Fripps & Fripps
Cronulla-based garage rockers Fripps & Fripps have just released their raucous new single Pest Control. It’s the second single from their forthcoming EP due out later this year. The band had great success with their debut EP Feeler On The Roof, amassing a cult-like local following which has lead them to playing sold out appearances in and around Sydney, and alongside Gang of Youths plus a slot on the 2018 Mountain Sounds Festival.
Pest Control never takes its foot off the accelerator and has passion and attitude in spades! There’s a tonne of raw energy in the cleverly arranged track! Think Arctic Monkeys, Foals and The Kooks. Drummer Keith Anderson answers a few questions for Hi Fi Way: The Pop Chronicles.
It sounds like 2018 is going to be a huge year with everything planned, how is it going so far?
Yeah things are definitely heating up for us!! We had an awesome start to the year making our festival debut at Mountain Sounds on the Central Coast. The crowd was easily the biggest we had played to and it was just an awesome way to get back into it after a few months off!!
Our new single Pest Control has just recently been released and we have plans to do a tour in a couple of months time so yea, we are stoked with how things are going at the moment…
Is work on the forthcoming EP going well?
Yeah we have almost finished jamming out the songs and getting them ready to record, which is pretty exciting. The new songs are lot ‘rockier’ than some of our previous material so it’s been epic crafting that new sound in the studio with our producer Dom. It’s hard to set a date in stone but we are hoping to have the new EP released by the end of the year sometime…
Do you think the bands sound has changed much over the journey?
In some ways yes and in others not so much. Stylistically we are definitely rapping the same vibe we always have, we try not to emulate any artists too specifically and keep it as original as possible. In saying that, the new tunes are a lot ‘rockier’ and a bit ‘darker’ than any of our previous material and that has been a really cool dynamic to work with in the recording process.
How did the band meet?
We are all high school sweethearts, thrown together sometime around the tenth grade maybe? We spent senior school jamming on each others assignments and all that along with busting out some shaky covers at school events and music nights. It wasn’t until we left school that the original material started to become a thing…
What are some of the shared influences for Fripps & Fripps?
Yeah this is an interesting one, at first we all came from slightly different musical backgrounds I guess and its definitely taken some time to figure out where we all fit in. We kind of draw influence from Rock n Roll right through to Hip-Hop and rap music, lyrically our singer always puts an emphasis on flow which is definitely a big part of rap music and a key feature in some of the faster stuff we have in the works.
Where did the band name come from?
Hahaha yea, the band name .. So around our hometown of Cronulla there is a local real estate company called ‘Cripps & Cripps’. During our high school years we had this word ‘Freel’ we always used to say, just a dumb thing we created really, its even a song on our first EP!! Long story short, one day out of nowhere a mate of ours smashed the name ‘Cripps & Cripps’ and our word ‘Freel’ together and ‘Fripps & Fripps’ was what came out .. the rest is history…
What is the message behind Pest Control?
Pest Control is a song about passion. It bleeds raw energy and attempts to make you want to get up and take action. The song is rooted in the idea of standing up for what you believe in and tries to balance feelings of anger, happiness, and fun.
Do you have some cool ideas for a video clip?
As a matter of fact we have already finished filming the clip and its set to be released really soon. It caters to the action behind the song and attempts to depict the lives of four Fripps who are getting shit done and having blast whilst doing it.
Are you looking to tour more broadly this year?
Absolutely, we have just started working with a new agent who is working hard to get us out and about a lot more this year. The next tour will see us in Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney and a few places in between so stay tuned for that!!
What’s the next challenge for Fripps & Fripps?
Yikes, well getting these songs recorded will definitely take a lot of time and money but that’s all part of the fun I guess!! We really want to get our music over to the UK as soon as possible, we have had a lot of love from listeners in London and places like that so we are super keen to plan a tour over there when our time comes. Its definitely a big step and something we are constantly working towards at the moment.
Interview by Rob Lyon
