Get To Know... Flip Top Head • Neu • DIY Magazine

Hello and welcome back to DIY’s introducing feature, Get To Know… which aims to get you a little bit closer to the buzziest acts that have been catching our eye as of late, and working out what makes them tick.

This week, we meet Brighton art-rock scamps Flip Top Head, who take cues from fellow experimental collectives Ugly and Tapir! to craft intricate but emotionally resonant tracks that find wonder and whimsy amidst the daily grind.

A follow up to 2024’s debut outing ‘Up Like A Weather Balloon’, the six-piece’s new EP ‘Trilateral Machine’ (out now via Blitzcat Records) is an undulating, organic affair that zooms in on the physical - a porcelain bath, or a loose thread you can’t stop picking at - in order to better conceptualise the abstract eddies of emotion. To mark its arrival, we asked the band some Very Important Questions about their inspirations, artistic process, and approach to miniature equine attacks…

Hello Flip Top Head! We’ll skip the small talk and get straight down to the nitty gritty - would you rather fight one horse-sized duck, or 100 duck-sized horses?
Definitely 100 duck sized horses - kick em’! Horses are skittish and their only power is being big and strong - not here. 16.66 duck-sized horses per band member - easy.

⁠What were the first albums you bought with your own money (and why)?
Ollie: Mine was ‘The 2nd Law’ by Muse on vinyl - I got it because I thought the album cover was cool.
Bert: ‘Iowa’, by Slipknot - it still rocks.
Bowie: ‘Change’ by Sugarbabes - I used to sing along into my sparkly mic.
Marie: I mainly just stole my dad’s records haha - ‘The Kick Inside’ by Kate Bush was my favourite.
Harrison: ‘Night Visions’, by Imagine Dragons.

For your new EP ‘Trilateral Machine’, you once again teamed up with producer Theo Verney. Why did he feel like the right person for the job? What qualities or concepts did you want to bring to the fore, production-wise?
We absolutely loved working with Theo on our first EP, so it seemed obvious to get back in the studio with him for EP2. We had a meeting with him in the run up to recording and he said it’d be a good move to strip it back this time and pretty much just do what we do live. Aside from a few strings that were added later, it’s recorded as we play it on stage.

“The Cat In The Hat is pretty influential.”

One of the singles, ‘Porcelain Plugs’, draws inspiration from The Bell Jar to ponder on guilt, vulnerability, and the healing power of a hot bath. What other literary passages or film scenes do you find particularly evocative? How do you feel that these other mediums inform or affect your artistic approach?
It’s going to sound super Brighton-cliche, but we’re constantly inspired by the wonderful bands and artists that surround us in this scene. But to be honest, this is sort of the first time that one of our song’s lyrics have been directly impacted by literature. I think, lyrically, we find more direction from our own lives and experiences. Film wise, The Cat In The Hat is pretty influential. Also, when Jack Black said “let’s rock, let’s rock today”.

Who would play you in your biopic?
Ollie: Bowie
Bowie: Hazza
Hazza: Harrison
Harrison: Marie
Marie: Bert
Bert: Ollie
Paul Dano: our manager Fil

… we’ll get loads of wigs.

⁠In your humble opinions, what’s In and Out for 2026?
In: Night Nurse, having a lighter in your pocket at all times, rap metal, feather boas, Pitch Perfect, cocking your leg to piss, reenactments (in general), having a duck-sized horse sanctuary with 100 duck-sized horses.

Out: Tying a jumper around your waist, brushing your teeth standing up, the Thameslink from Brighton to London, Michael McIntyre.

Finally, DIY are coming round for dinner - what are you making?
Starter: Duck-sized horse burger.
Main: Revenge (a dish best served cold).
Side: Knuckle sandwich.
Drink: Seven pints of Guinness.
Dessert: Kit Kat chunky.

‘Trilateral Machine’ is out now via Blitzcat Records.

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