Sean Cook Interview

After eight years on bass with Spiritualised and three year as lead singer with Lupine Howl Sean Cook emerges as frontman for The Flies.The Flies already have a strong online following after a deal with Universal Digital led to three digital releses We Began, Walking on the Sand and The Temptress, notching up 28,000 downloads in 2006.This online success has led to a full recording contract with Universal label No Carbon Records as The Flies attempt to reach a wider audience.

You had 11 years with other bands and other members of the group have worked with Massive Attack and Goldfrapp how have these experiences helped this time around

Well I guess that every experience helps in some sort of way you know you can learn short cuts and learn from you mistakes. when I worked with massive Attack for example they were working in a way I never had before and you can take that learning process forwrd. All different musical experiences are good ones.

Why have you put an emphasis on the internet being the main outlet for the band

Well first of all it was just so easy to access as people were already downloading. It was so much easier to co-ordinte everying you can sort out the songs and the images and get and portray the right image of the band across you can put everything together in a simpler way. But I never downloaded music I still listen to vinyl you have to listen to the whole album it's not like cherry picking a hand full of tracks. You had to get the artwork right and a record became a much bigger piece of the group it was quite important back in the day, it meant more.

Have you a strong online support

On the My Space page we have about 9000 followers on the site and alot of people post messages and say that they like what we are doing I was surprised that we would attract that many people.

Why have you decided to make the transition to a wider domain

I'm not sure we made that decision as such the need to pay the rent has to come in at some point. It depends on how big you want to be I suppose. I never really had that much ambition to play huge arenas a 5000 seat theatre would do me. I just want to keep on making music and that is about as far as my ambition goes. I don't want to have a Rolls Royce or that sort of thing.

Your music has been described as quite dark how would you describe your own sound,

I would have to agree it's quite dark. In some ways I suppose I look at things like darkness in a differentway. Other people find it quite depressing I don't really I find it liberating. People write about being together and everything being lovely we are all going to die some day it's a subject that I find interesting.

Who are your influences

we are influenced by all sorts of people like Roy Orbison you will find him in there, anyone who does anything electric. The 50's and 60's wierd girl bands they were writing and recording in a wierd way. and then bands like Led Zeppelin all find a way in.

Have you any plans to tour

Yeah, we have been doing a few little gigs to get the live band warmed up. Three of us had been doing the studio stuff but only I had been doing work with the live band. We have done some warm up gigs because we didn't want our first live gig to be just after we had released our first record I know it will only be our fifth live gig but at least it's not out first. I'm eager to get on the road especially in America an dwe will be doing that when the album comes out.

The debut single "High" is out on 20 August The album "All to Human" is released 22 October

Helen Earnshaw

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