BOUNCING OFF THE FLOORS AND WALLS 

It’s a wonder that Brighton four-piece Floors and Walls aren’t more recognised.  Especially when their live shows have been described as “being beaten up by ten skinheads whilst getting a blow job”. Who wouldn’t want violent passion and crude satisfaction from a live show? After the cult success of their 2007 debut ‘What Can We Do Today‘, Floors and Walls are set to return with a new EP and a taste of the mainstream. 

I’d like to paint you a picture of where we are. I’d like to explain that I’m meeting the band in a hotel room that’s been ripped apart up from several nights of partying. That there’s a TV-shaped hole in the window. Hell, there’s even a couple of poodles running around dressed in Floors and Walls merch. I can’t tell you these things. The current schedule for Floors and Walls is a hectic one, so we back and forth e-mails. Well, meeting in person is so last week…

Let’s get one thing straight. Trying to put these guys in a box would be like trying to get a  three-legged man to hopscotch. Descriptions such as ‘Chav-core’ and being a ‘companion to the spliff and play-station generation’ are used as a starting point. Imagining the musical soundings of Kate Nash and Mike Skinner‘s love children would also be of some help. Since forming in Spring 2006, Floors and Walls have created a whirlwind hybrid of genres under one name. 

However, you could take vocalist and MC Alex Adams’ attempted definition on board; “We’re a combination of Funked-out, jungled-up, trip-hop rock and pop debauchery. We love being hard to define. Although it was more of a happy accident rather than a planned move,” he says. We’ve always tried to do our own thing. We’ve always looked up to bands who are willing to do something a bit different and its nice to emulate that ethos.” The band name Rage Against the Machine, Gorillaz and Beastie Boys as some of their influences, and understandably so.  

Guitarist Dom McNulty adds, “I think the best music happens when you combine polar opposites. We've been described as 'Head Automatica and Sonic Boom Six by way of Asian Dub Foundation and Dub War'!"

Don’t be alarmed. Yes, these four look like they walked out of JD Sports whilst cussing each other’s mammas, but their music suggests otherwise. 

The story began when Dom and drummer Adam Shamp were both living above Brighton’s bustling Audio Bar when they met Ian Booth, a bassist. The three of them shared a love of rock and alternative music whilst studying at BIMM (Brighton Institute of Modern Music). However the band were finally sewn together when vocalist Alex came into the mix. 

“We found ourselves in a hole in the cliff playing a couple of Chilli’s tracks”, Alex claims. “It was good but there was nothing in those tracks that excited us. The boy’s had been jamming Megalomaniac, an Incubus track, and I just put some of my lyrics to it”. 

Dom explains that that was the moment he realised that something special was about to come together. “Alex came from a background totally withdrawn from the rock scene that the rest of  us were so familiar with. He started off mc-ing at clubs around Kent”, informs Dom. “I was drawn in by the sound of some great riffs with Alex’s fast paced lyrics”. 

As a band that have been churned out by the same institute we have to thank for the Kooks, you would expect them to deliver alternative love songs with a glossy finish and inoffensive lyrics. Yet when listening to their new self-titled EP, all assumptions of perfect strumming and overly pitch perfect tones can be dropped.  

“The new E.P is a bit darker and heavier”, Bassist Ian exclaims. “But we’re still making sure that the emphasis is on the song. It’s a good representation of where we are as a band right now and where we are looking to move the music”. 

Alex adds passionatley, “It’s much more mature sound to when we released the first album. We have spent the entire time touring and trying to discover the band that we really want to be. It has focused us as a group and as we’ve improved as musicians. We’ve experimented with the sound”. 

And experimented they have. Their new EP displays tougher melodic hooks, anthemic choruses and statement guitar work reminiscent of AFI. Ian proclaims that “everyone can take something from it. It’s so diverse”.  New track Straight Jacket stands out as a mile stone, and promises a rocketing sound that is unique yet commercial enough to be their breakthrough release. Whilst Walk The Line delivers a satisfyingly dissonant organised chaos that stimulates the dancing bones.  

You can forgive them for their hippy-like reflective state after the journey they’ve been on - In 2008, they entered Global Battle of the Bands (Gbob). Imagine Eurovision but without the costumes that your Mum would wear to her Friends Reunited School Disco. Or the sarcastic commentary, that actually, isn’t sarcastic. In fact, this is a worldwide talent competition that is worth following. Take note, Simon Cowell.

Floors and Walls beat 26 other countries to win the competition and scoop $100,000. They graciously kicked Australian runners up Powerage and Japan’s female punk group Pinky Piglets to the side to win global glory. When asked about the achievement the guys are chuffed. In fact, they go a bit ‘Miss World’.

“We met some amazing people from around the world”, guffaws guitarist Dom. “It was quite inspiring that everyone was so respectful of each other and what each one was trying to do. Obviously it was a competition but there was no animosity between anyone. It was a very surreal experience.”

Any fan of the band know that live shows are Floors and Walls’ forte. A dull second there is not whilst the four animate around the stage as if trying to put out a chip-pan fire with bare hands. Alex is a passionate vocalist, who shares his huge range with an energised audience. His voice has a nasal quality that is moreish and oddly somehow soothing, keeping you on your toes with their catalogue of crowd pleasers. 

‘Tracey’ for one is a favourite amongst fans. About a desperate groupie it includes the rap, “Four different people in one day, one in the park and one in the train. But one weren’t enough so she moved to two, having them both whilst her Mum was in the next room”. Lyricist Alex has a talent of capturing everyday stories and making them remarkable. A Floors and Walls gig is where chaotic sing-a-longs are the norm. The eclectic beats often mean you don’t know whether to mosh, skank or break-dance. 

Dom exclaims excitedly, “the live scene is where we feel most comfortable and our passion can really come through. We genuinely enjoy what we do and buzz off playing so the energy comes very naturally”.

Luck seems to be on the lad’s side. The prize money couldn’t have come at a better time, after leaving their label South Coast Sounds in 2007. “The plan is to use the money to record a new album. We’re in the process of writing at the moment”, states Alex. It means we can completely fund a self release and have total control over what we do. This is a very exciting prospect for us. We can take our time making sure we have got the very best of ourselves.  We are looking to the beginning of 2011 for a full release”. 

What Can We Do Today was produced in the studio by PJ Andrews - the man behind Kula Shaker. Anthem 'Tracey' from the album was even completed with the help two of the judges from GBOB, Glen Matlock and producer Jim Lowe (the man behind the Stereophonics). “Working with a number one selling producer and one of the Sex Pistols made us step up our game hugely”, explains Ian. “It put us out of our comfort zone”.

However they’re now looking for a different producer to tie the new album together. “One of the bonuses of taking our time is that we can search for the right person to bring on board”, states Alex with enthusiasm. “We feel it is always good to have an outside perspective but that someone has to understand what you are trying to achieve”. The guys are also looking to master some of it themselves. Dom is a keen producer, and worked with fellow Brighton band The Deal Was For The Diamond in the studio. 

With an EP release about to happen and an album already being written, these lads play as hard as they work. “At Bestival last year we got very drunk and took full advantage of the hot tub”, drummer Adam remembers. “We tried, failing miserably, to coerce Lily Allen into jumping in with us. She was having none of it”. 

If you happen to catch Floors and Walls live this summer (in between lurring pop royalty into hot tubs) prepare to fall in love with an underground phenomenon.