What inspired the name of the band? What are your influences and are they the same as when you started out?
‘Fil OK’ is a punky pun on the name of the singer in The Human League – one of the most important and influential bands in history – especially the early albums!
How do you approach songwriting?
Musically I tend to go where I’m led by the ideas as they come – I rarely sit down and think “I’ll write a ___ track”. It’s fun to go off on tangents, and then at some point try to craft the piece into some kind of cohesive, self-contained entity. I have to resist the urge to revisit and remix some tracks. It’s not always easy to know when they’re finished – they don’t always let you know.
Lyrically it’ll be something that’s inspired me and has stuck – quite often something philosophical, or spiritual – some idea that I’m into. Also phrases can be fun, and even just words. When a track gets its title that can help give it more identity. It works both ways – sometimes a word inspires a track, and vice versa.
Why do you write what you do?
Who knows, maybe it’s a combination of all the music I’ve absorbed over the years, which has meant something to me, affected me positively, and become part of me – mixed with trying to instinctively create something that I want to hear, that doesn’t already exist in the world. Or something like that.
How do you decide what to play live?
It’s the tracks that are most instant and direct – something that immediately can be understood and enjoyed, rather than the more experimental, weird stuff. I think most people generally go out to have a drink and a good time rather than ponder over how interesting something is. I may be wrong!
I reprogram everything for a live gig – kind of peel back the layers to reveal the core of the track. That usually boils down to simple beats / bass / chords & melodies / vocals. With some FX sprinkled on top of course.
What plans do you have for the future?
I’ve got ideas for several albums, each with different themes. I’ve been composing for a long time, so the vaults have lots to choose from – the challenge is to group together a bunch of tracks that fit, take the listener on a journey, and make some kind of sense.