Groove Mag In conversation with neo-rockabilly, surf, 60s garage and proto-punk band Flirt with Danger

British-based electrosurfbilly band, Flirt With Danger have unleashed their debut album, ‘The Mini-Album’.

The music is an imaginative, provocative and eclectic mix of neo-rockabilly, surf, 60s garage and proto-punk, combined with analogue synth sounds. The lyrics draw on both modern concerns and retro-futuristic imagery, very much in line with the burgeoning atompunk artistic scene. It represents a significant departure from the existing UK music scene and has already attracted considerable interest in the USA, particularly in California and Texas.

The tracks were written by Les ‘Spaceman’ Rowley, the former keyboard player of South London indie rock band, Brilliant Pink, theatrical heavy metallers, Aunt May, and drum’n’bass trio, Tectonic.

Mr Rowley said, “This is just a taste of a large catalogue of material that provides a refreshing alternative to a popular music scene that’s become somewhat staid and formulaic in recent years.”

In true punk DIY spirit, Flirt With Danger are not signed to a record company, and the mini-album is both self-financed and self-produced. All songs were recorded in Worcester-based studio, The Space Underground and professionally mastered at Metropolis Studios.

The mini-album can be heard at https://flirtwithdanger.bandcamp.com/releases

The mini-album will be available through bandcamp, iTunes, Google Play, Spotify and all the usual digital stores.

GROOVE MAG INTERVIEW – LES FROM FLIRT WITH DANGER 

In your own words, how would you describe your genre ?

‘Punk Noir’ – a term I use to describe its mix of rockabilly, surf, garage/punk, 40s detective film themes and analog electronics.

What is your new release about ?

Main track on the Mini-album is Even Spooks Need To Rock & Roll. Inspired by checking the server stats for the band website and discovering a whole load of hits from British Indian Ocean Territories – it gave me a vision of guys working the spy centres out there, getting bored on the night shift and using their surveillance equipment to listen to rock & roll instead.

What inspired you to start a band ? 

Probably the early days of the Beatles, at the time it seemed quite amazing that a bunch of northern British, working-class lads could become global super-stars. And being a global super-star seemed way better than working in a factory or an office.

Can you recommend any artists from Worcester ? 

Based in Worcester, the UK one, not Massachusetts. The local scene’s pretty good, the bands are generally of a very good standard; though if I had to criticise I had to say a lot are rather samey – a lot of the older ones play blues and the younger ones, metal. Probably the ones that stand out most are a very strange, anarchic metal band called Massive Head Trauma.

Who play what in FWD ?

Only myself – guitar, bass, keyboards, drum programming, vocals, odd bits of percussion. The one-man band thing isn’t intentional, it’s just trying to find other musicians in the area that want to play something other than blues / metal / covers.

Where does your name come from ?

An idea for a website project a long time ago, I still had the domain name when I started recording my own material and it seemed a natural choice. There’s a line from a Doors song which may have inspired it, “There’s danger on the edge of town”

GM: Thanks Les we really loved your stuff it gets 9/10 from Groove Mag. 

Flirt with Danger Online: 

http://flirtwithdanger.com

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