I interviewed Artisan Era newcomers Flub recently.  The band is releasing their self titled album soon, if you haven’t heard “Wild Smoke” you can at that link.  Vocalist Michael and Guitarist Eloy answered our questions. Enjoy!

TMR: Explain how you came up with your unique sound. You guys truly sound like nobody else.

ELOY: I’m not sure being unique was never really the intention while writing, mostly I just wanted to write music that felt sincere and if it came out unique then awesome.

TMR: Congratulations on your signing to the artisan era! Explain how the relationship formed and landed to a record deal.

MICHAEL: Thank you, we are very grateful to be a part of a label with the support that Artisan has. Artisan Era fans are very dedicated and supportive, as well as the people who run it. As far as the relationship aspect of landing the deal, I had the opportunity of touring with Inferi twice a year ago when I was still in Alterbeast. At some point on the tour, we were hanging out before a show somewhere and a good amount of the tour package sat in a van together and were showing off new tunes that were currently in the process or kept on the downlow. Sort of a top secret listening party. During this listening party I was able to show Malcolm Pugh and Mike Low pre-production on what was still the incomplete version of our upcoming Full Length. Malcolm had showed some sort of interest in the material from many of us who were part of the listening party. After time passed I waited until we had a final product to show off for a stronger representation of what the album was meant to be. Sent over to The Artisan Era and they took a listen and a few weeks later we received an offer. After some deliberation and sorting out some fine details, the deal was made and we began the plans to get this release going. 

TMR: You guys released a few EP’S before your upcoming full length. What factors led to the choice for a full length album and not another EP?

ELOY: We decided to record an LP because we had a backlog of songs and decided the time was right to release them. 

TMR: How did the Inanimate Existence tour come up? You guys are playing select shows on that tour with a handful of other bands.

MICHAEL: The Inanimate Existence tour came to us through a booking agent I met on a tour I was on after my departure from Alterbeast. I handled vocal duties for my friends in Depths of Hatred late 2018 on a run they did with Spite, Left Behind and Orthodox. Depths of Hatred had acquired another fill in for guitar duties named Liam Frith. After showing each other music from our other projects, Liam had asked to work with Flub as our main booking agent. After seeing his professionalism on the road with Depths of Hatred and his dedication to getting his job done well, It was a no brainer to partner up with him. Liam’s dedication to helping Flub reach the next level of our careers is unmatched and we are excited to have him as part of the family.

TMR:  What albums are you looking forward to this year? And what are you looking forward to?

MICHAEL: This year has had some heavy hitters so far. The latest releases from Warforged, Aenimus, Whitechapel, Equipoise, Raiju, and Inferi (sort of new but technically old) have been stellar. I’m hoping it happens this year but am currently awaiting new music from Cyborg Octopus and Wrvth. 

TMR: What 3 band(s) would you tour with you have always wanted to play shows with?

ELOY: 
Cynic – Not sure our sounds would mesh well but they’re one of my favorite bands
Animals as Leaders – I just love that first album
Casiopea – This will never happen but yeah 

MICHAEL:
Korn, All Shall Perish, Wretched

TMR: Anything planned for the rest of the year? 

MICHAEL: A few small runs in the works to promote the release of our Full Length as well as getting to work on the next album. 

TMR: How did everyone get into metal? 

ELOY: I heard Follow the Leader by Korn as a kid and just kept slowly progressing towards heavier stff, but Korn made me appreciate experimenting and doing weird things in metal.

MICHAEL: When I was younger my music taste was heavily influenced by many different people all at once. I discovered death metal in the first grade while randomly looking up Korn on Google. But also discovered shit like Korn and System of a Down because of my older brother around the same age. 

TMR: What influenced your route to being an artist? 

ELOY: I liked playing guitar a lot, thought i should do it for a living.
MICHAEL: As a child I felt nobody ever truly understood me, art was the best outlet for me to express my thoughts.

TMR: What do you guys do outside of music?

ELOY: I’m going back to school.
MICHAEL: I’m a Pizza Chef at a restaurant called Tony’s Pizza Napoletana in San Francisco, CA. As well as I do Freelance Graphic Design, Photography, Videography. 

TMR: List some new bands you’ve been listening to. 

Warforged, Eye of Horus, Steaksauce Mustache, Becomes Astral, Black Tongue, Harbored Dreams, Aitherios, Symbolik