Flip Top Head
Words by Mia Lambdin, Photographs by Ele Marchant
PLACE: PRESUMING ED’S DOWNSTAIRS GARDEN, BRIGHTON.
TIME: ABOUT 1PM, APRIL 2024.
COMPANY: ELE MARCHANT, WILLOW SHIELDS, FLIP TOP HEAD AKA BOWIE BARTLETT, BERTIE BEER, HARRISON SNOOPER, MARIE FREISS, OLLIE WHITE, HARRY GILES, ALFIE BEER AND APPROXIMATELY TEN BEVERAGES.
HOW DID YOU ALL MEET AND FORM THE BAND?
A good chunk of the band is originally from Colchester and met there before moving to Brighton. Our current formation is a product of uni encounters, or drunken party encounters for Ollie. We’ve been playing in this formation for over two years now.
WHAT’S IT LIKE BEING IN A SEVEN PIECE?
The thing we always notice is the number of different combinations we can make out of all of us. Especially on tour, we always end up in weird new combinations of people, which makes us laugh. The good thing about it is that if you get bored of talking to the same person, you can always change combinations and talk to someone else. Aside from that, we like to use all of our seven brains to write music together. It’s difficult to get stuck with so many ideas!
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE FLIP TOP HEAD TO ANYONE WHO DOESN’T KNOW YOU?
Just some best friends that love making music together and sharing it to other people during tours and live shows! It really is a dream to be able to do all of this, surrounded by people we truly enjoy spending time with. I think this sort of dynamic is what defines us the best and is how we like to be described as.
WHO ARE YOUR MUSICAL INSPIRATIONS?
We’ve all got different personal backgrounds when it comes to what we listen to and take influence from. We find it really interesting to use these different inspirations as a way to make music that is unique to us. To be broad, we can name artists and bands such as Tindersticks, Slowdive, Eliott Smith, Kate Bush, Steely Dan, Ugly, and Tapir!
WHO ARE YOUR CREATIVE INSPIRATIONS FOR HORRBIES OUTSIDE THE BAND?
Apart from music, some of us are involved in other artistic passions and projects. Harrison takes photos and Bertie does animations for us as well as for other bands. It’s nice to be able to bring these other skills in when it comes to creating artwork or music videos for example. It makes our creative process even more personal and related to our music.
WHAT ALBUM SHOULD EVERYONE LISTEN TO AT LEAST ONCE?
Bowie: “Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk” by Jeff Buckley Bertie: “Mars Audiac Quintet” by Stereolab
Harrison: “Closer” by Joy Division
Marie: “Chaos For The Fly” by Grian Chatten
Ollie: “Out of the Blue” by Electric Light Orchestra Harry: “Cub” By Wunderhorse
Alfie: “Songs of Love and Hate” by Leonard Cohen
WHAT’S YOUR PROCESS IN MAKING MUSIC?
Our writing process is very collaborative. It usually starts with one of two members bringing an idea or a snippet of a song to the band. We then work together to turn it into something a bit more concrete. It’s interesting to see how certain ideas can change and turn into a piece that everyone sort of owns. It’s like creating a puzzle together, turning it into something that is unique and sounds like us.
FAVOURITE PLACE IN BRIGHTON?
Green Door Store, the beach, the Gym group, the Hand In Hand and the Great Eastern are some of the most honourable mentions. The game is- guess who said which place! Bertie and Ollie also spend a lot of their time at Daltons (because they work there). And of course we couldn’t miss out Devils Dyke, where our wedding dress photoshoot was taken by Katie Foxley in January 2023.
FAVOURITE SHOW SO FAR?
We can all agree on our sold out show at De Nieuwe Anita in Amsterdam in January 2024. It was one of our first shows outside of the UK and we just had the best time ever. Everyone was lovely and took great care of us, big up to Indie In Town! St. Stephen’s Church in Ipswich for Brighten the Corners 2023 also was a fantastic gig. Stunning venue that got really busy just before we played, it was a nice surprise. The Palestine Fundraiser organised by Blitzcat Records at Folklore Rooms probably is our most recent epic one. Who doesn’t love a packed out 1am set?
