The tangy electro duo Viewer coming from York, UK are the first winners in our Band of The Week contest. They received 269 votes in the second week of January and the title of Flowers in a Gun’s very first Band Of The Week. Viewer are AB Johnson and Tim Wright, who won our admiration with highly ironic “anti-pop” tracks as “I want more” from their self-titled EP available at their Bandcamp page.
A little later we discovered the EP “White Noise” including the Jamaican-inspired “White Noise” in two mixes:
and the much darker “Sunrise” which so far we all considered current favorite in both the original mix and the Tim Wright Electro Rave Mix:
Here is what AB and Tim said in an exclusive post-winner interview for Flowers In A Gun (and won our hearts if not forever, at least for a while :P)
How would you present your band to someone who never heard about it?
[AB] I’m not sure I would! I find it hard to summarize or define our sound to people who have never heard us. I think we’re fairly unique in that we’re fusing a lot of aspects of dance music with those of indie and punk while still sounding quite poppy and accessible. It’s better that people listen to it first and make up their own mind – let the music do the talking and all that.
[TW] It is a bit of an unusual combination and a little hard to grasp at first. We also make films and computer generated visual art that contribute to what Viewer is. The best way to get a feel for it is to see us live.
You’re from York, UK – from what I read it’s an unitary authority area – what is it like to live and may be grow up over there?
[AB] I didn’t realize it was a unitary authority area until you just pointed it out! York’s great. OYC – slightly smaller and less vibrant than NYC – but it still has a strong music and arts scene. Neither of us are from York originally but it’s one of those places that when you visit, you find it hard to leave. It has a strange allure. Although it’s technically a city, it’s not that large and everybody seems to know everybody else. It’s a beautiful looking place too with a rich history, which you often take for granted living there. Also there are quite a lot of pubs and bars which is always a selling point.
[TW] I grew up in Birmingham, which is about as different as it gets to York in the UK. York is quite isolated culturally, and one might even say a little bit boring, but I’m appreciating it more the older I get… Some great pubs.
Your lyrics are very ironic, especially to Facebook, where does all that irony come from?
[AB] I would say caustic rather than ironic but I get your point: we’re often quite snarling and acerbic! Our lyrics are basically a comment on what is happening around us be it socially, politically or culturally. That particular song you’re referring to I Want More is a deconstruction of social networking and society’s increasing addiction to rolling news and constant updates. I’m not being holier than thou when I’m commenting on it though – I’m very much part of that culture as well. We watch what is happening in the world and then talk about it in a tone that’s (hopefully) witty and pithy and can engage the listener.
If you have to pick one place to move the band and live/play over there for a continuous period of time where would that be?
[AB] Tim’s played around the world so he’s probably best placed to give a more reasoned answer to that question. I would probably say Berlin as it’s a city with an amazing vibe and they’re big into their electronic music over there. Or New York – as there’s a commonality between UK and US music. I understand that the electronic music scene is burgeoning ‘across the pond’ and NYC is somewhere I’ve always wanted to visit but have never had the opportunity.
[TW] Berlin, or Birmingham.
Why did you pick the name Viewer?
[AB] We were just throwing names about and that one kind of just stuck. We’d written a couple of songs before we realized that this was a band rather than a one off project and by that point it had become clear that, lyrically, we were commenting on what was happening in the society in which we lived. So Viewer just seemed apt – like we were watching what was happening in the world and using this as a framework to write songs. Also it has that “big brother” connotation that seemed rather pertinent at the time and even more so now (with the NSA and GCHQ revelations) and the word “viewer” also evokes an image of a media consumer – which is quite a central theme in our music and is embodied in songs like “Dumb it Down” and “All In This Together”.
Favorite albums of 2013?
[AB] Twelve reasons to die – Ghostface Killah feat. Adrian Young – An excellent conceptual album from the Wu Tang Clan member with beautiful orchestration, production and arrangement provided by Adrian Young. Sounds like the soundtrack to a cartoon spaghetti western but with a more sinister mafia related edge and with Ghostface’s impeccable MCing.
The Deluxe Family Show – Deluxe – A little known band from Aix-en-Provence, France who knock out tunes that interlace jazz, funk and hip-hop with samples, electro swing and catchy melodies.
Praxis Makes Perfect – Neon Neon – The second album from Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals and producer Boom Bip. It’s a richly layered and strangely accessible album based on the life of publisher and political activist Giangiacomo Feltrinelli.
[TW] I was going to say Swans – The Seer, and the reissues of the Crass albums, but they were released in 2012. I can’t think offhand of my favorites from last year.
When and how did you start the band?
[AB] We started writing together in 2009, though we’d known each other for years before. We’d both been pursuing separate musical projects but by 2009 our respective bands had drifted apart and we thought it might be interesting to see what a collaboration between us would sound like. We wrote and recorded our first song “Sunrise” and then recruited Toastie Taylor as guest vocalist on our next track “White Noise” We got signed by a small independent label on the strength of those two songs and have been writing, recording and performing ever since.
You say you’re anti-pop provocateurs. Do you really hate pop music?
[AB] No… we don’t hate pop music. A lot of our songs are based on the fundamentals of pop – short tracks, repeated choruses, melodic tunes and catchy hooks for instance. But Pop music is often perceived to be a genre which is commercial and desires to have mass audience appeal. It is pitched at the youth market and is often dumbed down with crass lyrics and sassy dance routines. We see Anti-pop as a sub-genre of Pop music – one that takes and applies its musical fundamentals but challenges its principals. We focus a lot on lyrical content. You won’t hear many Viewer songs on the subject of booty shaking, twerking or teen romance!
What’s coming for you in 2014?
[AB] We’ve got an interview and live session on the city’s main radio station (BBC Radio York) this Saturday and we’ll be playing York’s annual festival in May. We’re looking to get a few more festival slots and perform in a number of venues around the UK. We are hoping to release some new material later in the year. After that, we will be focusing on world domination!
More about Viewer on their official website, as well as on Facebook, Twitter Tumblr, & Bandcamp.
