So how has your latest album/EP gone so far with fans then?
Our debut album ‘It Began as a Mistake’ came out October 23rd and has gone really well so far. People dig the diversity of the album and we seem to have surprised a few people with being a little more than a one-trick pony. Only gripe is from some self-claimed punk puritans who argue the album isn’t punk and therefore they cannot evaluate the music. That does not sound like a very punk reasoning to me. Screw traditional genre boundaries and let the music do the talking!
But yeah, overall, we are happy with the reception.
Tell us something about the release no one knows?
Oh crap, this is a tough one! We’ve done quite a few interviews already and spilled a lot of secrets. Here is one that very few know: The album was produced by Hiili Hiilesmaa, famous for producing Finnish metal bands like HIM, Amorphis, The 69 Eyes and many others too. The surprising point here is that before Hiili became a world-class producer, he practiced his skills with local, young bands in Helsinki. One of those bands was in fact the first incarnation of Flush. Our very first cassette demo was indeed recorded by Hiili long ago. Now, decades later, he produced our first full-length album. Small world, right?
If you could work with any band on a new song, who would it be and why?
To make it interesting we would have to go outside our own genres and comfort zones. I’d love to learn from metal acts like Converge or Full of Hell. We’d definitely stay away from all commercial, mainstream crap.
How has your latest release been received?
As said, mostly positive reviews to date. It appears people find different favourite songs on the album and there is no clear fan favourite. People also hear different inspirations and ingredients in our music, and it is always fascinating to hear what people say we sound like. In the end, we did the album for ourselves and if people like it, great. If they can’t get around it not sounding like the punk they expect it to be, then that is their loss.
Can you tell us about the meaning behind the track?
For this one why don’t we pick the track ‘Cheap Beer’ from our new album. The song is a tribute to our childhood stomping grounds in Helsinki and to our friends, those still with us and those no longer with us. It has become a bit of an anthem for us, which is good because it is also a meaningful and important song for us. It’s about childhood dreams, about growing up, about loss, and about living through hard times. And about cheap beer. All important things.
What tours do you have coming up, and what can you tell us about them?
Due to probably obvious reasons we are not in a position to plan tours yet. We need to wait for this pandemic situation to become a little clearer first. We hope that by summer 2021 live music would resurrect again.
What venue are you most looking forward to playing the most, and why?
It might sound like a cliché, but it usually is the next one – and I think that is how it should be. Playing live is the best part of being in music and we don’t get to do it as often as we like, so we always look forward to every upcoming gig. As we have played a bunch of local clubs already, we are looking forward to playing in new countries and cities, and are really hoping to get to do some outdoors festival stages in the future.
What else can we expect from in 2020?
Well, not much in 2020 anymore. Our last gig was cancelled because of Covid, so now we will work on some new materials, continue promoting the album in virtual ways, celebrate the fact that we survived this year and got the album done, and probably have a cheap beer or two. Or ten.
2021 is still an open book because of the pandemic situation, but check out our website https://flush.rocks or https://facebook.com/flushmusic to stay up-to-date with news from the Flush camp.
Happy Holidays!