It’s the question plaguing the minds of the masses and I’m here to answer. Flying On The Ground is the new project of Archie Dewis and Hani Paskin-Hussain, both previously of The Lounge Society. Since the beginning of their mysterious presence on and off social media it’s felt like this is something to keep an eye on – it’s all come to a head as I find myself walking to Archie’s studio to interrogate them on what’s really happening behind the scenes.
Already with some momentum behind them, they’re set to release the debut single Goodbye, My Friend 15 May on Golden Lion Sounds. The Golden Lion, a famous name round these parts, has been a big factor in Archie and Hani’s lives. Both have worked there in different capacities, become familiar faces themselves in the scene and the iconic pub / venue hosted some of their first band performances. They’re certainly familiar with Golden Lion Sounds as well, with The Lounge Society’s Anything EP being released through the label in February and it’s a fitting collaboration for this new project. Flying On The Ground is more self-driven with recording taking place in Archie’s own studio, all promotion and video-making is orchestrated by themselves. This less label-involved method has allowed more control and space to explore while still using Golden Lion Sounds with certain elements such as vinyl pressing.
H: “This has started in a very organic way, with Archie opening the studio and us coming in and having fun with equipment. There was a lot of just hanging out as mates, just coming to the studio as a social thing having stopped doing as much with Lounge Society, it filled that gap.”
The debut single began with fragments of instrumentals. With full control over the studio it was easy to get stuck into the more technical side of creating the track, especially given its layered and nuanced sound, mixing more familiar indie-rock with some diverse synth elements.
A: “We were maybe getting lost in the production side of things. So we locked ourselves in, turned the computer off and bit by bit we got the song written. As someone who produces music, I love going to town on the production, but I’m also a subscriber to the belief that if it doesn’t translate acoustically it’s probably not a good song.”
It’s easy to tell that Archie and Hani have known each other for a long time. As I’m sat listening to them, their back and forth is entirely natural compared to some group projects. For these two, there is no tension or strained atmosphere and the mutual understanding of each other’s perspective translates into the music they’re creating. While it may be easier to have equal control in a two-person project compared to a band, it almost feels like these two were always going to make music together no matter the environment.
H: “If someone’s a bit tense, it’s about just taking that step to not amplify that situation. Maybe we would have pushed each other when we were 18 because you don’t know how to handle the situation.”
A: “Naturally there were disagreements, especially at that age because you are really hungry for it. We still are, music is the most important thing in the world but now we’re a bit older and we have our own independence, we have other fulfilling things in our lives. I’m not going to kill him over one disagreement on a note because I can go home and have other things to care about.”
While the centre of Flying On The Ground will always be Hani and Archie, live performance of the project’s work will most likely bring in new faces to fully translate the sound. So far it’s only been studio based and the actual stage performance is yet to be figured out. With Hani singing and playing guitar, you can expect Archie to be purely on the synth side. This prompts Hani to bring up a video of Quinn Walley’s Glastonbury performance with Warmduscher and I can only explain his role as standing incredibly still, sunglasses on, just twiddling about with a stage echo. That is also the image I want you to hold in your head before going to see a Flying On The Ground show. It’s an equally enigmatic and vastly crucial role to play with just a touch of absurd self-awareness.
A: “The music is a bit more synth and effects based than what we’re used to. I’m really excited now to get into the room and play it like a rock band. The parts are all written, just put your own flair on it.”
H: “I can think of loads of bands where the records sound amazing and they’re so focused on recreating that sound on stage. We did talk about making it sound really polished but there’s no energy or character there. We will focus on getting the sounds but it’s equally important to make it interesting.”
Before we can even think about a band, DJing comes up as another important element of their future live shows. Currently, they take stylistic and technical elements from DJs to help inform their own music while dipping into it themselves.
A: “With this project we want to be able to go do a DJ set and also play with a live band. I like the two worlds colliding and to feel like we can do both.”
I usually try to veer away from an inspiration based question but live music is undeniably impactful on what art people go on to put out themselves. So forgive me. We go from Fat White Family moshpits to newfound affection for LCD Soundsystem, Moodymann and a compelling DJ set from David Holmes at The Golden Lion. We get into the politics of DJing, an often convoluted and parodied world but one that still can have immense influence if done well. It’s a shared belief in the room that DJing should be something eclectic that gives an opportunity to approach music in a way most are unfamiliar with.
A: “It’s what I love about David Holmes and Optimo is that you can play techno music for half an hour and then just throw in a Stooges track. That’s what the dancefloor should be, not segregated by genre, people forget that it’s all about curating music.”
H: “There was an old Optimo playlist that we were looking through. It was such a refreshing moment where they’re playing to thousands of people and playing The Stooges, The Beatles and The Beach Boys. It’s so against what a lot of people would say DJing is. It just opened my eyes to that world.”
This was followed by a rather impassioned commentary on the state of Manchester’s trains and the price of gig tickets these days. I just really can’t help myself. It’s about this point we spiral into some real philosophical debate. Are the arts too accessible? Should everyone be making music? At what point should you progress from a consumer to a creator? Does anyone but us care? Something we land on is that the ever-growing industry, constantly churning out new bands and projects, actually shows us who really has what it takes. When you actually encounter something truly good, you can feel it.
Now, when they play me the debut single Goodbye, My Friend I could definitely feel it. It’s completely seamless, feels like it’s been dug straight from the soul. A sort of foreboding, heavy opening develops into hazy indie-rock that constantly remodels itself as it goes. It sounds even better through some real speakers, I can picture it going down a treat live. After all this, I certainly know who Flying On The Ground are, but if you’re still a tad unsure, the debut single comes out Friday 15 – much will be discovered upon listening.
Words By Poppy Cortese
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