Q&A: Rage and Release with Flamango Bay’s “Hazardous Material”
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY LENA FINE ☆
FLAMANGO BAY, LA-BASED INDIE ROCK/PUNK BAND — has returned with their cathartic and timely single, “Hazardous Material.” Out July 1, the three-piece released an anthem that captures how the toxic sludge of our current moment feels when it is internalized – when all the noise from the outside finds its way in. It is a satisfying listen that both delights the ears and acknowledges the tension as our world changes and landscapes decline.
It’s punk enough to satiate the rage within while being well-balanced with the group’s California roots, bolstering the bitter with a little bit of sunshine. Flamango Bay, consisting of childhood friends Ikaika Gunderson, Dash Goss-Post, and Georgia Manou, fuses angst with maturity. We asked the group about “Hazardous Material” and what’s on the horizon with all the noise they’re drumming up.
LUNA: Who are some of your sonic inspirations? “Hazardous Material” is at once modern and new and reminiscent of days gone by.
FLAMANGO BAY: Some of our sonic inspirations for this song in particular are Illuminati Hotties, Dazey and the Scouts, and a lot of the late 2010s surf rock bands we listened to in high school like Vundabar and Hockey Dad. This song is about feeling like we’re in high school again emotionally, so we wanted to capture that feeling through the sounds of the music we listened to then. Other than that, we’re inspired by a lot of ‘90s alternative bands.
LUNA: How do you balance chaos and tenderness in pursuit of creating your sunny but punk sound?
FLAMANGO BAY: I don’t know. This is a very nice compliment though! [laughs] We grew up listening to some pop punk music so maybe that is a part of it? I think the world we live in is very chaotic, but the people and places we’re around are very sunny so maybe our music is just reflecting that.
LUNA: What was the writing process like for “Hazardous Material”?
FLAMANGO BAY: Ikaika started this one late last year while they were really anxious in the bathroom at school. They brought it to the band as a joke and kind of hated it at first, but Dash and Georgia convinced them that the song should be fleshed out as a band. We worked together a lot on arranging the bridge and making it sound like how it does now. We played this song a few times at some shows then we recorded it with Aidan Farley in April at his home studio. We got the recording, mixing, and mastering all in one day. The process was a lot quicker than most of our songs but I think that’s very reflective of the song!
LUNA: You’ve all been playing together for quite some time. How has it felt to grow together as musicians, especially in moving from the Bay to LA over time?
FLAMANGO BAY: It’s been really special to be able to grow with each other over the years! We are so heavily musically influenced by each other at this point it’s like second nature when we play together. We are lucky to have found this connection with each other, but even more so to have been able to continue fostering it. We literally knew each other when we were emo 13 year olds, so it’s special to see where we are now and to look at how far we’ve come both as musicians and people.
LUNA: Is this single a signal of a bigger project?
FLAMANGO BAY: Maybe. Yes. We are in the UK right now writing and recording an album, actually.
