Indie-pop supergroup FIZZ released their debut album, The Secret to Life, on Friday, October 27th.
The album has a 12-song tracklist, including their hit single, “High In Brighton.”
What was the inspiration behind the album?
FIZZ: We did it in two separate weeks, the first week we did it in December 2021. We didn't know what was gonna happen but we were excited to be there. Our producer Peter is amazing, he was an amazing facilitator of creativity. He set up the room with all these instruments and most of us were used to working in dimly lit London rooms with not very much in it. We were giddy for that first week, running around and playing the drums, plugging in the guitar and just very noisy chaos. A Lot of the big songs off the album came from that first week. Then we had 6 months in the summer of 2022 and did the second half of it. It was more of the same, we had the best time the first week. We wanted to do the same thing as the first time. Naturally, the giddiness only lasts so long, it's not a sustainable state to be in emotionally. We’d write a couple of really big songs and then go in the kitchen and make dinner and chill. Someone might have a cry because they were stressed out. But then after go into the booth and belt out the song.
What are you most excited about for your upcoming record store tour and headlining tour?
FIZZ: I'm most excited to get energy back from the people who've been listening. We've done so much in the last few months, presenting the band and we've put a lot of energy into it. I'm looking forward to hearing the words sung back at you. It's satisfying and gratifying and all the good things. I'm really excited to bring it into the real world and see their reactions and see what part they laugh at or cry at.
Is there a song you’re excited for people to hear and what song are you excited to perform?
FIZZ: “Grand Finale” it's the most out there. It's the last song of the album. It's 6 minutes of how it feels to not say no to any idea. The spirit of the song feels like that. It doesn't feel like any of us were like should it be shorter, less indulgent, less key changes. That doubt is so far away from that song which is where it belongs. I love how arrogant it is in itself.
What do you hope that listeners take away from this record?
FIZZ: I hope people can take an appreciation of taking stock of their own life and realizing it is enough and it's great and to celebrate it.
How did you know “High In Brighton” was the first single to be released?
FIZZ: It was the first song that we wrote, I don't think there's anything deeper than that. I think that maybe presenting ourselves first with a song that was very everyone. Some of the songs have someone to the front but we wanted it to be clear that the band is a collective with no front person. That is always changing and shifting and being passed around. I think that was maybe a factor of choosing that one first. I just always thought because we wrote it first I like how chronological it felt. Also, it was very convenient that we launched the band at The Great Escape festival in Brighton. So it felt like a nice introduction to the beginning of something.
What has writing and recording this album taught you about finding the secret of life, especially as a group of friends?
FIZZ: We didn't want to put so much weight on writing this album. We didn't want to try and figure out what to say. It's so interesting when you let go of those pressures what comes out. They are some Amazon writers, i always knew that but coming into a room together. I struggled writing with anyone else pre FIZZ but writing with these guys it's so interesting how easily a song can be and how quickly a song can come together. Especially as best friends of all similar ages. It's interesting how a story is kinda written for us, it's already there almost and we shape it to be.
If you could feature any artist on any of the tracks who would it be?
FIZZ: Chet Atkins, the guitarist from the 60’s, we love him, he's great. Also anyone from Queen, ABBA, or The Darkness. That would be sick.
How did you guys determine how to craft the visuals to compliment the music you were making?
FIZZ: I think when we were talking about the trip itself after we came back. We were talking about it as if it was this whirlwind and was made in this dream state. It felt like a retreat from how we had been doing music in the past. It felt like we'd inverted or completely flipped our approach to music-making. Naturally when we started to think of the visual world that would mirror that we kind of referenced films we grew up watching. Like Willy Wonka, Tim Burton films, Alice in Wonderland, and Wizard of Oz, all of these sort of fantastical technicolor films that feel very joyful and exaggerated and triumphant in so many ways. But kind of had this twinge of darkness to it. Something I realized as well is that all of these films start off in normal life and then go off to these whimsical places where people go on a journey to find out more about themselves and their lives and the people they surround themselves with. Which is such a direct reference to how the making of the album was. It was just really nice that we sorta reference those films. We worked with an amazing photographer Jp Bonino who is incredible and helped bring this make-believe land called Fizzvelle that keeps coming up in all the visuals and campaigns that is part theme park part town. If you join our discord you can become a Fizzville resident. In all the artwork you can see Fizzville in the distance and there are loads of easter eggs throughout the campaign. Telling the story of the band behind the music has been really exciting.
Listen to The Secret to Life HERE
