FIDLAR talk thinking outside of the box: “I wanted to experience letting someone else produce us”

In the August 2015 issue of DIY (out Friday 7th August), FIDLAR explain how second album ‘Too’ saw them thinking outside of the box.

Whether that stemmed from leaving the comfort of their own homes (“It was like camp or something,” laughs bassist Brandon Schwartzel. “We’d make lunches for the day and all have our backpacks and walk to the studio”) or just messing around with different means of instrumentation, this record was all about trying what they hadn’t been able to before. “The experimental stuff,” explains Zac Carper, “came with stuff like adding a toy piano, or mellotron.” Or the piercing realistic ring of a telephone, which signifies the frantic start of ‘Sober’. “When we recorded it, one of the engineers was just like, ‘Fuck that thing! That’s my telephone ring!’”

“I think that’s what was important about working with a producer,” Zac offers. “We’ve never experienced that. The first record was about turning knobs and plugging shit in. This time, for me, I wanted to experience letting someone else produce us. It’s kinda scary but it worked well. I mean, there are interviews with us early on where I’ve said, ‘We will always record our own stuff, blah blah blah,’ but sometimes you get caught in that world and you get trapped and don’t wanna let anyone in. I respect people who do that but at the same time, there’s no room for growth doing that.”

Photos: Phil Smithies. FIDLAR’s new album ‘Too’ will be released on 4th September via Wichita Recordings.

Read the full interview in the August 2015 issue of DIY, out 7th August. Pre-order a copy below.