Q&A: The Flavians
Berlin is a melting pot for cultures and people from all over the world. What makes that creative minds get together and also that the pace at which you learn German puts your family to shame. And The Flavians may be a good example of the first thing. In their own words, it was after sharing a bunk in one of Berlin’s numerous hostels for several weeks, when Swedish Joakim Jägerhult (drums) and Liam Blomqvist (vocals & guitar) began to think what would later become The Flavians when Czech Republic's Anna Vaverková (vocals & keys) and Thomas Wills (vocals & bass) from the UK would join the project.
The Flavians are also a good example that although Berlin is known for being the capital of techno, the city has much, much more to offer. With sounds that evoke the sixties, vocal harmonies from a blend of three diverse voices and meaningful lyrics, a few seconds of listening are enough to realize that their songs have come to stay and be part of your discography. So get to know them a little bit better with this questionnaire!
What’s the story behind the name Flavians, does it have anything to do with the Roman dynasty?
Tom: “Actually, it kind of does! As someone who grew up experiencing an uneasy relationship with being Christian, I like how if you type the band’s name into Google, you’ll get all sorts of strange historical theories about how the life of Jesus was actually fabricated for Roman propaganda purposes. It's one of those rabbit holes that is so great to go down regardless of your beliefs and, it would be the wildest revelation if any part of it were true. Back in 2019, I met a Phd theologian at a gig who said this was all horseshit though. Shame! As a Brit, it's also humbling in these current times of political division to be reminded how the Romans occupied England for 400+ years and founded the city of London. Strangely enough, the Latin word ‘flavus’ loosely translates as ‘people with yellow hair’. We’ve all got yellow hair, so that’s something.”
Joe: “Although that is a nice history lesson, we chose it during a pub session of band name brainstorming, and the main reason why we picked it was because both ‘The Yadayadas’, and ‘The Yadayadayadas’ was already taken.”
The four of you come from Sweden, the UK and the Czech Republic but it was Berlin where you met if I’m not wrong. What led each of you to end up in Berlin and what role does this imposing city itself play in your music?
Anna: “I wanted to study music after high school and Prague was not a good fit for me. Berlin gave me what I needed. It was close enough to home and, cheaper than, for example, the UK (which was the other country I was considering to study in).”
“And what role does this city play in our music? The good thing about Berlin is that nobody gives a damn about you here. It’s a perfect playground to do whatever you want music-wise. I think that the boys would agree with me on this that if we were creating music in either of our home countries, we would feel much more limited and maybe, succumb to the pressure to sound a certain way to fit into a local scene.”
Are you all BIMM Institute Berlin graduates? What did you study there and how studying at the institute has helped or defined The Flavians as a music project?
Anna: “Yes we are. Liam and Anna studied songwriting, Joakim studied drums and Tom studied music production. Basically, without BIMM there would be no Flavians, easy as that, haha.”
Joe: “A man does not simply study drums, he has to embrace it and fully become one with it!
But to answer the question, I would argue that BIMM has helped us mostly by learning us the basics of the Industry, and thus helping us avoid the classic mistakes and pitfalls that most learn by doing.”
The Flavians. Photo by Geraldine Hutt
These seem like prolific times to you. In 2020 you released the LP ‘Ordinary People in an Ordinary World’ and next June there will be a new EP preceded by the recently released single 'Ace of Base'. But with consumer habits changing thanks, among other things to the streaming services, is it changing the way artists create or release music? Why release EPs instead of singles every now and then?
Anna: “Yeah, definitely, consumer habits are changing but isn't it just nice to have an album in your hands at the end of the day? I think that we like to stick to some old school approaches still. We love albums. It is some kind of achievement for an artist and sums up one period of a time in our lives. On the other hand, these songs from albums and EP's can also be released as singles. So finding some compromise and balance is probably the way to go for us.”
Joe: “It is rather terrifying how short our attention span has become in today's society. I think the best way to have a long and fruitful career as musicians, you kind of have to go your own way and do what it is you believe in, instead of jumping on to the latest craze that happens to be “in” during that moment in time.”
In a complex and increasingly difficult to understand world, was the title ‘Ordinary People in an Ordinary World’ a statement or declaration of intentions as a band in some sort of assertion of the simple things as the things that really matter?
Tom: “I suppose the album was a strange celebration of humanity for all its flaws, fears and ineptitudes. I think we’re naively optimistic as well. It can only get better than this, right? The album title definitely has a different feeling now that the world has been hit by this pandemic! The last show we played was our album release party and the week after, Germany went into a lockdown. With luck, our next show will be our EP release party. Although, we’ve already rescheduled it twice!”
Anna: “Maybe there is some truth behind that. We also wanted to tell these little mundane stories as a kind of relief from everything troubling that is happening.”
Musically speaking, how could you explain the new EP compared to the first album?
Anna: “The upcoming EP is definitely more rough. We recorded and produced it ourselves in our self-built studio/rehearsal room. We had to work with what we had. The songwriting and arranging process was also a bit different as we started writing the EP in a quarantine in early 2020 and the first sessions have been online. The huge advantage of having our own recording space is that we could be really creative and have the space and time to experiment while recording. We did not have this possibility with our first album as we recorded almost everything in commercial studios and were tied up by time and budget.”
The day we get up and have left this period of prohibitions behind, do you think people will have fear to come back to packed venues? Will more local artists be booked maybe? Will prices increase? In short, what panorama in your opinion are we going to find, how will live music have changed?
Anna: “It is hard to foretell the future in our crystal ball. But, once the live shows start, we will do what we can to adapt accordingly! Especially during these times, we feel it is important to improvise and make decisions on the go so that you can make most of the whole situation.”
Tom: “I think we’re all ready for it! If you look at countries like New Zealand and Australia, they’re back at festivals like nothing has happened. Sure, it will feel strange and prices may fluctuate for a while. But, whatever the case, we’ll never take another show for granted again. Berlin has got such an incredible music scene, I can’t wait for it to bounce back.”
To shine a light, let us know something positive that you have done or, that has happened to you that under any other circumstances would not have happened?
Anna: “We wouldn't have reconstructed our rehearsal room into our “Flave Cave” if it was not for the lock-down in spring 2020. That is something we will look back on as a positive thing because it made our lives so much easier now.”
Tom: “It has given us a lot of time to reflect on the last few years and reconnect with old friends and family. It got very crazy for us in 2019 and we were all getting burnt out! We’re all rested now. Und, wir lernen auch Deutsch. Ernsthaft!”
In 2019 you played shows across many cities in Germany, Sweden and the UK. You supported Ten Tonnes across Germany and Catfish and the Bottlemen at Huxleys Neue Welt and played at Glastonbury and Reeperbahn festivals, When can we expect your next headlining show here in Berlin?
Anna: “As soon as we can gig, we will gig :) We will let you know when the time comes.”
The Flavians. Photo by Geraldine Hutt
To start finishing this questionnaire, festnoise is about music but especially about music festivals so do you have any good, bad or fun memories of experiences in a music festival you want to share?
Joe: “I’ll try to keep it short, as to avoid turning this article into a novel (has anyone ever claiming to keep it short actually done so?). The memories are plentiful but one of my favorites has to be sloth dancing, hanging upside down, at the spike bar at ‘Glastonbury Festival’ with our manager at 4 in the morning. Those were the days. Also the hilarious moment of moving our gear from one side of the festival, to the other, with the help of a man on a tricycle dressed in a circus costume.”
”There was also the moment when we played ‘Silver Car’ at Eksjö Stadsfest in Sweden. It starts off with a man going to the front of the stage, throwing his arms down to the stage floor and then he starts having an almost epeleptic seizure while screaming “you are killing me!”. As Anna's backing enters the Pre-chorus, he shouts euphorically “SHE SINGS TO, OH MY GOD!”. I had a hard time staying on my buttcheeks to avoid falling face first into the ground, while laughing my ass off during that one. Damn, I’m tearing up a bit thinking about all these amazing moments, hopefully we’ll have the pleasure of creating new memories soon.”
Which are your favorite festivals as music fans and in which ones do you dream of playing, both here in Germany and the places where you come from?
Anna: “Hurricane! (Germany) , Rock for People (Czech Republic) and Grape (Slovakia)”
Tom: “Maifeld Derby and MS Dockville maybe. In the UK, definitely End of the Road Festival.”
Liam: “I loved playing Reeperbahn festival, so doing that again would be awesome. In Sweden there’s this festival called Way out West, I’d like to play there someday.”
Joe: “I have a dream, let me rephrase that, a NEED to play at Red Rocks Amphitheatre before I can die with a smile on my face. I am fully aware that I didn’t answer the question, but I figure the more I exclaim my love for that venue, the bigger the chance I get to play there someday.”
Find out more about The Flavians by visiting their official website and listen to them on Spotify
Cover photograph by Geraldine Hutt
