FLAWES | INTERVIEW
Forming after a chance meeting when schoolfriends JC (Josh Carruthers) and Huss (Josh Hussey) met Freddie Edwards, Flawes’ self-funded debut single built them a fanbase, secured airplay and gigs galore, and prompted major label hounding. Carl Marsh had a video chat with this London trio.
What was it back in 2015 that made you realise that you could have something special as a group?
JC: Me and Huss had known each other for years as we went to school together, but we’d never been in a band together or anything. It all happened really fast: we had one rehearsal and everything seemed to click. It just made a lot of sense – and then we went straight from that into doing a tour supporting Ella Eyre in LA. We didn’t have much prep time but went straight into it. And we haven’t looked back since.
Is that the same for you, Huss and Freddie?
Huss: Absolutely. In the first six months, we had quite a few challenges to overcome – we had to get a set ready and go on tour together. We had Radio One record of the week – that happened at the same time. Those first six months were amazing, and as soon as we got out of that first six months, we were all like: “Oh, that was great. Let’s carry on!”
Freddie: For me, there was a sense of not having much – and it doesn’t sound nice to say, but my expectations were to go into this and see what happens, as it wasn’t like this will be my career for the next however many years. It was more like, let’s meet these guys and see how it goes in the rehearsal room. And it was a really pleasant surprise. I remember speaking to my girlfriend at the time, who is now my fiancée, saying, “that was great!”
Maybe it was always at the back of your minds that you would achieve what you have done, seeing as you had the view from the background when you were session musicians and knew what would work?
JC: I don’t know, but we were all quite optimistic. And we were well aware of the industry’s challenges and everything that goes on [laughs]. We know how hard it is to break into [the industry] and get things moving, but I feel that having that kind of passenger seat from when we played as session musicians, we had this view into their careers. We got to understand what it takes and picked up some tips and tricks along the way.
I bet none of those tips and tricks could prepare you for what 2020 threw at you: debut album Highlights came out last year, then the world stopped being normal for us all. Now you have a six-song EP, Reverie, out on Fri 26 Feb. Had it not been for lockdown, this EP might not have been born, right?
Huss: I guess so – we had to be productive as we couldn’t tour, and we had to have something to show our fans. We were meant to be playing all these new songs live to them from Highlights. There’s some songs on there which we’ve not performed live yet.
With Reverie, it just all came together with us being forced into that position – we got six songs and said that that makes sense. It did what it needed to do, and I think listening back to it now, you can hear that in it as well. It’s all about a sort of escapism, and when we were first put into lockdown, which was brand new to everyone on planet Earth, we wanted to provide as much escapism as it was for us to write and record it. Hopefully, when people listen, it takes them out of their daily routine a bit.
Flawes’ Reverie EP is released by Red Bull on Fri 26 Feb. Info: www.flawes.com
words CARL MARSH