Fractures
On Their Past, Present & Future…
January 2012
Questionnaire: Steve Bateman

As I went to start my research prior to putting together a Q&A for Fractures, I was amazed to find very little information on the London-based band, but that’s all hopefully set to change this year! With the group having already performed a key show at The O2 December Sessions in 2011, they’re now scheduled to play HMV's Next Big Thing Festival in February and were also tipped as ‘The New Suede’ in NME’s ‘100 New Bands You Have To Hear In 2012’ feature.

Citing classic bands including Led Zeppelin, Magazine and Television as major influences, and taking their name from a shoulder injury once sustained by their drummer. Fractures are Freddie Murray (vocals / bass), Sam Cook (guitar), Matt Gwyer (guitar) and Gaz Southwell (drums), with their YouTube taster demos – Brixton Animal, Nicotine, Ride and Shades Of You – providing instant, indie rock ‘n’ roll thrills that will enrapture your senses and proving just why guitar music will never die…


Lucy: Your band have been quite quiet for the last few months. Are you looking forward to playing gigs again?
Katie Jane Garside: I think I give very obtuse ans

1.Firstly, do you feel lucky to have found each other / think you may have been on different musical paths otherwise?
Matt: “Me and Fred have known each other for a few years and have been jamming together for a while, so I think we always knew we wanted to be on the same musical path. We met Gary and Sam earlier this year quite randomly, so I think we were quite lucky in that respect.”


2.Can you tell us about the development of your sound and is there a specific song where you feel you took it up a notch?

Fred: “Most of the songs written in the last few months I personally feel have been our best – I think we've really tuned into who we are and what we want to achieve.”


3.At what age did you feel you were beginning to build a bank of knowledge about music history / the lineage of bands and scenes?
Matt: “Since I started playing my instrument (around 18), I always loved the style of people like Jimi, Page, Keith Richards etc., so I spent a lot of time listening to 70's stuff and trying to sound like that.”

4.I read that you’re currently recording a new track with Dave Eringa, so how did this come about and what are you like to be around in the studio – do you tape jams, keep notebooks etc?
Fred: “Working with Dave Eringa was a great experience – it all seemed to fall into place smoothly. It is the first song recorded out of my room so it’s a big jump, but we're happy with it. You can have an idea in your head and demo it, but when you’re demo'ing on cheap equipment it’s difficult to get it to sound how you imagine it to sound, but I think we achieved what we are looking for with Dave.”

 


5.Have many of your tracks been based around a guitar riff?
Fred: “A couple of the songs have spun off a riff. Our songwriting process varies from on acoustics to just smashing it up in a practice – I find if you get in the right headspace it doesn't matter how it’s done.”


6.Do you think it should always be possible to strip a classic song of all its parts and for it to work just as well on an acoustic guitar or piano + is there anyone who you would like to see appear on MTV Unplugged?

Fred: “No, but I think you should definitely have songs which can be stripped back… but not all of them. Some songs need to be electric and f*:"king loud you know?”


7.Have you ever tried to make your own version of a track, i.e. Kurt Cobain openly admitted that Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit was basically a rewrite of Boston’s More Than A Feeling?

Fred: “Yeah, I tried to make a version of all the young dudes – still working on that though, I'll get back to you when it’s done. The lyrics are so on it in that song.”


8.Are there any groups who you believe have more than one great songwriter, singer or guitarist?

Fred: “Yeah – Radiohead/The Beatles.”


9.Lyrically, Paul McCartney has spoken about how he often says “a lot of what he wants to in the first verse of a song.” Is this the same for you or do you find it easy to write lots of words + from all of your treasured music, do you have an all-time favourite opening lyric or is there a lyric that sums up your outlook on life?

Fred: “Sometimes the lyrics are in excess and its tough picking the right ones, but sometimes there can be a great first verse and your chasing it with the second… sometimes. For an all-time favourite opening lyric, 'Time takes a cigarette, puts it in your mouth. You pull on your finger, then another finger, then your cigarette' (David Bowie: Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide).”


10.As a tribute to both the film I Need That Record! and to ‘Record Store Day’, have you ever had an artist / band recommended to you by a staff member, heard a song playing in a shop before buying an LP, queued for a record on the day of its release or perhaps attended an interesting album launch/in-store signing?

Matt: “Strokes. I was looking around my local HMV and heard strokes and thought fuck yeah that’s cool! Went and bought it straight away.”


11.Continuing with this train of thought, over the years, there have been numerous discussions about what the greatest albums with title tracks + self-titled LPs ever recorded are. So, I wondered if you have any cherished albums that take their title from a song on the record, as well as any favourite self-titled LPs?
Matt: “Radiohead – The bends
Strokes – Is this it
Suede – Suede
Fleetwood Mac – Tusk
Jeff Buckley – Grace
The Cure – Disintegration
The Doors – Strange Days.”


12.What’s the most amount of times that you’ve seen a group play live / have you ever followed anyone on tour, and are you a mosher or more of an observer at gigs?
Matt: “I've seen arcade fire a few times, I think they’re great live and I got to meet some of them at their aftershow at The 02 – it was a great experience! Can’t really afford to follow people around on tour yet!”


13.Do you ever think about how your songs will translate live – Billy Corgan once remarked that he wants Smashing Pumpkins’ gigs to be like “a kick in the guts and then a gentle caress”?

Matt: “Rock ‘n’ Roll.”


14.What are your biggest hopes for Fractures long-term?

Fred: “Well, what I really wanted was to be recognised in the street, but that happened the other day – so it’s back to the drawing board. We just want to develop our music together, get a good few albums done.”


15.Lastly, chips or cream buns?
“Chips!”

A very special thanks to Fred + Matt, and to Danny @ Black Book Management, for all of their time and help.


www.facebook.com/wearefractures


“I Feel Like Being Alone”

wers to questions...It's never about looking forward to it. Actually maybe I should change the
script, maybe we are looeir musicm the 3rd album?