Louder Than The Music

Louder Than The Music have had another great oppertunity to speak to another great band, and this time is non other than Phtfish memeber Nathan Fellingham. So sit back and relax and enjoy hearing the future on Phatfish.

Lets start with the two band new memebers, How did that all come about? & What was the reason behind having Ben & Jos join the band at this stage of the Phatfish Journey?

After Alan Rose left the band in 2004, we didn't feel it was right to simply replace him and carry on. It really felt like a good time to take a step back for a time - let things lie fallow if you like. It wasn't that we stopped playing by any means! But we did allow a bit of space for other things to surface - like Lou's solo projects and Luke's audio mastering business. When we did play live or record we used various different guitarists. For the more local stuff we started playing with Jos Wintermeyer and later Ben Hall who were both less experienced but were part of our church in Brighton and really knitted in to our vision. It just felt like it was time to get the consistency back again - having the same players for every event - so we asked Jos and Ben to become permanent members.

Have they added a different sound to the band in recording and playing live?

Every musician adds their own flavour! I guess having two guitarists in the band is always going to make things slightly rockier too.

Which do you prefer playing Live or recording albums?

Very hard to say! I know Lou really enjoys playing live more as she enjoys communicating to people - looking them in the eye. For me, both things are equally rewarding. I love the intricacy that often goes into recording. You can really spend time crafting the sounds that you're recording. But there's obviously an energy to playing live in front of people that it's hard to capture in the studio.

Your in the process of recording a new album can you give us any details about this?

Yes, we certainly are. The album is called 'In Jesus' and will be out late May/early June time. We've been working with a producer called Kevan Frost who we've worked with on a couple of album previously. We're excited about the songs and the feel. Might be worth looking out for a free MP3 giveaway in May as well...

What's the song writing process in Phatfish?

Most of us in the band write. I would usually take the role of hearing the songs that different ones have written and deciding whether they're the right thing for an album project. With this project Jos and Ben have both contributed too which is great and Lou, Mike and I have worked alongside them to get their songs finished. Mike Sandeman always contributes a couple of songs and he's written a great one for this project called 'Pardoned'.

Are there any plans of a tour later this year?

Yes! We will be starting of in Leicester square on the 29th May - which will be part of the Pentecost Festival. We're then in Brighton on the 13th June, Woodbridge on the 18th June, Peterborough on the 26th June and Bromley on the 27th June. We'll then be doing gigs at the Newday Conference, Keswick Convention, The Salt and Light conference at Ashburnham and finally the Forum UCCF Conference. We're also currently booking events for the Autumn. All the details can be found at www.phatfish.net

You have just released a new album of hits from the last 15 years, was it a difficult process to pick the best tracks from so many great tracks over the years?

It wasn't actually as hard as I thought it might have been! There were definitely a few times that it felt hard to leave certain songs out - but on the whole we were in agreement about what songs should feature.

Was there a reason for the realease of the 15 album?

When you've been going for such a long time, there are obviously people who might be interested in Christian Music who were barely even born when we started! (Which makes us feel very old!) So it just feels like a really nice way to introduce a new generation of listeners to the highlights of what we've produced over the years.

Which Phatfish album would you count the most complete album and that your most proud of?

Too hard to say! They all have things that are very special about them! (to us anyway)

You're stuck on an island, its hot, you only have enough battery life left to listen to one song on your ipod. What track is it?

Close to the Edge by Yes (as it's only one song, I figure choosing a long one is probably a smart move)

What does the next year hold for Phatfish?

Releasing the album in June, doing lots of playing in June, July, August - and hopefully through the Autumn as well!!