New music
Australian rock musician G Flip is currently taking the UK by storm.
Having just made their live debut at Reading Festival, where they played the Radio 1 Stage, and the drummer and multi-instrumentalist gave an explosive, empowering live experience.
Performing with a full band, it was a striking instrumental affair. Uncovering G Flip’s distinct musical style, creativity and smooth, effective way of engaging with the group of musicians, as well as the enthusiastic crowd.
Earlier this year the musician headlined three sold-out shows at London’s KOKO, and this month will see them tour the UK, with live dates in Manchester, London and Glasgow and more.
Fresh off the stage, CLASH caught up with the non-binary artist backstage. Depicting their passion for the drum kit and the discipline of delving into musical experimentation and the importance of having the freedom to just be themselves.
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How are you finding the Reading Festival experience so far?
Yes, it’s really cool. I came straight to the festival, I had a really good set, and then got the chance to walk around a bit. It’s huge!
Coming from Australia, when you play festivals overseas, you never know who knows you, over here. I was pleasantly surprised when I got out on stage and saw how big the crowd was. It was awesome, and I loved every second of it.
It was eye-opening to see how you and the band engage. It looked dynamic.
Yes, me and the band work really hard. Everyone in the band’s a drummer, first of all. There are moments where we’re all playing drums, or we’ll switch instruments throughout the set.
You’ll see me on kit, then you’ll see me get off kit, you’ll see me on guitar, I’ll whip out a guitar solo. It’s always fun to mix up the show, change up the instrumentation and instruments we’re playing. We’re always changing things around, even though the drums are the main instrument.
Where does the passion and interest come from?
The drums have been was my first love. When I was nine years old, I got my first drum kit, it’s been my favourite thing to do in my life. Before I went solo, I was drumming for different bands and different people on tours, I was a session drummer.
Then, I focused on my own project, and it worked out. My heart is always with the kit.
What is it about it that speaks to you?
As a kid I liked how it looked, I liked the physicality of it. I love just watching someone smash the skin. It visually looked cool, and I liked how it sounded.
Viewing the drums as the main instrument, what effect does that have on songwriting?
Sometimes, I start with the drums, or I start sitting at the piano, singing different melodies. Occasionally, I start with lyrics I’ve written in my phone. It’s always different, but the last album I released was definitely focused on the kit and the drum parts.
All my music has a very heavy drum influence, and my drumming background has influenced my melody and the rhythms I choose in my melodies. I feel like my melodies are quite rhythmic, and that has to do with my drumming background.
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How do develop the style or make related decisions?
I just practice and play a lot, and trying to continuously learn. I just want to always be learning, I never want to stop being a student, and just learn from people around me.
In what way has the incredible response to ‘DRUMMER’ altered things?
It was awesome. It’s basically the reason why I’m here at this festival, so stoked with the reception. I’m lucky to have such an amazing group of fans that support me and come to my shows.
Still you decided to do ‘drumless’!? Tell me about the idea behind it.
I really like doing covers of songs. I did a cover of ‘Cruel Summer’, the Taylor Swift song. I just like reimagining songs and the art of reshaping things.
A lot of the songs I wrote and made for ‘DRUMMER’ I made with drumless in mind, and then it was fun to think of what would support the music in a softer way, changing the keys, changing the production, just changing it up. I had heaps of fun mixing it all around.
How much do you produce yourself?
I produce a lot myself. I have a production partner, so I’ll either produce and bring the stems, and we’ll work on it together, or we’ll have our laptops both open in the room. A lot of DRUMMER we just did together.
I’ve already started writing and producing for other artists. I think I’ll end up going in that direction. I’ve got a couple more releases this year of songs that I co-wrote and co-produced. I just love being in studios, I love creating. It’s my favourite thing.
I might bring in a guitar, a drum groove that I like the feel and tempo of, a guitar tone that I want to use. I normally dissect songs a little more, rather than bring in a song that I want to make. I dissect everything and pull out the finer details of a song that I like the sound of. I find that’s a good way to do it.
Do you prefer working in LA to working in your native Australia?
I like LA. It’s a great place to work and create. I definitely like recording there, because it’s sunny, and I need light. I can’t be in a sad sky environment, I need a light-filled room. I like living between both, going back and forth. It’s good, there’s just a lot of flying, a lot of jet lag.
How bothered are you about expensive equipment?
I’ve got a lot of expensive gear, but then I have a lot of cheap gear as well. There’s a lot of shitty Casio keyboards that sometimes just have cool tones on them.
I just bought two Casio keyboards, they were cheap, and sometimes you can find really interesting sounds with cheaper gear. The dollar tag doesn’t really faze me, just as long as the sounds are cool, that’s what it’s about.
How much do you get recognised in your native Australia?
A lot. Especially if people are drinking, if people are drunk, there’s that liquid courage. Sometimes, if someone’s sober, they might see me, but not approach me. But you put me in a bar with drunk people, then there’s a lot of ‘Oi, G Flip!’.
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What’s your journey as a queer person in the music industry been like?
I came out of non-binary a couple of years ago, three or four years ago. It was euphoric. I understand myself better. Once I educated myself about what being non-binary is, it just made so much sense to me, it’s how I felt my whole life, since I was younger.
The reception in the industry has been great. There’s a lot of non-binary artists that came out before me, and people are getting used to using their pronouns and educating themselves on what it is to be non-binary. It’s been pretty chilled to be, and that’s really good,
Is there a sense that many your fans and your audiences also connect on a that level?
I have a lot of trans and non-binary fans who’ve connected with my music and connected to songs where I speak about being non-binary, that sense of bringing the community together and having the community come to my shows and support me. It means the world, and some of my biggest fans are gender non-conforming.
Finally, have you been working on new material?
Yes, working on the third album, and we’ll be getting real stuck into that in a few weeks. I’m doing my headline UK tour, then I go to Australia for a couple nights, and I go back to LA before I get stuck into working on my next album, so it’s a busy schedule.
Artist collaborations: you already worked with big artists, is this an area you see yourself doing more of?
I’d love to. I need to be in LA a little bit more, because that’s where all the action goes down. But hopefully with this next album, I can get some cool songs with some featured artists on it.
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Words: Susan Hansen
Photography: Nazrin Massaro
Catch G Flip on tour in the UK:
September
2 Brighton CHALK
3 London O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire
4 London O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire
5 Bristol SWX
6 Birmingham O2 Institute
7 Manchester Albert Hall
8 Glasgow Galvanizers Yard by SWG3
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