Armen Firman – Melbourne, Australia
Armen Firman (with Bertie Blackman) Sydney, Australia
Recently, YouAreTheMusic caught up with the band Armen Firman’s front man, Tommy Whitty. for an interview-our very first interview on our blog.
Background:
The band’s distinctive name derives from the name of a man who reportedly attempted to fly in the year 852, but failed in his attempt after his garment-fueled device fell to the ground. He sustained minor injuries but inadvertently invented the parachute in the process. The Australian five-piece who reign from Fitzroy an artsy trendy inner city suburb nestled in the beautiful city of Melbourne Australia. AF is an alternative rock who recently recorded their debut EP, Your Name in My Skin, consisting of five outstanding alternative rock songs.
Discovery:
YATM discovered the band via a recent post on another blog, Obscure Sound. At OS they have an excellent track record of finding diamonds in the rough which is refreshing and exciting and quite uncanny at times.
Your Name in My Skin highlights AF’s sound as an 80’s throwback alternative sound. I personally grew up listening to rock and roll in the 70’s and 80’s and I can tell you it has really changed over time. Alternative rock has become more “watered down” in that there is little variation… Somewhere, perhaps on the way to looking for mass popularity in an industry with a shorter and shorter lifespan for new and emerging artists, alt rock bands took to a more simple structure and repetitive sound. Back in the 80’s we had bands like REM and The Smashing Pumpkins, and others whose creative style and structure with more emotional depth and instrumentation. I could not agree more on this point with the OS post.
Long Live Rock:
Here at YATM we have a somewhat inside view of the Australian music scene, having lived there and experienced the music there firsthand. If any culture is to keep Rock and Roll alive, it will be the Aussies. After all, they even have names like Acker Dacker, (code for AC/DC) they chant in their loyal and regular worship sessions to the bands that defined rock and roll and are intricately part of their cultural make-up. It’s this type of culture that connects me more than any other to a seemingly lost or somewhat obscure connection to my own rock and roll roots here in the States. So, when bands emerge like Armen Firman, who, have their own unique blend of rock and roll sound, it’s with great anxiety and enthusiasm I share with you the music of Armen Firman today. Please feel free to share this with whomever will enjoy it and keep visiting for more late breaking (possibly as early as June) tunes from the band’s latest and, perhaps. Greatest yet to be heard
Interview:
YATM: Mate, what’s the future look like for the band this year and beyond? What are your expectations for the band?
Tommy: We recently received a grant from our state government to record our 2nd EP which we are in the process of. We’ll be working with a few different producers to try and expand our sound slightly. I’m particularly looking forward to working with with Paul McKercher who has produced a lot of great albums. He with Bertie Blackman on her “Black” album which, sonically, I loved so that is really exciting. We’re hoping to have the EP out in August and do some touring off the back of it.
YATM. are you getting much radio play on your songs since the debut?
Tommy: We get a little, but not a lot. Our sound isn’t exactly the soup of the day. Our music falls in between the indie sound typically played on Triple J (Australia’s national youth radio channel) and the more commercial radio stations.
YATM: I have read that your LIVE performances are so good that you upstage the bands you open for? Is the band’s live show something special?
Tommy: I think we put on a solid show. We’re certainly very passionate about what we do. That said, we don’t do anything gimmicky to stand out. We just play straight up rock shows and I think people respond to that. Since we don’t get much radio play at the moment, it’s pretty much the main way people discover us, apart from stumbling across us on great blogs like yours, Indy.
YATM: So, is Melbourne a good place to be based for the band or any band for that matter?
Tommy: Melbourne is definitely Australia’s music captial. If you are in a band, you, at some point, will make your way here and do your time. There is strong presence and movement here to protect and cultivate independent music and artists. The area we live in is known for its artistic bent and a great place for indie music. There are a lot of different small venues where it is not unusual to have 2-300 people come out, even on a weeknight, in a back alley, to watch a show.
YATM: Have you had any bites from any music labels interested in your music?
Tommy: It’s not really something we are interested in, to be completely honest with you. The days of record labels, especially the major ones, are coming to a close in my opinion. At least for most of the music I am interested in. These days it is possible to achieve support from iTunes and MySpace (which we have done) and work the following from the ground up without having a major company throw a bag full of money at you and put you in their pocket from the outset. Most of my favourite artists in Australia are indepedent, and they just work with a distributor directly to get their music into stores. At the end of the day, you own your own art, and if you are lucky enough to find radio support, the financial return is significantly higher.
YATM: I read that you have some connection to the musician “Gotye” who’s work we love, especially his song/video “Heart’s a Mess”?
Tommy: Yes, Wally De Backer is a friend of the band and was kind enough to offer some advice while we were recording some the song “Porch Dweller” on our debut EP. He’s an extremely generous musician, and person, and has an incredible knack for hearing the genius in any piece of music and really pulling that out, so any time he opened his mouth we were very keen to hear his thoughts.
YATM: I have searched for a good musical video to highlight your music of the blog but only find some clips of your live shows nothing produced yet?
Tommy: No not yet, the funny thing is, I have a background in video production, but have really been so busy working on the new EP that I haven’t found time to work on any other efforts. I’ve slapped something together from our last tour and some home videos and put it here for you mate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAxypObv4oY
Songs and MP3′s from Your Name In My Skin:
