FLETCHR FLETCHR: “We organically started to realise that we’d sort of started a band”
The band have just dropped their debut EP ‘We All Feel The Same’.
Photo: Reuben Bastienne-Lewis
To celebrate the release of their EP, We All Feel The Same, we sat down with FLETCHR FLETCHR to talk all things music and their debut release. The debut EP draws on themes of loss, love, anxiety and longing, seeing the foursome present themselves in a fully-fledged debut outing.
How do you feel ahead of We All Feel The Same’s release on Friday?
We’re feeling good! We’ve been working on getting this project out for ages, going through loads of different versions of the songs and picking the right ones for this first project. We’re currently on our first tour, we’re in Ireland at the moment. Getting to play the whole EP live to everyone before it’s out feels really special!
On your track Feel The Same, I feel like the lyrics “We all feel the same, why does no one think to say?” are especially poignant. How did these lyrics come about?
When we were all writing the song — I think we had the lyrics “no need to lie anymore” as our opening line — and we all started talking about how we don’t always open up as friends. So we all got talking, and we realised that we shared a lot of the same problems and anxiety, and so “we all feel the same” was born. Originally talking about us, but we realised that it transcended to everyone.
How did it feel seeing the positive reactions to your debut single Jet Black? Was there anything that stuck with you about the reception?
The song felt like the most upbeat on the EP, with a universal message of how feeling anxious of change is normal but can be overcome. We wanted to come out with something that had a punch to make sure people knew we had that side to us. We didn’t expect it to be a favourite, but we’ve been getting lots of messages from people wanting to see it live, which I guess was the point of it. It just felt like the perfect first single.
So, Rohan and Adam, how long have you known each other? And how did you meet — was there a moment you knew you were going to be friends? How did you start making music together?
Me and Adam met in school and started taking an interest in music together. It wasn’t until we went to uni together that we started helping each other out with our solo projects. Over that period, I think we organically started to realise that we’d sort of started a band. We started writing lots of songs together, and once we’d built up a few songs, we started playing the London pub circuit and soon realised we couldn’t compete with the other bands on the bill when just playing with two guitars and a backing track. So we went and scouted our old school friend Oli at a gig he was playing with another band. He slotted in perfectly. We carried this on for a while, but the band still didn’t feel complete.
Along came George, his first gig with us was playing the quarter finals for the Isle of Wight festival competition, which we ended up winning. That’s when we realised that FLETCHR FLETCHR was now fully formed.
To Rohan, too. I’ve heard that the name FLETCHR FLETCHR is a tribute to your father, who was your number one fan. This really touched me. I hope you don’t mind me asking, but how has his support influenced your work?
Once my dad passed away, I think we all realised we’d lost our biggest fan. It was the moment that we started taking everything a lot more seriously because we were no longer trying to do this for us; we were doing it for him. Although it’s still the hardest thing I’ve ever been through, I think he’d be proud of what we’ve achieved. The love he gave to us all before he passed never left. It’s now embedded in the heart of the band.
We All Feel The Same is out now via Universal Music.
