🏺BURNT CITY X FIZZ 🩸🍸

ON OUR WAY TO FIZZVILLE, OUR UFO MALFUNCTIONED 😱AND WE WOKE UP IN THE BURNT CITY 🛸

HADES HAS KINDLY LET US STAY FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY…. IN EXCHANGE FOR A SECRET SET

🧿👄🧿

HELP US GET BACK TO FIZZVILLE 🎢

TICKETS GO ON SALE AT NOON BST TODAY 👻

🧿👄🧿

🌀An intimate secret set on the set of The Burnt City

🌀Available to only 50 people who purchase the Fizz: TheScret Set Add-on at checkout.

🌀Available to all ticket holders for 27th August

🌀Don't worry if you are not successful. Stay in Peep (the bar) till the end of the night to see Fizz perform a few songs in there.

🧿👄🧿

#fizz #yourfavebandfizz #fizz band #all #burnt city #the burnt city #punchdrunk #the burnt city x fizz

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myfavebandfizz · 6 months

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Plnk Wifi Interview

A JOURNEY INTO FIZZVILLE

NOVEMBER 8, 2023

What happens when accomplished singer-songwriters and best friends dodie, Orla Gartland, Greta Isaac, and Martin Luke Brown are all faced with boredom? The short answer is, fate directed the four musicians to get into the studio together, and they all formed the most superb supergroup of all time: FIZZ.

The quartet recently released their debut album The Secret To Life, and I got to sit in on a virtual press conference to hear FIZZ spill the tea on how the project came together!

THE BEGINNING

The members of FIZZ had been friends for ten years, but decided to link up roughly two years ago. A trip to the Middle Farm Studios in the town of England was somewhat of an experiment for the members. They wanted to see how their chemistry would flow in the studio, and see what would come out of it.

Greta said, “We basically wrote the album across two weeks – one week in December 2021, and another week in July 2022. I think the intention was to see what happens. We didn’t have a name then, our managers didn’t know the band existed really, and the intention really was just to play and see what it was like to write together.”

MAKING AN ALBUM

It might be a little hard to believe that FIZZ created an entire album in just two weeks, but that really did happen. At the studio, producer Pete Miles was bursting with excited about the four artists being in one room together, and he had a vision that they’d come together to form a band. Pete worked his magic in the studio, and FIZZ just couldn’t help but feel excited – which drove them to create a whole lot of music in just a little time.

According to Martin, “We were just giddy. Super duper giddy for that first week. We were running around and playing the drums, plugging in guitars, and it was really noisy chaos. A lot of the big songs on the album came from that first week.”

After six months, FIZZ regrouped and returned to the studio to work on the second half of the album. Martin shared, “We think of the album and the sound as a time capsule, because we pretty much did the whole thing in those two weeks. Whatever we do next, we’ll probably have a similar approach. Whatever happens, happens… we just make the time to allow for it to happen.”

JUST DO IT!

Since The Secret To Life was a spontaneous project, a lot of the planning and polishing that might usually take place in the studio was non-existent for the group. Orla said, “Because we wrote and recorded it at the same time, there’s no separate demoing and recording process. I think often, what you’re hearing on the final version of the song is the first (or second, or third) vocal ever put down for that song. There’s kind of a really magic naïve-ity in that. There’s no overthinking, because there was no time to overthink. You can hear in so many of the songs us all singing different notes to each other, because we’re not even really sure what the note is… but it doesn’t really matter! Let’s just go!”

It was all about the vibes of one another’s company. Greta mentioned, “I think we’re so used to this way of writing and producing music, which is… you write with someone different every day, you go into a new studio every day, you write with a stranger, you try and get a song in five hours and move on to the next one the next day, and you don’t get time to tweak anything. It’s just very fast-paced, and it can be soul-crushing sometimes! I think with the way Pete produces, which is very old school (a lot of recording to tape, and capturing the atmosphere more than anything) I think that was something I hadn’t done since I was a teen. It felt like a retreat, but it felt like coming back to actually making music in the way we always loved doing.”

Dodie said, “We didn’t want to put so much weight on writing this album. We didn’t want to figure out what we were trying to say. It’s so interesting what comes out when you let go of those pressures.”

The Secret To Life is pure sonic fun, and keeping this context in mind makes listening to the album even more enjoyable. It’s the story of four friends chasing good vibes, and you, the listener, are invited to frolic in the sun with FIZZ as your ears embark on this magical journey. Listen to The Secret To Life below!

a big thank you to °1824 for hosting FIZZ’s virtual press conference ♡

#fizz #yourfavebandfizz #fizz band #all #interview #plnk wifi #plnk wifi interview

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myfavebandfizz · 6 months

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Notion Magazine Interview

FIZZ Are Finding The Sweet Spot Between Reality And Make Believe

Words Yazzi Gokcemen

November 3, 2023

FIZZ, the indie pop supergroup making a buzz, are bubbling with optimism after discovering the secrets to life in their dreamy debut album The Secret To Life.

FIZZ was the first moniker that band members dodie, Orla Gartland, Greta Isaac and Martin Luke Brown could collectively agree upon. Despite being plucked from the blue, the name is the perfect fit for the tight-knit music collective; their debut album, The Secret To Life, which dropped last week, is giddy with escapism, unpredictable and full of freewheeling fun.

The band’s latest project is the product of a summer spent locked in a recording studio in the British countryside. At Middle Farm Studios, Devon, FIZZ found the uninterrupted space that allowed their four creative minds to sync in running wild. With the help of producing wizard Peter Miles, they actualised their imagination and musical musings into a cohesive 12-track album.

Each member of the alternative indie-pop band is a successful artist in their own right. dodie is a critically acclaimed artist, Orla is an Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist, Greta is a Cardiff-born folky-artist and Martin is a self-described ‘gritty, soul-y, hippie boy’. Meeting coincidentally on their various musical escapades, they quickly became each others ‘biggest fans’ and began collaborating, honing a unique collective sound. Audible on their four previous singles, it was only a matter of time before a FIZZ album, and universe ‘Fizzville’, was born.

Described as the ‘sweet spot between reality and make-believe’, The Secret To Life takes listeners on an emotive, sensory-stimulating journey, akin to Willy Wonka’s bubblegum (one of the album’s inspirations). Most songs are uplifting but there are moments, like the interlude ‘Strawberry Jam’, which lament loneliness and melancholy. ‘You, Me, Lonely’ is a stand-out track, showcasing dodie’s captivating lead vocals along with cleverly layered harmonies. The band describes it as: “A time capsule for the moment right before two hearts break”.

Before FIZZ take their whimsical new music on a UK tour in February, we learn how the quiet quickly became the storm.

How did you meet and what lead you to become a collective?

Right, let’s see. Orla met Gret when getting her band together for her first UK tour back in 2013. Martin ended up supporting Orla on her second UK tour, which Gret was also on in 2015. On this tour, dodie was supporting at the London show. So, I guess we all officially met on that fateful night in 2015 about eight years ago. Since then we’ve all collaborated in various ways. Gret’s worked on creative for Orla, dodie and Martin projects at various different points. Martin and Gret have written loads together, including a couple of songs on Orla’s first album, Orla plays guitar in dodie’s band. We’ve been in each other’s pockets for years, it was only a matter of time and circumstance really, we are truly just the biggest fans of each other.

Why pick the name FIZZ?

Because it was slightly better than Drew Bandymoore… Only just though.

Why do you work well as a band – what connects you?

Pure play really. We all feel so safe and unjudged and that allows for so much daft shit to happen.

Your style and visuals are distinctive, how did you create this FIZZ aesthetic and what is its significance?

When we were making the album, it was all about retreating from our usual way of creating. The process was all about inverting how we’d usually write music and flipping it entirely on its head – a lot of it felt really playful, intuitive, theatrical and honestly really fucking ambitious. I think when we started thinking about how we wanted the creative of the album to expand on that, we referenced visuals that made us feel similar. We wanted to find the sweet spot between reality and make-believe, and started thinking about films like Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, The Wizard Of Oz, Alice In Wonderland: films that take place in these constructed realities that feel really sickly sweet, but have this uncanny valley distortion about them. We’ve worked with some insanely talented artists and creatives to bring our make-believe world, ‘Fizzville’, to life; it’s been such a joy so far.

How would you describe your ‘sound’?

Like, absolutely horrible but undeniably fun.

When did you have your first big break as a band?

That’s a hard one to answer really, I guess in various ways we’ve all had breaks in our own worlds, so it’s all felt like a marrying of our individual successes. We’ve had so many fun moments already. The BBC Radio 1 Maida Vale session was amazing, playing Latitude was great. We also did this one-off collaborative event with immersive theatre company Punchdrunk who we’re huge fans of, so that felt big too.

What was it like performing at The Great Escape and other festivals this summer?

It was so fun seeing how people were reacting to the songs after hearing them for the first time. It’s such a mad world, we weren’t sure how it was gonna go down with people but it’s all been received with open arms. We’re all itching for the album to be out so we can play shows where people have had time to fully live with the songs.

What is your musical process – does it change with every project?

There is no process really. With this album, we did it in two separate week-long trips to the middle farm and within that time we wrote and recorded everything. It’s just a case of carving out the time and trusting that we’ll be able to capture the magic of it all while we’re there.

What are the challenges of being a young band in the UK music industry?

I think the hardest thing has been navigating social media as a group. Portraying four distinct personalities through one channel has been challenging at times. We all care so much and are so involved in every decision, it feels much more democratic than our own projects, which we all dictate individually.

Why did you feel it was the right moment to produce your first album?

It just felt serendipitous. Orla was between albums, dodie had just released an EP, Martin was wrapping up his first album campaign. It logistically lined up and just felt like the right time in our lives to fuck shit up and try something completely different for a sec. I think the project itself and all of our individual projects can only ever benefit from that new perspective.

Can you discuss your journey with The Secret To Life album? what inspired it, what were the highlights and what were the challenges?

Truly, there were very minimal challenges. It was a complete inverting of our usual way of working. No ego, no cerebral overthinking about how it was gonna be perceived; it was just total joy and escapism. We’re all so proud we managed to follow through on that intention. I guess it’s been hard at times navigating business and pleasure but again it all just boils down to trust and communication and we’ve got so good at that now.

What are each of you most excited about going on this tour?

All of it: the singing, the costumes and the energy. The campaign has felt largely online so far but nothing compares to that sense of community you get being in a room of like-minded people having a daft old time, singing, dancing and celebrating life. We’re all gassed for that. Orla always says you top and tail campaigns with the fun stuff, the tour feels like the reward for all the hard work.

Aside from your tour, what will you be working on the next few months?

We’ve already started writing for whatever’s next, we can’t help it. Orla is prepping for her next release, we’re all working on various bits and pieces, but we’re all open to being reactive with FIZZ too. It’s all completely unknown and out of our control so we’re doing our best to prepare for absolutely anything!

Where do you hope FIZZ will be 2 years from now?

On holiday.

Do you have a collective dream as a band?

Honestly, no. The band is the dream, everything else is a bonus!

#fizz #yourfavebandfizz #fizz band #all #interview #notion magazine #notion magazine interview

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myfavebandfizz · 6 months

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Clash Magazine Interview

In Conversation: FIZZ

Debut album 'The Secret To Life' is out next Friday...

Oct 20 2023

Welcome to Fizzville – your new favourite indie supergroup has arrived. Fondly referring to their fans as ‘fizzlets’ and sporting bright, clashing colours, FIZZ is infused with the psychedelia, euphoria and sheer imagination necessary for when friendship is the only thing saving you from disillusionment with an extractive industry. Comprised of Martin Luke Brown, Orla Gartland, Greta Isaac and dodie, the band blend everyday moments with surreal levels of theatricality on debut full-length, ‘The Secret To Life’.

In spite of their respective successes as individual artists, FIZZ evidently provides the opportunity for a new era of experimentation for its members. ‘The Secret To Life’ is a cathartic release of emotion and tension, blending the band’s musical maturity with a charmingly youthful spirit for life. The process behind the record was crucial. Motivated by an inherent desire to avoid overcomplicating music-making, FIZZ’s time at Middle Farm allowed them to go back to basics and focus on the most crucial theme of all, friendship.

Describing this project as infused with play and a liberating sense of creative freedom, it’s clear that the four friends believe their solo work has been enhanced by FIZZ. Providing the perfect chance to embrace their inner child, ‘The Secret To Life’ is about exploring the weird and wonderful spectrum of emotion.

CLASH caught up with the super group to discuss origin stories, avoiding the tendency to overthink and the delirious laughter that takes over when four friends decide to record together over two weeks.

This seems like an oddly appropriate first question: What is the secret to life? Why that title for your debut record as a band?

Dodie: I don’t think we planned it as a title. We didn’t really plan anything going into this project. We wanted it to be very free – almost like a holiday from our own artist projects. It was interesting that what came out was very loud and very maximalist. There’s a song about strawberry jam, there’s a song about a looming breakup, it’s grounded and also whimsical. ‘The Secret To Life’ was a phrase that came out and then we realised that all the songs made sense as the answer. But, for me personally, I think the secret to life is gratitude in little things. And I say that, I keep saying that, but I have to keep reminding myself to actually stick by that.

Greta: I think when we went down to Middle Farm, which is the studio where we recorded the album, we went in with no real agenda of how we wanted it to sound or whether or not we were actually gonna make it into a serious project. I think we just wanted to go down and make it about the process because I think we’d all in our own ways become very results-driven in our solo careers. So, it felt like a bit of a retreat from that process. Pretty quickly we realised that the trust we’d accumulated over ten years of friendship found its way into making music together; bridging the gap between youth – which is the more whimsical side of the album – and adulthood which is the more serious side. So, I think the secret to life is both of those worlds coexisting in this very beautiful mess. I guess that’s why we called it ‘The Secret To Life’. It just felt appropriate to celebrate such a wide spectrum of emotions.

Orla: I also like that it’s a bit culty. Not that we’d really thought as far ahead as the lead single or who our audience would be, but I feel it had a bit of a weird kind of energy that felt a bit culty. I like the idea that we’re selling an album called ‘The Secret To Life’.

Was there a specific moment when you all decided to form the band?

Orla: Yeah there’s many different versions of this story, isn’t there?

Greta: Yeah in the FIZZ-lore there’s multiple ways it came about, but I think there’s one sort of famous text.

Dodie: Famous to us.

Greta: That Dodie had sent to Orla (because me and Martin live with Dodie and we’d been chatting about it in the flat) a text message saying “Do you want to start a band?” And Orla said “Yeah I’m down,” and then Dodie was like “No seriously.” Like should we just go round to Middle Farm and see what happens. But I think by the second week, because we went down in one week in December 2021 and then a second week in July 2022, by the end of that week in July we realised we had a whole album. It felt worth pursuing seriously. Rather than just a joke.

What was it like recording as a group at Middle Farm?

Dodie: It’s the best bit for sure. We were writing and recording at the same time because, again, we were really trying not to think too hard about anything. Pete Miles is the producer at Middle Farm, which is the studio we went to. He really encourages play. He basically set us up little recording stations where we stayed and recorded. There was a lot of red wine and vibes. Yeah we had a great time. Lots of fits of giggles.

Greta: So many hilarious vocal takes that are probably still buried somewhere in the album if you listen closely. I think simultaneously singing together is so powerful, and kind of spiritual in some ways. But then also can be fucking hilarious if someone sings a bum note or pulls a funny face when they’re singing or whatever.

Martin: We tracked all the vocals round; we had four mics and we were all facing each other tracking vocals at the same time. By the nature of being directly opposite each other and being able to look at everyone – just the faces that people would pull while they’re hitting certain notes – we laughed a lot for sure.

Greta: There’s something about also singing with your friends, when you’re laughing in a recording environment and you’re not meant to laugh, because of time, pressure or tiredness and you just want to get it done. There’s something about that kind of laughing. It’s almost like vomiting, it’s like involuntary vomiting. You’re just like, I need to stop laughing but I can’t.

What are each of your favourite moments on the album?

Orla: The second verse of ‘Close One’ right at the beginning, where it goes “careful”, and it drops. That’s just so fun.

Greta: There’s a guitar solo in ‘The Secret To Life’ at the end where Orla is playing it, and it’s just so sick, and so sexy I always forget that Orla can play guitar so amazingly.

Martin: There’s a bit in ‘The Grand Finale’, which is the last song in the album. Me and Gret do a verse. We call it ‘Paul’s a Plumber’. That’s the section. And it’s like Thomas the Tank Engine meets…

D: The Beatles, I think.

M: Yeah, it’s just so so silly. It’s such a fun thing. Maximum, maximum silly. I love it.

D: My favourite is in ‘As Good As It Gets’. There’s a note that Gret hits, that when she was recording it I was literally like ‘Ahhh!’ It still gives me goosebumps, literally it will always give me goosebumps.

The album explores a variety of different emotions so effortlessly. How did you go about approaching the blend of emotional intensity and playfulness?

Martin: We honestly just did it. We just did it and afterwards we were like “Oh, it worked! Cool.” Yeah, truly.

Orla: I think so much of it was unspoken about intentionally because it felt like such an experiment. The only thing I was intent on, and felt across the board, was fighting the urge to overcook or overthink any decision. It’s not something that we’ve ever discussed as a band, because the whole point of it was not to discuss anything and build up a trust in your own instinct that I definitely lost in my projects. The speed at which we wrote with, lent into fighting the urge to overthink things. We would just go in and throw the vocal down, and the vocal you sing the first time is the final take. It’s like this really fast fever dream.

Martin: It’s how we were feeling on the day. We were just gassed and excited because it was this playground for us.

Greta: Yeah, the songs are like a huge mirror of how we were feeling that day. We were writing them and finishing them in a day or two essentially, there wasn’t much time spent on properly going through the tracks and tweaking anything. We just didn’t allow time for that. I think Martin’s right – each song is a true reflection of how we were feeling that day. We have sad songs and more funny, stupid songs, which is testament to the full spectrum we allow ourselves as a friendship group; to both be vulnerable and cry one minute, and then crack jokes and chat about Paul the Plumber the other.

Much of the album feels like they’re almost a guttural scream into the void. Were they cathartic to record?

Dodie: Yes, totally.

Orla: Especially ‘Hell Of A Ride’ for me. I think I was thinking about aging so much at that time, without even ever having acknowledged that within myself. There’s something really amazing that happens when you have a feeling in you that you haven’t said out loud, and then someone else suggests a lyric that is literally like a mirror to that. ‘As Good As It Gets’ as well, but in a different way. It was the three of us gals and our friend Soren Bryce, she was like a character in the studio for the whole album and her own projects are post-punky amazingness. We channelled her energy when all four of us were yelling around the mics. That was so cathartic.

There’s something deeply comforting about this album despite its wackiness and surrealism, especially because it evokes some of the nostalgia of music from the sixties and seventies.

Martin: I think the whole thing was kind of accidentally all of that.

Dodie: We didn’t know what to expect.

Martin: We were playing, it was just play. We didn’t really listen to references and stuff. We recorded a lot of it to tape, a lot of it was recorded live, so we had the drums and the bass and someone else playing at the same time. I think the whole philosophy of how it was done was quite old-school anyway. Then by virtue of us playing and not having rules and boxes that we were putting ourselves in, we were making stylistic choices that were a bit bolder and more theatrical. I don’t think that’s culturally a thing now. People are more humble and safe with their choices. I think all of us grew up on a lot of that stuff, like The Beatles, Yello and Queen, and that elaborate, theatrical pop stuff, but it definitely wasn’t deliberate, was it? It just kind of happened.

Greta: When we went to the studio we only really had our voices and the instruments, and some fun synths and stuff that Pete had in the studio. I think coming from London, where a lot of the sounds and stuff can be found in plugins or whatever, you’re kind of limitless in the possibilities of what your music can sound like and that can be quite overwhelming. But in the studio we had some sort of template of real instruments and voices. You just have to write the songs. I think adding that restriction actually allowed for a lot of theatrical, more complex arrangements for me personally. The excitement and the musicality came through the writing and rearranging, rather than sounds that you can just get on a computer.

The visuals of the band are as striking as the music. Were there any films or pieces of art that inspired the aesthetics of FIZZ?

Greta: I can think of a few films in particular when we were planning the creative of the album and how we wanted it to be put out: Alice in Wonderland, Willy Wonka, Wizard of Oz. Actually, what I’ve realised about those films as well is that there’s an alternate reality in those films, but ultimately there’s something farcical or fake about them. I think there’s something really charming about flawed adults wanting to create joy and the outcome of that is quite strange and wonky. Like Tim Burton, also a great example. Things that have a darkness or a twist to it but are quite alluring and charming. It’s creeped it’s way into how we dress and the artwork that we did with a photographer called JP Bonino, who helped bring Fizzville to life. We also worked with this illustrator called Miranda Bruce over in the States, who did ‘The Secret To Life’ album artwork.

So much of the music, live performances and visuals feel like they attempt to help listeners embrace their inner child. How important has FIZZ been in helping you discover your inner child and why do you think that is?

Dodie: I’ve spoken about this quite a bit, but in my own artist project I’ve learnt to be louder over the years but I still feel restricted. I feel like I have to be very careful and considered about what I’m saying in my music, and also making sure every single harmony is ‘correct’, whatever the fuck that means. Whereas in FIZZ I put that to one side. I can yell and I might be a bit flat, but it literally doesn’t matter if it’s right or not cause it sounds kind of cool. Is it my inner child? Maybe.

Greta: I think so.

Dodie: It’s play and a lack of pressure. That has been really freeing. It’s so interesting how I didn’t realise I could turn that off. But I can, thanks to FIZZ!

Greta: We should sell FIZZ medication…‘Thanks to FIZZ that voice in my head is gone!’

Orla: Yeah for me I think it’s like a learning not to shrink thing. With there being four of us in this, you’d expect it to mean there’s less space for everyone. But I think the energy of the other three gives us all permission to be the loudest, most grabby version of ourselves and I think, to me, that’s actually harder to do when you’re on your own. Whereas with this we push each other to the front. We’ve got the safety of the other three also shouting, which allows you to shout even more. It’s so sick.

What do you think your younger selves would think about FIZZ?

Dodie: Oh my god, she’d fucking love it. She’d be so jealous, which I have to remind myself because it’s so cool.

Orla: I think kids would love this. I really want us to do a kids tour. Maybe we could do matinees for under 10s.

Dodie, Greta & Orla: I should be so lucky, if you’d only hug me!

Orla: It’s so colourful and loud. We’re cartoon versions of ourselves. Baby me would definitely be at the barrier. Just rocking out.

Has working on FIZZ influenced your solo projects?

Greta: I think it’s definitely influenced my trust in myself. I think in my project I’ve definitely put a lot of trust in other people, which has been so valuable in so many ways. I love working with the people that I’ve worked with. But I definitely thought I needed other people to make music and to know what I want. FIZZ has been a really great exercise in knowing what I like and fighting for that: trusting that that is the right decision because it is my decision.

Orla: It’s learning to back yourself and pick your battles as well. I think that’s something that we’ve all learnt to do with all aspects of this project because you know there’s four opinions and all of us are used to having our way in our own projects. Sometimes you learn to let go and other times you can fight for your ideas. I think learning to respond to that is definitely something I’ll take back to my project. Know when you’ve got a little fire in your belly – it’s worth the airtime.

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myfavebandfizz · 7 months

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DIY Magazine Interview

FIZZ: “WE’RE REALLY BIG ON STORYTELLING BEYOND SONGS”

An effervescent mix of personality and pizazz, meet the supergroup pushing pop music into a whole new universe, quite literally.

Words: Ims Taylor 20th September 2023

Sitting down to speak with FIZZ - the supergroup comprised of besties Dodie Clark, Orla Gartland, Greta Isaac and Martin Luke Brown - they seem almost out of breath. “We just did an interview where we tried to slip words into the whole thing,” Greta says, showing a post-it note that lists, among other things, ‘milk’ and ‘cell (brain/blood)’. “It was so stressful. We are not doing that again!” Safe in the knowledge that our chat isn’t going to be punctuated by out-of-context dairy goods, their cheeky anecdote actually provides the perfect introduction to FIZZ.

Formed from a magical cocktail of long-term best friends, various combinations of roommates over the years, and four musicians in their own right, each with very distinct styles and sounds, FIZZ is a project that could only have been dreamed up by these four. “We wanted to call the band Housemates at one point, because that felt so at the core of it,” nods Orla, “but we wanted something a bit more fantastical in the end.” So FIZZ journeyed into their outlandish world and built it on the foundations of trust and friendship: “The bigness around the concept of FIZZ feels so ambitious in a way that could only really be carried out with three other people, and we’re digging each other up and pushing each other to the front,” explains Martin. “Like a delicious cake!” Greta adds.

Enter FizzVille: the backdrop for the immersive musical melodrama of debut album ‘The Secret To Life’, where all the action takes place. “We’re really big on storytelling beyond songs,” continues Greta, “and we always knew we wanted to mirror the theatrical tone of the album. FizzVille was conceptualised by all of us when we realised that making the album was like a retreat from our normal ways of working in music, and that idea of a retreat, or a holiday, or a day out at a theme park just influenced the entire campaign. We made this place called FizzVille, like a theme park or a beach town, and the way we imagine it is that every song on the album has its own designated ride or attraction, and it shows up in different ways.

“It feels really natural for us to present it in that way - like when you’re a kid and you put on a show for your parents, and there’s the spotlight, and it’s made out of bedsheets and you’re just presenting it to people that you want to be proud of you.”

“We’re really big on storytelling beyond songs, and we always knew we wanted to mirror the theatrical, fantastical tone of the album.” - Greta Isaac

FIZZ and everything about them sparkles with natural, effortless energy; from the way they finish each other's sentences to the grandiose, effervescent sonics of ‘The Secret to Life’, which sits a world away from the musical output that its members have released independently. This flowed out of a hyper-conscious effort the group made to “leave our artist projects at the door,” Martin says. “We went in, and we were doing music in a way that none of us had ever done it before. It was inverting everything we’d ever done with our own projects, and making it all about play and having fun. It was pure play - like, if someone said let’s have a key change in the second verse, then yeah, sure!”

"For me personally, I don’t write with a lot of people,” adds Dodie. “It was a whole new way of writing. And I was like, 'Oh, this is how a writer’s room could and should feel'. It’s so interesting how, despite us saying yes to everything, a story can still be built.”

On ‘The Secret to Life’, the group strive to capture something unique and pure that could only be the product of those four, in that room at Devon’s Middle Farm, at exactly that moment. By extension, their producer Pete Miles was instrumental in encouraging the group to avoid overthinking things. “He would make the space very inspiring,” explains Greta. “He would never allow us to grovel over a vocal stem! He would just be like, we captured something beautiful.”

“The illusion of perfection is really a trap,” Martin picks up. “You can sing through all the different vocal takes, or want the drums to be a bit more in time, and just want to tune that there. And this was a real exercise in just letting go and just letting it be. And that was pretty new for all of us.”

“It’s definitely easier to romanticise in hindsight, but when I think about the album making process, I don’t feel like it’s romanticised - it actually did feel genuinely very magical,” Orla adds. “When we describe it it feels like a dream we all had, or a trip, it felt very otherworldly.”

Operating at the perfect meeting point between passion, trust and imagination, now, they’re kindly extending an invitation to us; it’s time to feel a little of FizzVille’s magic for ourselves.

'The Secret To Life' is out on 27th October via Decca Records.

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myfavebandfizz · 6 months

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Nylon Magazine 2023

THE WEIRD AND WHIMSICAL WORLD OF INDIE POP SUPERGROUP FIZZ

Songwriters dodie, Orla Gartland, Greta Isaac, and Martin Luke Brown are making songs of silliness and excess.

by EMILY MASKELL

NOVEMBER 1, 2023

Photo by: Nicole Ngai

FIZZ makes music that sounds like the sonic equivalent of dropping Mentos in a Coke. On their song “The Grand Finale,” an explosive reaction of pop sensibilities and playful lyricism transforms into a melodic menagerie that plays like “Bohemian Rhapsody” from another dimension.

FIZZ is the vivacious pop outfit of pop singer dodie, Irish songwriter Orla Gartland, experimental musician Greta Isaac, and sonic aficionado Martin Luke Brown — four best friends from the U.K. who individually boast successful solo careers and have now become one of indie pop’s newest supergroups: think boygenius but with a heaping dose of whimsy. Their paths crossed professionally at first, singing backing vocals and playing in bands for each other’s solo work, but the exact moment FIZZ came into fruition is a murky memory. “There’s a text dodie sent to Orla, around 2021, like, ‘Do you want to start a band,’” Martin tells NYLON, but this is only a trace of the band’s formation. FIZZ was born from the quartet’s natural evolution from colleagues to friends to bandmates.

Uniting their fan bases with an otherworldly exploration of escapism, FIZZ celebrates the sacredness and silliness of their friendship on their debut album, The Secret To Life. Its 12 songs spin twenty-something existentialism into maximalist psychedelic theatrics. “Blink twice, you’ll miss the highlights/ God, it’s a hell of a ride,” they harmonize over crashing drums on “Hell Of A Ride,” balancing lyrical angst with a wide-ranging sonic landscape. The band is built on an aesthetic of excess: maximalist in color and energy in the world of FizzVille, where FIZZ’s album resides.

Between giggles and mimicked guitar riffs, the energetic four-piece chatted with NYLON over a recent Zoom call about the making of their debut record, touching on how they found collective creative freedom, channeled feminine frustration, and built an eccentric world for themselves with The Secret To Life.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

NYLON: You all were friends long before bandmates, but do you remember the moment you became FIZZ?

Martin: We don’t really know. We’d all been down to Middle Farm Studios to do live sessions for Orla in 2021, and Pete, the guy who runs Middle Farm and produced our album, said: “Seeing you guys perform together is really cool.” I booked [the studio for] a week but we didn’t know what it was going to be. I wanted it to be a holiday from our music careers. We wanted this to be egoless where we’re not thinking about how [the music] is perceived or aiming for radio. All of those things start coming into your mind the longer you do it because you want to have a feasible career, but we wanted just pure fun. It was an exercise in letting go and saying yes to everything.

What does being in a band together mean to you?

Orla: For me, it’s letting go. It’s easy to get bogged down in details when it’s your name and face, but trust falling back onto each other with every aspect of this project allowed me to not sweat the small stuff.

Martin: The moment you start promoting stuff you feel like it might be contrived, or you’re exaggerating for the sake of people’s consumption. But the music’s so untainted, it’s a time capsule. The songs are made out of joy, love, silliness and friendship. I’d never really get that in my own project.

Greta: What’s been special is capturing the in-between of what happens in music. It’s the things you don’t hear on a record: the energy of the room before you hit record and the mistakes you make but correct. There’s a tactile energy between people when you play in a band.

dodie: I never really had a successful writing session before FIZZ. I’d try but feel so stuck on what I wanted to say. Writing with these guys was the complete opposite. All of my ego and technicality came up but then I’d be like, “Fuck it! Who cares!”

“IT’S A MIRROR TO BEING IN YOUR TWENTIES, FROM BEING SUPER VULNERABLE TO BEING STUPID.”

You said FIZZ was something else before. Did the band originally have a different name?

Greta: Chairs!

Martin: We were pretty close to being called Drew Bandymore.

dodie: It’s so stupid. We should’ve done it and gone on her talk show.

What was the writing process like? Were you all bringing in bits from your solo work?

dodie: It was a mixture. Usually, Orla would write a verse and chorus. Or, one time, Gret and Martin were in the bath, I came home, and they were like, “Record this!” I put my phone through the door and did not look! That turned into a song called “Strawberry Jam.”

“Strawberry Jam” is one of my favorites, but “As Good As It Gets” stands out as this immense track cathartically tackling misogyny. How did the song come together?

Greta: Originally, it was a lot more pop punk, “American Idiot” vibe. But we started to realize, thematically, [the track] was leaning toward the feminine experience. Matt, our drummer, and Martin on the piano were guiding it. They were the solid pillars that meant Orla, dodie, and I could express ourselves lyrically and melodically.

We wanted [“As Good As It Gets”] to be poetic: it starts off as something typically feminine, soft and gentle, like the way we’ve learnt to move in the world. The whole song is just about realizing your worth. It’s not coming to this big conclusion, it’s just a, hang on, wait, when did I choose any of this?

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The record moves between that vulnerability and playfulness, like on “Rocket League.” How did you all find that balance?

Martin: Honestly, we’d think about what song goes where and what we need at a certain point in the album. Generally speaking we just followed our energy. The quiet stuff like “You, Me, Lonely” and “Lights Out” are the tracks people would expect from us given our [solo] projects, but we didn’t want to do just what people expected.

Greta: It’s a mirror to being in your twenties, from being super vulnerable to being stupid. It feels like a snapshot of this time in our lives. It’s giving range!

It is! The album intro, “A New Phase Awaits You :-),” gives listeners a chance to escape from reality. Was this also an invitation for yourselves?

Orla: I wrote the opening script for that after having a little… [mimics smoking a blunt]. In “The Secret to Life,” we don’t say what [the secret to life] is, so it feels like we’re selling hot air and luring people in with this Scientology energy. But was it an invitation for us to also step into that? Absolutely. Recording that was one of the weirdest fever dream musical moments I’ve ever had. It didn’t feel weird to do a spoken word elevator piece, which speaks to how crazy we all went.

The band and album have such eccentric and unique imagery. How did you land on FIZZ’s visual aesthetic?

Greta: When we were talking about the creative direction of the album, words that kept coming up were: retreat, fantastical, and escape. We wanted to mirror the experience of writing the album in the visuals. We referenced films we liked growing up: Willy Wonka, Alice in Wonderland, and The Wizard of Oz. These technicolor films take place when someone is being taken out of their normal lives and into another world. They’re odd films trying to make something joyful and a little bit strange.

So we made up this world called FizzVille where everything exists, it’s this part-town, part-theme park that creeps up in the digital world and will be a feature in the live show. We worked with [photographer] JP Bonino who helped realize FizzVille. It’s a world that keeps expanding.

This is my most important question. FIZZ, what is the secret to life?

dodie: We don’t know… but I’m starting to think it’s going outside. [Laughs] I’ve changed my mind a lot. I think it’s gratitude.

Greta: I thought you were going to say Gret.

dodie: Gret is the secret to life.

Orla: One of us needs to have a deeper answer to end this interview.

Martin: I think the secret to life is community. Finding your people, looking out for each other, and being nice. Nothing groundbreaking.

FIZZ’s ‘The Secret To Life’ is out now.

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