But then, exactly an hour from when he was due to call, my phone rings. It’s Brümmer. Turns out he forgot to factor in the time difference between states. If it wasn’t for Queensland’s lack of daylight savings, he’d be on time to the second. And that’s kinda how it rolls with Flyying Colours. For a young band, they’re remarkably focused and assured – albeit in a hazy, psychedelic kinda way.
“We’re a family, man, we’ve known each other for like a thousand years,” Brümmer says, explaining the origins of Flyying Colours, who formed back in 2011. “Sam and Josh are brothers. We went to high school together. And now we all live together.” As well as having known each other since they were kids, it’s the commitment to music that’s helped forge the band’s incredible camaraderie. Hailing from Wagga, Brümmer knew early on that if he wanted to pursue music seriously, he had to make a geographical shift. The question for him, though – being caught between two equally distant capital cities – was whether to trek north to Sydney, or south to Melbourne.
Fortuitously for Flyying Colours, the band chose Melbourne. With a sound heavily influenced by the English shoegaze bands of the early ‘90s (My Bloody Valentine, Ride etc.), they’ve been able to slot nicely into Melbourne’s burgeoning shoegaze scene. Not only has it offered Flyying Colours the opportunity to connect with an established crowd, but it’s also allowed them to participate in what, according to Brümmer, is a thriving community of like-minded artists.
“I find with the psych scene or the shoegaze scene,” he muses, “everyone’s really happy just to see another band that’s doing the same kind of thing, because everyone loves it so much. It’s a passion thing. There’s no, for want of a better word, wank about it.” And is the shoegaze tag something that bothers him? “But that’s what we kind of sound like,” he answers, totally at ease. “I started listening to My Bloody Valentine when I turned 18 and that just completely shifted my outlook on music.”
Certainly, there are echoes of MBV’s psychedelic dreamscapes in Flyying Colours’ excellent debut single Wavygravy, released back in April this year. Incredibly, it was the band’s first serious attempt at recording. Since then, they’ve returned to the studio to record an EP. Perhaps the success of both recordings speaks to the great rapport the band shared with engineer and producer Woody Annison (Children Collide, Hunting Grounds).
“We work really well with him,” Brümmer explains. “He just understands our sound. He loves those ‘90s English guitar bands and so we do we.” Perhaps, as well, the assurance of Flyying Colours’ self-titled EP reflects their immense preparation for the recording. “We demoed all of our tracks both on tape and computer,” says Brümmer. “We never wanted to release something that wouldn’t be a total representation of what we want to sound like.”
The band’s commitment to excellence is also carried through to their live show. Often, they collaborate with Tom Russell of Astral Projections to create a visual backdrop to their performance. But, as Brümmer explains, “It’s not like we have a pre-recorded thing or anything like that. It’s actually Tom creating the visuals live as we perform.”
When asked if he’s aware of the psychedelic visuals while on stage, or if they affect his performance, Brümmer’s quick to answer. “I don’t see anything when I play at all. We played at Old Bar the other night and a scuffle broke out during Wavygravy, right in front of the stage, and no one in the band saw it,” he laughs. “It’s not a dissociative thing. I think it’s just,” he pauses, searching for the right words, “it’s just pretty busy work.”
BY WAYNE MARSHALL
