Interview with Fifth Floor
Fifth Floor released their debut album on Friday – the fantastic ‘Heartbeak Talks’ (read our review here). Tomorrow night they have the album release gig, so I thought I’d grab a chat with the ladies about their new music, the album launch and their career in general!
It’s been a big week for Fifth Floor! Tell us how excited you were to release your debut album ‘Heartbreak Talks’ on Friday?!
It was such a long time coming! We’re so glad to finally have been able to share it with everyone. It’s been about a year since we first started recording it and we’re incredibly happy with how it’s turned out.
And you have your album launch gig at the Grosvenor Arms (as hosted by the Sound Lounge) on Tuesday evening, where you’ll be supported by the fantastic talents of Emily Faye and Maisie Johnson! Sounds like quite a night! What can fans expect from the evening, and how do readers purchase tickets?
Expect a lively night! We have the talented Maisie Johnson opening the night acoustically and then Emily Faye is on before us. We saw her live the other night at the Half Moon in Putney and her set was amazing. We’re bringing our whole band along and playing the entire album plus a bunch of new and old songs. If you’re a dancey person you’re gonna want to put on your dancing shoes for this! Tickets are available via Ticketweb for £5.
Give us a little bit of background about how the pair of you got together as a duo?
We studied together at music uni and became good friends and eventually flatmates. Once we lived together we thought it’d be fun to start a mutual YouTube channel and upload some covers. It didn’t take long before we started writing songs together, and after about a year or so we decided to officially become a duo under the name of Fifth Floor.
How did two Scandinavian ladies become country musicians?
Matilda: I started listening to country music in my teens through artists like Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift. Since then I’ve just kind of thrown myself further into the genre with every passing year and now it’s probably about 90% of what I listen to. Though we do have some country music in Sweden, it’s definitely not mainstream, so I wouldn’t have discovered it if it wasn’t for the internet.
Moa: I’m a late bloomer! I spent most of my teenage years being really into the punk/rock scene (and still am) and were first introduced to country music about 4 years ago through Matilda. Since then it’s taken over my playlists and I honestly don’t listen to much else nowadays. It really opened my eyes to a whole new world of music I didn’t know existed before!
Tell us a little about your song-writing process together?
Usually one of us will have an idea on their own that they sit with for a while and then bring up to the other person. It can be a line, verse, chorus or just a title. Once we sit down together with our guitars, we throw ideas at each other until something sticks.
If you had to pick a highlight of your career together so far, what would it be?
Matilda: I think for me the highlight so far was this summer when we organised a mini tour of Sweden and brought our English band over for 3 gigs. It was incredibly stressful to organise ourselves from a different country but it was so worth it in the end. The first gig was in my hometown and the venue was fully booked. The second gig in Moa’s hometown almost didn’t happen because of a thunderstorm but they allowed us up on stage in the end. For the last one we drove 8 hours up north and played in a city we’ve never been to. The venue was packed which we really didn’t expect! I’m still amazed at how many people came out. We never wanted to get off the stage.
Moa: I will have to agree with Matilda on this one, that week in Sweden is definitely one of the best things we’ve done so far. It was definitely one the most intense weeks of my life, but also one of the most fun ones. If I had to pick another highlight it would have to be our release party for our EP in June last year, where we filled up the Battersea Barge with our audience and had a great gig. However, I’m pretty sure already that our album launch on Tuesday is going to top that!
Tell us something unique about each of you!
Matilda: If I wasn’t pursuing music I’d probably find a way of working in animal care in some way. I took riding lessons from age 7 and until I moved to London and I’ve always loved spending time around horses.
Moa: I’m really into rock climbing and my bucket list includes climbing a mountain. I’m also a massive geek – I spent a whole weekend sewing a Star Wars cosplay for Halloween and I’ve got The Lonely Mountain from Lord Of The Rings tattooed on my arm.
Which artists have influenced you in your career? And if each of you could sing a duet with any artist, who would you choose?
Matilda: Influences are so interesting – when we were in music uni we had a tutor who encouraged us to think about our favourite artists and what we’ve picked up from each of them. For me, I think a lot of the vocal influences have come from people like Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson. Songwriting wise there are influences coming from all directions – not just country music. In Sweden we grow up with more melodic pop so that’s definitely rubbed off on both of us. Then there’s our mutual love for McFly which is what we bonded over to begin with. Their dynamics have definitely played a big part in influencing the Fifth Floor sound.
Moa: As I mentioned earlier, I didn’t really get into country until a few years ago. My main influences through my development as a musician started with bands such as Green Day and Taking Back Sunday, and since being introduced to country I’ve found great inspiration in the likes of Chris Stapleton, Little Big Town and Dierks Bentley. I think that my mixture of genres over the gears definitely shows in our music as well. Like Matilda mentions, Mcfly has also been a huge influence on my songwriting when I was first starting out and I’ve learnt a lot from their work.
To finish, tell us your plans for the rest of 2017 and let us know where we can download ‘Heartbreak Talks’!
We’re actually heading out to Canada at the end of the year to hopefully play some gigs and find new inspirations. While we’re there we’ll definitely be visiting the U.S. and Nashville as well. We’ve never been so it’s about time!
Heartbreak Talks is available in all the places you’d expect it to be in this day and age. The main players are iTunes and Spotify, but if you have another preferred digital music platform you’ll most likely find it there too! If anyone wants a physical copy posted they can just shoot us a message on any of our social medias or via our website.
