Blue Flowers (Westerman, Nilüfer Yanya, Puma Blue) latest signing, London quartet Mylar, announce their debut EP Elsewhere and share the first track from the four-track EP, “Plastic Champ.”
“Plastic Champ” is a track that explores the limited language and images around masculinity.
“This song came together really quickly from a cartoonish synth line from our drummer Rob”, explains Tom Short, the band’s lead vocalist and the writer of the song’s lyrics.“I got the idea of a narrator who’s on the run from their own lies which is why the vocals feel a bit frantic.
There’s an important discussion around the bad aspects of men’s behaviour but I was thinking more about the very limited images of masculinity that we have. Words like champ sound dated but the image of stern manhood they represent is still with us and I liked the idea of a character who has tried too hard to fit this mould, they’ve faked it for too long and now they’re raving about these ideas like a fool in a morality play.”
The forthcoming EP, Elsewhere, was recorded and produced by Mylar in London in the first half of 2021 and mixed and mastered in Spain by Iñaki de las Cuevas and Julío Rodríguez Sangrador respectively. The EP explores the universal vulnerabilities of their internal selves and those around them, surrounded by a world spinning at a different rate.
Tell us about the genesis of your project. How did you get to where you are now?
It all came together in quite an accidental way. Tom C and Neraj have been making music since school, and then Tom S started hanging out with Neraj through an ex-girlfriend. Rob was the final recruit when we realised we needed a drummer. We’d been working on music privately for a while and ended up reaching out to Blue Flowers whose releases we’d always admired. They were nice enough to give us a shot with our EP and here we are!
What should a song or piece of art communicate in your opinion?
Something of the excitement that went into making it, that feeling of being in the room when it was made.
Who were your top 3 artists last year?
Oklou, Parcels, Oneohtrix Point Never, C. Tangana.
That’s four, oops.
What do you do when you’re feeling uninspired?
Try to go see some live music which usually makes us think one of two things: ‘we could do that just as well’ or ‘we should be doing that’.
What are your 2022 projects and goals?
To keep writing new music and continue to refine our songwriting. To nail our live show. Spend a lot of time messing around with our instruments and equipment and see what comes out!
Favorite movie or TV show?
The collected audiovisual works of Limmy.
Tell us about your upcoming release and how it came about.
Our single “Plastic Champ” has just come out on Blue Flowers. It came from a cartoonish synth part from Rob, and we got the idea of a narrator who’s on the run from their own lies. They’ve tried too hard to fit the mould of stock images of masculinity and faked it for too long – that fed into the music which has this off-kilter, synth Country feel.
Our EP is coming out in April, it’s got dance-y bits, heavier bits, more subdued and intimate tracks.. We’re excited to invite people into our world – we were quite isolated when we made it. Hopefully people hear something that sounds familiar and new at the same time.
What is something you would want to change in the music and entertainment industry?
In music emerging acts can be quite slow to promote each other, because it’s so competitive, and everyone takes themselves very seriously. The odds are pretty much stacked against all artists, so maybe it could be better if everyone celebrated each other. It’s pop music, it’s meant to be communal and escapist.
Can you outline your creative process?
There are no rules really, we love using different sounds and technologies, both old and new, and we’re all quite nerdy about that stuff. Ideas can start with a rough sketch from one of us and we gradually bring each other into the process, or more recently we’ve finished a couple of songs in a rehearsal room together.
Who inspires your style and aesthetics?
Yellow Magic Orchestra. Best dressed band ever.
What is the achievement or moment in your career you are the most proud of and why?
Hearing the first mix of our EP was a big milestone for us. We put a lot of effort into writing, arranging and recording the songs but that also makes you lose perspective quite quickly, especially during the pandemic. Having our friend Iñaki (who mixed the EP) take the songs out of our hands and transform them into something greater than the sum of their parts was an incredible feeling.
One song in particular Blue Afternoon was started in 2018 and seeing how much that’s been transformed as everyone has come together to collaborate on it also makes me feel really proud.
Do you have any regrets?
That the four of us didn’t start working on music together sooner!
What is one piece of advice you would give to yourselves right now?
Remember to hit Command-S.
