2018 has seen the world more polarised then ever between government's and people's, rich and poor.
Armed with an arsenal of blast beats, ear splitting guitar riffs and super sonic bass lines FLATTBUSH are back, punching through humanity's injustices with their upcoming self released 4th studio album 'Strategic Offensive'
It’s been 8 years since the last album, why has it taken so long?
Arman: Family and work priorities. Riko got into union organizing at his
work. Everyone's got sucked in in the rat race of life.
Riko: Union organizing definitely took a lot of my time. I am talking about hundreds of workers here and going back and forth meeting with public officials. I also worked on huge murals about immigration issues here in the U.S and a mural for the Philippines to continue the peace process between the Philippine government and the revolutionary movement. I didn’t even notice that it’s been 8 years since the last album, Otomatik Attak, was released.
Brad: I quit the band right before OTOMATIK. I couldn’t stand the drummer at the time and was dealing with a bunch of fucked up shit in my personal life, so the band was more like a chore than fun. I did a couple of EP’s and tours with my other band ‘Shrimp’, then ended up knocking up my girlfriend and having a kid. Being a family man is cool, but I’ve always gotta have something artistic going on or I lose it. I was a destructive maniac for many years, but having a family brought me back down to reality. Once I got my shit together Arman and I started making noise again just for kicks, which eventually led to us writing this batch of tunes.
What’s different about this album than previous flattbush albums?
Ray: One cool thing is the last album I wrote with Flattbush I was in my early twenties just learning how to play blast Beats, this album I'm in my mid-30s, a hundred pounds heavier and able to play faster louder and longer which is perfect cuz that's what they wanted.
Riko: Not a lot of difference really. It’s not like the previous album was super heavy and crazy, then you get the total opposite style like a disco album. What’s great is that we maintained the art and music the way we want them. Flattbush is running good and it’s getting a nice oil change.
Brad: We did everything on our own terms. I think we recorded this album at least 10 times, had it mixed by 3 different people, and didn’t really give a shit about any deadlines. We recorded it in my garage, with no real intentions other than just making some crazy ass music.
Flattbush are well known for their political lyrics, what are you
addressing on this album lyrically?
Riko: We still want genuine change in the economy, politics and culture. The working class’ fight for better wages, better hours and a sufficient pension is not complete without arts and culture supporting these pro-people struggles. We should work hand in hand as a community to build a better world for everyone. I mean, how do you expect a person to buy music or art if they have low wages at work? Download it for free? That doesn’t help us.
How does the band approach the album lyrically? Do you leave the lyrics to Riko? Or do the rest of the band have an input?
Arman: Riko and I work on the lyrics. Its fun to work with lyrics,
especially when we add textures and hooks. The goal was, we give ourselves two hours each song to finish the lyrics and record the vocals. No coming back for retouching. It has to be done in one sitting. We treat it like a graffiti artist or a tagger, we give
ourselves some good amount of stress to finish it as fast as we can
before we get caught. Same as when we record the music, no clicks,
everything is one take, we just wing it, Fuck it.
What can we expect from ‘Strategic Offensive’ sonically? Is there
anything that might surprise fans?
Arman: We did it ourselves. It may sound like a wall of shit and amateur . Our goal is to maximise our resources; a 12 year old mac book, bootleg software,
earphone buds from a 99 cents store, duct tape and Billy (Gould) loaned us some mics. Keep
all the hi tech shit to the pros.
Ray: There is no chill or Groove just pure heart palpitation
Riko: The art inside the CD or cassette tape was created by a guerrilla fighter in the Philippines who goes by the pen name “Parts Bagani”. We try our best to keep this real as much as possible.
Brad: Sonically, it’s definitely not something you’re gonna listen to when you wanna relax. I guess I could best describe it as a machine gun enema. One of the songs has a horn section, so that might surprise a few peeps.
Have you a favourite song(s) from the new album?
Arman: I like them all. I want to make sure the album is phat and doesn't
sound like metal. I want to make it vibe like old school Hip-Hop.
RZA and DJ Muggs where my reference while working on this album. Having the drums and bass in the front and guitars and vocals as secondary textures.
Riko: I like the song, Stop Lumad Killings. The chant used in the song was taken from the calls from actual protests in the Philippines. The word “Lumad” is a local term that refers to the largest indigenous group in the Philippines living in the Southern part of the country. They have been fighting to protect their ancestral lands for centuries. Recently, there has been a resurgence of Lumad resistance, and consequently, the state has intensified violence against them. I was inspired to write the lyrics after attending a medical mission where the indigenous Lumads live and actually see and feel their situation.
Brad: Trained To Kill, They Strike We Fight, and Extrajudicial Killings are a couple of my faves. Every song is my favorite though and everyone should go buy all of them!
Ramon Banda has rejoined on drums, was strategic offensive written when he
rejoined? Or has he been able to have his input on the new material?
Arman: I would prep up some sounds with basic structures and Ray will fuck
em up, then I'll fuck em up, Brad will patch up all the fuck ups and Riko will clean up the mess in a fucked up way.
Ray: They pretty much let me do whatever I wanted. They gave me just bass and guitar and I threw drums on top. anytime I try to get a little too groovy toovie or sassy wassi Arman will bring it back to its raw form, pure punk as fuck.
I see you’re releasing the album on cassette (as well as cd and
online) who’s idea was that?
Riko: Collecting is still a big thing for art and music enthusiasts, that’s why the cassette. Vintage is cool.
Brad: I’ve always liked tapes and noticed them making a come back at the underground shows. I threw the idea out there a while back, and can’t believe the guys went for it. I think we only got 50 copies made though, so it’s gonna be super limited. Get em while they’re hot!
Bill Gould is part of the Flattbush family, did he have any input on
Strategic offensive?
Brad: Bill always gives us solid advice, and also loaned us some sweet mics when we recorded the drums. We put socks over them, so hopefully it doesn’t sound too polite.
In today’s political climate Flattbush seem more relevant then ever,
so with that being said, will we have to wait 8 years for the next
album?
Riko: The sooner the better. I know Arman, Brad and Ray already writing some new material.
Brad: I’ve got 3 songs written for the next album. If everyone pitches in 3 songs we could have another album out by next year.
Finally, what does the future hold for Flattbush?
Arman: We will keep it up, have fun and keep creating art in our own terms.
Riko: We have a lot of ideas. We will keep on materializing these ideas and hopefully inspire others to do the same
Brad: We’re gonna seize political power from the ruling classes and spread social justice all over the world god damn it!
Strategic Offensive is available from the 29th of March
Record release party at Alex's Bar, Long Beach, California from 8pm
For more on the release check Flattbush's Facebook page