The Telescapes title suggests viewing scenery from afar and plays on the notion of their music being an escape for the listener. Thematically, however, this isn’t the case. “Certainly not lyrically, the songs range from different perspectives,” says singer Steve Berry. “In a sonic sense, collectively, there’s a futuristic theme of embracing technology with the organics, which, being a band, you can’t not have.” That futurism is based on “sci-fi to an extent. I can’t speak for the other boys but I like the futuristic and sci-fi themes, not so much the movies’ influence on the music, but more the imagery.”
The proclivity for sci-fi imagery is well vouched for in their new video for (b)TtM² in which surreal animation depicts a man vs. machine battle of a captured astronaut’s escape. Any levels of irony of a man vs. machine clip made by men playing machines, Berry insists, is unintentional. The explanation behind the name of a track called (b)TtM² is more straightforward – there isn’t one.
“Well we made a pact that we’d never tell anyone,” says Berry with the finality that cautions any path of further questioning on the issue. Even though they’ve played alongside electronic acts, the genre’s shelf isn’t one Full Code would place themselves on.
“For some reason we had a better foot in the drum and bass scene in New Zealand, which is interesting because we are by no means drum and bass… I think a better term is ‘progressive’ because it encompasses a lot of elements. If you try to be too specific and name them all you end up with a short paragraph and sound like a wanker. Yeah there are obviously elements of rock in there but progressive is the best way to sum it up.’
The term ‘psychedelic’ is also thrown around a lot in reference to their music, and if you’ve seen their Tim and Eric inspired crowdfunding clip Crowd Thunder, you’d agree psychedelic drugs are a viable pairing with the band. But when we reach the topic, Steve bounces the idea that the characters represent the band members.
“Nah, that’s not us at all, bro,” he laughs. “The dude who plays me is quite old and Greg was played by a pillow so I’m not sure what you were thinking there.” (Touché, Steve.) He then takes a more sombre tone that parallels the band’s maturity to dispel the influence of any hallucinogens on their music. “I think that once you’ve had those experiences, you [move on] and you don’t really need to think, ‘Let’s go into the studio and write a psychedelic song, welp, better have the acid’. Once you’ve had a crack you don’t really need to.”
Once thing that definitely influenced Full Code is time. “Growing up has been a key factor in the transition from the EP to now,” Berry states. “We’re taking ourselves seriously and doing things professionally.” And from this perspective, being professional equates to money. “If you want something done properly you need to pay for it,” Berry advises. “You can’t expect your mates to help you out and go to the same lengths [you do], or reach the bar that you’re setting.” But for all the sage-isms, the band’s youthful ardency shows itself in Berry’s quick-draw response to the band’s hopes for Telescapes.
“World domination.”
BY EDGAR IVAN
