Crack

On the tick box list of life, some things need to take priority over others. For many people with a creative and cultural bone, forming a band would probably feature pretty highly on the list. For Michael Savage, Redland resident and founding member of Bristol six-piece The Fauns, there was only one other thing that might have stood in his way.

“Basically I had a mid-life crisis that could also have been a near death experience, in that it was a choice between forming a band and buying a motorbike. Luckily I chose the band. It’s worked out nicely and hopefully at some time in the future it will lead to purchasing a very expensive motorbike.”

Dreams are the foundations of creativity, but in Michael’s case, owning Prime Cuts, the record shop underneath vintage clothing store Re-Psycho on Gloucester Road, puts him in the upper echelon of music aficionado. Through ten years of graft in the store, Michael could be in no better place to take inspiration and harness influences from what can only be described as a goldmine of music.

Michael explains: “It’s handy for absorbing influences, absorbing ideas and regurgitating, which is essentially what writing is. It’s also been good for meeting people. I met Elliott (guitarist) through the shop. There are a few records in there too - about 30,000 last time I checked.”

Lead singer Alison Garner chips in: “It’s like going to musical Narnia walking through the backroom in there.”

The Fauns are in a relaxed frame of mind. Crack’s interview is jovial, informative and it’s obvious the band is wholly comfortable in each other’s company and the direction they are headed. With Michael taking the lead in the musical path the band are taking, they are carving a unique place in the city’s spectrum.

Bold, ethereal and beautiful soundscapes are washed over with Alison’s soft yearning lyrics to stunning effect. Taking obvious influences from the shoegaze movement in the early nineties, The Fauns offer a powerful, heartfelt, engaging listen and have crafted a melancholic sound that leaves you slightly taken aback.

Guitarist Elliott Guise explains the band’s conscious direction: “Mike has always had the overall judgement about where it’s going and the tinkering that needs to be done. It’s always really good to have someone who has a really distinct direction. We also have our own musical influences and we’ve brought those into the group. It’s nice to use shoegaze music as an influence, but I think we have much more of a poppy style too”

Self titled debut album was heavy on the spine tingling guitar effects - a clear product of guitarist Lee Woods’ influence on the band. He explains: “The moment I picked up a guitar, I picked up an effects pedal as well. I decided to learn effects before I learnt guitar. It suits me brilliantly because as The Fauns we are creating a sound. The early influences were things like Spiritualized. I just tried really hard to avoid the conventional way of playing guitar.”

Having already completed one record and making a conscious effort to harness their powerful live sound, you sense the band is finding the whole process of recording a real pleasure. Michael has also set up a label called Laser Ghost Recordings to release The Fauns’ music, as well as a roster of other artists.

“We’ve done the first album and the second is maybe three or four months away”, Michael explains. “So we’ve kind of done the groundwork with the reviewers and I’ve set up the label. With the second album it’ll be an obvious progression from the first.
Elliott is acutely aware of the sound moving forward on the forthcoming record: “On this album we’ll hopefully capture a bit more of the live sound and a bit more of a raw sound. You’ll be able to hear these lovely guitars.

The band’s focus on sound creation and mood is superb, yet the whole thing is held together by Alison; who provides the band with a great centrepiece. Pretty, intelligent with a beautiful vocal fragility, her voice gives The Fauns a soft centre that carries the intricacies of the music onto another plain.

The new record is primed to take the band onto the next level. With tour dates being finalised, a distribution network in place through the label and Elliott keen on pushing the online social promotion, the band have the blocks in place to give the second album everything in their power.

Michael is committed to this cause: “I’m trying to get the band outside of Bristol through the internet, Elliott is constantly updating the Facebook and Myspace and that side of it is extremely important, so we’ve got a fan base around the world which is small but growing. We are going to try and tour parts of Europe to get ourselves out as much as possible.”

In a city with as rich a musical heritage as Bristol it’s encouraging to see a band pushing themselves out of the city walls. Having lived in Bristol for the majority of his life, Michael has seen the musical tapestry of the city evolve through the record shop and a number of nights he has promoted in the city. This makes him perfectly placed to asses The Fauns’ place in Bristol and what is required to push the band onto the next level and beyond the South West.

Michael's knowledge is evident when talking about Bristol’s musical heritage: “There is this great thing about thing about Bristol having this great musical output, but the reality is it’s not as rich as some cities. As far as big bands go, Bristol is slightly like the graveyard of ambition and it does tend to rest on its arse. There are loads and loads of great bands, but in reality there are only three who have made it out. Compare that to Manchester who has had colossal indie and house music scenes and some massive bands.”

Lee sums up the whole scenario nicely when he says: “That’s the problem, in that breaking out or changing things requires you to make some noise. You aren’t going to change anything without exposure are you?”
It might not be the most raucous noise you will ever hear, but The Fauns are making all the right noises as far as people with a good ear and eye are concerned.



Tune: The Sun is Cruising

http://www.myspace.com/thefauns

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