"We also almost blew up Start Together Studios while we were there and thought, that’s it, the recording session is over."

Galway band Race The Flux have followed up their critically acclaimed album Dutch Buffalo with a brand new EP, 'Olympians'. It further showcases their expanding creativity and growth without losing anything that made their debut album so engaging.

GoldenPlec are delighted to be able to preview the Olympians EP before it is released and Race The Flux's Paul Higgins took to time to talk to GoldenPlec about the new EP and it's creation. Feast your ears on it right here:

Almost blowing up the studio you're recording new songs in, is not the sort of thing that happens to most bands. Perhaps some high jinx and some extra recreational creative help, but keeping the studio intact is usually a given. But then Race The Flux's whole experience of going to Belfast to record their new Olympians EP was loaded with the sort of luck that would just put you off doing it. For Race The Flux even getting to Belfast was an ordeal, with the their tour van breaking down.

Race the Flux's Paul Higgins agrees that being on the back of a tow truck doesn't rank among his favourite memories "Ha! Yeah, that is definitely not a highlight. We joke that we are the unluckiest band in Ireland, and sometimes we truly believe it. Many things have happened to us in the past fewyears that just makes us stop and go “Of course, why wouldn't that happen to us”. It’s usually freak accidents, than tend to be out of our control."

So the van breaking down is one of these things that can occur to most bands, typically only happening when going to gigs for maximum angst. But back to recording of Race The Flux's new EP and Higgins relates just what did happen "We also almost blew up Start Together Studios while we were there and thought, that’s it, the recording session is over. The electrics just gave up on us mid-session and almost fried the computers, something that Rocky said hadn't happened in years, and the only reason it did happen back then, was because a digger hit a power line. But it got back on track.

"Things usually work out in the end for us". It's this positive outlook that means these knock downs never dampen Higgins' spirit. For him the highs have definitely outweighed the lows "There has been a lot (of highlights). I think one of them is the release of “Dutch Buffalo” in our own city, Galway. The crowd were so into it, and loved every bit of it, that it just felt awesome. That’s what we play for. Other highlights have to be supporting some of our favourite bands, and playing alongside some killer acts. We supported Tame Impala last year in the Olympia, and that was just something else"

There's a plethora of studios a band could go to to record, but for a unsigned band without any sort of record label backing to go from Belfast takes a special reason to want to do it. Higgins said it was specifically "so we could work with Rocky O’Reilly, at Start Together Studios." O'Reilly is a renowned producer and engineer who's worked with the likes And So I Watched You From Afar and Wheatus."We wanted to work with Rocky for a while, because he has worked on a lot of music that we all really like. We really dig his style, and we knew that he would work well with us. For the sound that we wanted, it was something that Rocky is extremely good at. It was definitely the right choice. We are so happy with the way “Olympians” turned out. We still believe that Rocky is some sort of musical wizard. We took on board all his suggestions, and what he thought could add to the songs. That is something we wanted. A producer that would tell us what was working and what wasn't working. Not only is he a great guy, and easy to work with, the studio was awesome.

"It was so homely, comfortable, and welcoming. This really made for smooth, relaxing sessions".

Race The Flux's debut album Dutch Buffalo was a sprawling epic of bellowing vocals from Joe Padfield, a pounding rhythm section  and roaring guitars. It crossed different genres, never hanging around too long before it overstayed it's welcome. If new EP 'Olympians' had been simply Dutch Buffalo mark two, it would be acceptable but signal they were a band bereft of ideas.

That's not the case and a cursory listen to new single Big Fig , shows a band that continue to expand their sound and highlight the their broad musical palette.

Higgins wasn't exactly sure what triggered this new sound for the band  though he thought it  was "Possibly a few things combined. It was never a conscious decision, or anything like that. I think when we were writing “Dutch Buffalo”, we were still finding our sound. We experimented with a lot of different aspects to make Dutch Buffalo what it is. Since then, we have defined our sound a lot more.

We have also been exposed to a lot more new music since the release of Dutch Buffalo. We all have quite broad tastes in music, so the more we hear, the more we learn individually as musicians. Again, we never aimed for any certain style, or sound. It’s just the way it worked out, and it was something we were really happy about. Who knows how our next release will sound". 

Race The Flux's debut album seen them embrace a number of genres from instrumental post rock, indie rock to more synth based post punk. It felt like there was at the very minimum an influence from Queens Of The Stone Age. This is something Higgin's admits to being a big influence on the band members

"Definitely. We get a lot of people saying they can hear a bit of Queens in our songs. Sometimes I don’t really see it, but I’ve got a different view from the listeners! Most of us grew up being huge Queens fans, so it was inevitable that we would draw influences from them."

Such is QOTSA's impact on the band that Race The Flux, took to an Irish tour last year for a tribute performances of the classic 'Song's For the Deaf',  "The 'Songs for the Deaf' tour was a lot of fun. It was something that we always wanted to do as musicians. We had spoken about it before saying if there was ever an album to cover live, that one is definitely a contender. (System Of A Down's) Toxicity is another one that always comes up. We never really had the opportunity to do it until last year. We played the whole album from start to finish, including all the radio skits. It is such a fun album to play as a whole band, you can’t help but get into it."

This release of the 'Olympians' EP will see Race The Flux back to touring their own material. Live they are a force of nature, packing a huge expansive sound.  Higgins said the Race the Flux pretty much exist for playing in front of a audience "We are a gigging band. That’s who we are. Our preference would be playing the music live, with everyone involved. It’s what being in a band is all about for us."

That's not to say he doesn't understand the importance of being able to translate playing into record.

There's been plenty of bands unable to translate the energy of live performances into an album or EP and vice versa bands that just stink at playing at a gig when the shield of super production is gone. Higgins acknowledged that importance but doesn't have a preference for which one he enjoys the most "Hmm. I think that’s one of those things you can’t easily choose between. They are both very different processes. Recording is always great. You get to create something you really love, and you get to really know your band. It’s always an eye opener. It can be very stressful at times, especially when you spend a lot of time working on small bits to get them right, but the outcome and satisfaction is always worth it, and feels amazing. Gigging is bringing what you created in the studio, and tearing it apart with each other on stage, and with everybody in the crowd. Gigging is what makes a band a band. We truly believe in putting on a great show as much as we believe in trying to write the best songs we can. Having the crowd get into your music, as much as you are into in while playing it feels incredible." 

It's a busy period for Race The Flux but one aspect that hasn't gone unnoticed is that their drummer Ronan Connaughton is one of the hardest working drummers in Ireland. He also bashes the skins for fellow west Ireland bands We Town Criers and Ka Tet. Do his band mates have to clone him, or pay for a private jet to whisk him around?

"Honestly, I don’t know how he does it. He is a very busy man, but somehow he manages it. We have never had anything clash to a point where it was a problem or anything like that. We've had gigs clash, but nothing we couldn't sort out. Surprisingly, it just works".  

With the majority of music media being based in Dublin there tends to be a focus on bands gigging in Dublin. For Race The Flux that means a lot of going to and fro from Galway but Higgin's sees as an advantage "I think it is easier to get attention in Dublin. It’s where a lot of music media heads tend to look for new music, or what’s happening in the music scene.

Dublin is saturated with a lot of bands, and a lot of awesome bands at that, so it’s easy to find the music to write about. That’s not to say that all attention is focused on Dublin. It definitely makes its way around the country, and over to Galway. There are a lot of great outlets in Galway that are spreading new music, and writing about new music. There is always something. I think Dublin is just a lot bigger, so a lot more happens."

Race The Flux look set to capitalize on the promise of their debut album with their new EP. The band are energized and buzzing to get back out on the road.  Higgins hopes "to get “Olympians” into everybody's ears, and playing as much as we can around Ireland.

We are planning on hitting up Europe and UK very soon, so hopefully that will go ahead this year, and if not, the start of 2016. We’re already back working on new stuff already, so to get another EP written by the end of the year would be something we’ll push towards too. Gigs and more new music, that’s basically our plan."