Perth audiences better prepare for the riotous fun of Brazilian noise-rockers FingerFingerrr who are set to descend on us this summer at Chevron Gardens, as part of the Perth Festival. To find out more, MICHAEL D HOLLICK pulled up a pew and had a chat with Flavio and Ricardo about their debut album MAR, their sound, Aussie rock’n’roll and the world game.
How would you describe your sound?
Flavio – It’s got a rock base but we don’t really have a ‘specific’ sound. Like even within one song our sound and style varies. We like to make music that is to point and ensure that our songs are dynamic, to keep the audience on their toes.
And is that the same live as recorded?
Flavio – Yeah for sure. On the album the songs can go anywhere. They may start in one place but end somewhere else and the songs are a range of assorted styles. Doing that is good for us as it means we can do whatever we want with our next batch of songs and there’s no set expectation of what ‘we do’.
What are your influences?
Ricardo – We have a lot! And that was what was fun about the album, we got to experiment with all of them. We like rock in general, there’s some local bands like Carne Doce, that we like, but internationally we like the Hell Bandits and Deep Valley. They’re a Californian rock duo, super cool.
Flavio – I’m listening to The Streets again. I love his career, like he just has the five albums that said everything he needed to. He knew when to stop. I just love how he makes music and how he does what he wants and owns his own career.
Is that something you guys would like to do? To own your career?
Flavio – Definitely. Currently, we’re on an indie label, Rosa Da Flamenco and so we have a stake in it and we participate in decisions. The owner of the label is the singer Tie, who is famous in Brazil, so the label is by musicians for musicians.
Would you want to be on a major label?
Ricardo – Well we hadn’t have an offer (laughs) but yeah, if an offer came along we would entertain it. But owning the direction we go in is very important. So until we have to worry about it, we’ll just keep touring the world and trying to get bigger on our own.
So you gig a lot?
Ricardo – Since we released MAR in August of 2016 we have done 71 gigs. It’s a good start but we’re hungry for more.
And where have you toured so far?
Flavio – We’ve been to the US five times and done four tours. I grew up there so it’s a second home to me. One of things, like Australia I am assuming, is that Brazil is a very spread out country, so you really have to plan that shit out before you head off on tour
Ricardio – And we got to go to Europe this year to play Primavera. That was cool.
Are you looking forward to coming to Australia?
Ricardo – Yep. We have heard a lot about it and and we dig Australian music. We’ve played with Pond and Tame Impala, so we’ve talked to them about Australia. Every time we see these (Australian bands) play, we think that Australia must be a really nice place and that you must love music. When we received the invite (to play Perth Festival), we were so stoked. We never truly believed that we could get an invite from Australia with our first album.
Flavio – Like Ricardo, it seemed like you guys really like music, it seems like everyone there really wanted to be there and everyone was happy to be there and it was just cool to see there. Australia must be an awesome place
And lastly, as Brazilians, do you follow Football?
Flavio – Yeah, we follow it.
Okay, cool. So I think I’ve been set up with this question, you know, it may be lost in translation… When I played your first single, Eu So Ganho, to my Brazilian friend, she said that I should ask if the song was about Gremio FC?
Flavio & Ricardo – (laugh) She must be from the south, right? Porto Allegre? Their team, Gremio, just won the Libretardaros, which is a big thing! It’s like winning the Champions League but for South America. And that song translates to “we only win,” so yeah… that’s a cheeky question from your friend! We will have to have a word with her when we come to Perth! (laughs)
