Introducing Interview: The Frisbys

Having performed as a duo for many years, twins Helen and Nicola Frisby now perform a full band with friends Marc Robinson, Sam Keer, Will Cattermole and Tom Finigan. The Frisbys have since been receiving acclaim from Amazing Radio, Gigwise and For Folk’s Sake for their haunting harmonies and emotive, folk-fuelled music.

With a new EP set for release at the end of the month, we caught up with Helen Frisby to find out more…

Hey, it’s The Frisbys! How are you guys?
Hi Gigslutz! We’re good thanks, although very busy getting everything ready for our EP Launch at the end of January. The holidays feel like a lifetime ago!

So, two of you are twins, but how did the rest of the band come about?
Nic and I (Helen) met Sam Keer at university where we were all studying music together. He later introduced us to his best friend Marc Robinson and, after playing the odd gig together, they started helping me and Nic record some demos of our songs. We weren’t officially a ‘band’, however, until a few years later when we received a boredom call from a broken-legged Marc who convinced us to become a four-piece. After releasing our debut EP Philosolove in 2013, we realised we wanted to push our sound further and asked old college friends Will Cattermole and Tom Finigan to join the band in 2015.

You’ve just released two awesome singles ‘Born and Raised’ and ‘Give in to the Dark’. Any reason why you chose to release them as a double A-side?
Thank you! We often find it quite difficult to place ourselves comfortably into one particular genre as our sound does vary from song to song. We chose to release a double A-side single as we wanted to show the different sides to our music within one release. ‘Give in to the Dark’ is a song that has a lot of meaning for the band and we love playing it live. To be honest, it’s a song we’ve always felt we HAD to release. With ‘Born and Raised’ we wanted to show our more light-hearted, up-tempo side. The whole EP represents light and shade, and we felt that we should also demonstrate that within our single too.

What’s your EP The Cause all about?
The ‘theme’ behind the release is life and the light and darkness that come with it. We often describe ‘Born and Raised’ as a countrified version of ‘No Scrubs’ by TLC, but it is really about someone who is a passenger in their own lives, relying on others around them to bring them happiness. Many of our songs tell a story, such as in ‘Lowering the Grace’ or ‘Lines’, which was inspired by my parents falling in love. After spending time apart, due to forced opinions made by others, they eventually reunited years later. I liked the idea that our lifelines can become entwined with one another and that some people are just destined to be together.
The title track ‘The Cause’ and ‘Waves’ both depict internal struggles and the weight of feeling a burden, whilst others like ‘Give in to the Dark’ are more hopeful and often seen from another person’s perspective.

Helen and Nicola – as twin sisters, have you ever had any arguments in the band?
Weirdly, we almost always tend to agree in terms of music and our vision regarding the band and squabble more with other things. The worst thing any band member could do is try to get involved in any of our arguments though – they are never as bad as they look and five minutes later it will be forgotten about! Arguments aside; we are so close that I can’t imagine ever choosing to create music without her.

What are your plans for 2016? Any gigs coming up?
We are so excited about our EP Launch Party, which is on the 30th January in Hoodoos at Matthew’s Yard, Croydon. It’s a venue very close to our hearts as its run by a close friend. We spent a lot of time there and so it was an obvious decision to have our EP launch Party there.
Our next London Gig will be in the Troubadour on the 26th February, and it will be part of our New Year tour which is taking placing over Feb and March 2016. If anyone is interested in coming to see us play we will be updating our website with the new tour dates in the next few weeks, so check it out!

Where do you see yourselves in 10 years’ time?
Making music in whatever capacity that we can! Whether that be recording, touring or song writing for other artists, I hope that creating music will still be a massive part of lives.

Huge thanks to The Frisbys for answering our questions! You can get your hands on a free download of ‘Born And Raised’/’Give In To The Dark’ on their Soundcloud page, or via their website.

The Cause, the forthcoming EP from The Frisbys is out 29 January via Dantobaccus Records.