Fuck Buttons are the ATP label’s second British signing after Alexander Tucker, and the two have toured together previously, becoming good friends. This is just another example of the indefinable ATP spirit – the joyous joviality that seems to run rampant through each event and release.
Of course, these good times are manifested in some truly different ways – yesterday we spoke to Deerhoof, who take pop to new astral plains with enough measured wackiness to placate an army of chin-stroking weirdie-beardie clowns (interview HERE), and Fuck Buttons are something equally unique, but sonically extremely far removed.
One word commonly associated with the Fuck Buttons sound is euphoria, and it’s true that one can experience feelings of escapist envelopment during their live sets; but other adjectives must include cacophonous, caustic, skull-fuckingly loud, OMFGareyouhearingthis and more. Put simply: they are noisy boys with plenty of toys, capable of drowning out nuclear war. But also touched by a distinct grace that blesses their material with an accessible emotional core.
Sample a track above: ‘Bright Tomorrow’ from the band’s debut album ‘Street Horrrsing’.
The London-based duo – Andrew Hung and Benjamin Power – answered our questions regarding their relationship with ATP…
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How did you come to work with ATP in the first place?
AH: It was pure coincidence, we just happened to be in the right place, at the right time and though coincidence is a hard thing to acknowledge, I am forever grateful for the events that led up to the point of our contact with ATP. What happened was, I put on my first and only show and we played it. Declan, a very close friend of ours (now) and also a close friend of Barry’s (Hogan, of ATP) happened to attend the show and he was the one who passed us onto Barry. The next week, under Declan’s recommendation, Barry came to see us play another show and that was that.
What do you think the label’s reputation is, amongst the music-buying public? What does it ‘stand for’?
AH: I think it’s not so much the label’s reputation, but the whole aesthetic and ethos behind ATP is a strong one. I don’t believe they have a particularly strong PR push, but the product is what sells itself and consequently word of mouth is its secret weapon. These aren’t things that define ATP obviously, but I think they give an indication as to what the ATP brand is about. It’s about embracing change with quality and reassurance. It’s about ALL TOMORROW’S PARTIES.
BP: ATP is fiercely independent. On the record label side, there is a small amount of bands on the their roster, bands which they truly believe in and love. In that sense it’s a great feeling knowing you’re in the hands of somebody who genuinely cares about what you do. It’s almost like being part of a family.
Do you feel the label stands alone from the festival, or should the two be seen as connected? Could one exist without the other?
AH: No, I do think ATP is an identity. It’s an ethos. Cheesy? Perhaps. But if you get it, you REALLY get it.
BP: They are both connected by the underlying fact that a great deal of care and attention to detail is exercised when choosing bands for their roster and the festival line-ups/ curators. It’s these factors which make ATP special in a time where we are overloaded with festivals and record labels. It’s why ATP has become an institution in this country and, by the way things have been looking in recent years, across the globe.
What was the experience of playing ATP like for you? Is there a festival that comes close to what ATP does?
AH: No, ATP is a completely unique experience to every other festival. Put it this way: since going to an ATP in 2004, I haven’t been to any other festivals out of choice. Again, it’s this conscious effort to embrace change that sets it apart. I love that forward motion.
BP: I only ever feel truly at home at ATP festivals.
Does working with ATP give you a degree more freedom than another label might, do you think?
AH: We haven’t worked with other labels, but the impression I get is yes, we are in a position of creative freedom. I am fully content and happy with our relationship with them.
BP: The trust and freedom which comes with being involved with ATP is second to none. Hands down. It really is a privilege to be part of such a ‘milestone’ of music.
Can you tell us about your latest release for the ATP label? If you’re now planning a future release, what can you tell us about that?
AH: ‘Street Horrrsing’ is very close to my heart and it acts as a very honest journal entry for me at that time. The themes of hope and love are omnipresent in it (for me obviously) and it acts as an affirmation of my embracement of those themes in my life at the time. Now more than ever, those themes are just as important. Our next album will again be another document of our lives presently and we are still striving.
BP: Our latest release on ATP was our single ‘Colours Move’, from our debut ‘Street Horrrsing’. Andrew Weatherall provided the B-side with a remix of our album’s opening track, ‘Sweet Love For Planet Earth’. It really is a fantastic take on the track. Hats off to Mr Weatherall for that one!
Do you have an appreciation – a love, even – of other act/s on the ATP label, and if so did their involvement with the label lead you to signing with ATP?
AH: Yes, I love Deerhoof, Alex Tucker, Death Vessel and Fursaxa. And yes, it was and still is an honour to be on a label with Mr Tucker.
BP: They’re all great. I’m really looking forward to hearing the new Sleepy Sun record.
Although I wish Alexander Tucker would stop picking on us. When we were on tour with him last year he bullied me into smoking a bong that he had fashioned out of a goat’s head. It was intense.
If ATP didn’t stand for All Tomorrow’s Parties, it would stand for… what?
AH: Alan Titchmarsh: Prick?
BP: Awesome. Totally Perfect. Haha…
‘Street Horrrsing’ and the single ‘Colours Move’ are both available now via the ATP label. Find Fuck Buttons on MySpace HERE.
More ATP Week content…
* Deerhoof Interview
* A Brief History: interview with ATP founder Barry Hogan
* ATP: A Beginners Guide
Coming later today: an interview with the festival’s first curators Mogwai. (Hey, it’s now totally HERE.)
