Photo Credit- Max Fairclough
By Emily May
The Faim discuss their new EP, working with renowned producer John Feldmann and writing with incredible artists
Perth, Australia alternative rock band The Faim, comprised of Josh Raven (vocals/guitar), Stephen Beerkens (bass/keyboard) and Sean Tighe (drums), have been creating a buzz within the last year. They have penned a global recording contract with BMG and toured the world, touring with bands such as Sleeping With Sirens, PVRIS and Lower Than Atlantis. Their music caught the attention of renowned rock producer John Feldmann (The Used/Blink 182/All Time Low), who invited the band to LA last year to record a song, admiring their passion and work ethic. One song turned into more, and the band ultimately recorded their debut EP, Summer Is A Curse with Feldmann, which was released on September 7th. The band has also had the opportunity to write songs with some big name musicians. Their first single “Saints Of The Sinners” was co-written by Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz and their latest single, “Summer Is A Curse” was co-written by 5 Seconds Of Summer’s Ashton Irwin. With a full-length album out sometime next year and a lot of touring in support of the EP, it’s safe to say that the future is looking bright for The Faim! Staff writer Emily May recently spoke with singer Josh Raven via email about the new EP, co-writing songs with amazing musicians and working with John Feldmann. You can stay up-to-date with the band all upcoming tour dates, check out their videos and stream and purchase their music via the following links. Check out their latest video for their song “Summer Is A Curse” below!
Website- http://thefaim.com/
Facebook- https://www.
Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/
Twitter- https://twitter.com/thefaim
YouTube- https://www.youtube.
SoundCloud- https://soundcloud.com/thefaim
Spotify- https://open.spotify.com/
Google Play- https://play.google.com/store/
Amazon Music- https://www.amazon.com/dp/
iTunes- https://itunes.apple.com/us/
You guys are from Perth, Australia, which you’ve described as being very isolated compared to cities such as Melbourne and Adelaide, which are located on the Eastern coast of Australia. What was it like growing up in Perth? What is the music scene like there?
Growing up in Perth, it’s very hard to have the opportunity to travel not only to different countries, but even the other major cities in the east due to our isolation. In terms of being in a band, this required us to utilize social media as a major tool in getting our music out to the world. The music scene in Perth is quite small and has a “everyone knows everyone” vibe to it. However, more and more artists from Perth are working hard to break themselves into the national and international markets.
You all have an amazing work ethic and have mentioned having a pretty big game plan as far as music is concerned. Have you always had a passion for music and the desire to make a career of it? Did you always know that this is what you wanted to do?
I’ve forever had a burning passion for music which has continued to grow throughout my life as a musician. Singing has always been a passion of mine from a very early age, and with the support of family and friends to pursue this as my career. Seeing how it affects people I’ve never met from places I’ve never been, I’ve grown to love it more and more every day.
You were previously called Small Town Heroes but realized you wanted more out of music. What led you to rename your band The Faim? What do you feel you’ve been able to achieve with The Faim that you couldn’t as Small Town Heroes and why?
Renaming ourselves as The Faim was part of taking that next step of developing and redefining ourselves as artists. As The Faim, we want to be able to write music free of genre limitations. To us, the name change helped open the door to a creative freedom that would stay with us for the rest of our career.
You recently released your debut EP Summer Is A Curse. What can you tell me about the writing and recording process for the album? Do you typically share in the songwriting process?
The writing and recording process was an amazing experience for us all. We developed new ways of writing every day and learned from so many amazing artists. We have a strong part in writing all of our songs, as we’re firm believers in the fact that true emotion comes from the songs that are most personal to the artist. Each song captures a specific time or emotion in our lives, which we connect to every time we perform these songs live.
How did you choose which singles to release ahead of the EP, as well as which songs to include and which songs to cut? Do you plan to release the songs that didn’t make the EP on a future album?
We felt that these six songs on the EP are the ones that collectively best represent us as a band. We have many more songs ready for a future album, but we’re continuously writing new material, so who knows where the full-length record will take us!
I read an interview in which you stated that the band was stuck between the idea of putting all your songs out at once on a full-length album or ease people into it with an EP. What made you guys decide to release an EP?
We feel like the growth of any band isn’t one that you can rush into. We want to introduce ourselves to the world in a way that allows us to spread our music to as much of the world as possible. The release of the EP is all part of the journey of providing the fans with new music, reaching out to new listeners and showcasing what we’re about in anticipation of eventually releasing our full-length album.
What was it like to record with producer John Feldmann and what led you to seek him out specifically? Having worked with so many amazing bands such as Blink 182, All Time Low and The Used, what do you feel that he contributed to the process?
John’s insane work ethic is one that is unparalleled by anyone we’ve ever seen. The guy lives and breathes music, whether it be producing or writing. This is something that brought out the very best out of us in the studio as we’re willing to do whatever it takes to create the best music we possibly can. We’d write and record two songs a day, which was a big step up from anything we’d attempted before, but it’s that kind of pressure that we live for. As a vocalist and a writer, he showed me the tools to push myself in the best way possible.
So many amazing things have been happening for you guys in such a short period of time, from working with Feldmann, co-writing songs with industry legends such as Mark Hoppus and Pete Wentz and going on several tours. What was it like for you guys to write songs with so many amazing artists? Has it been easy to adjust to such a fast pace? Having gone from not touring to touring a lot, how has that adjustment been?
Writing with such incredible artists is something that we’re very honored to have done so early in our career. We’ve looked up to these people for the majority of our lives, so to learn from their experiences in the industry was just so amazing. Jumping into the fast-paced life of a touring band has its challenges, but it’s something that we embrace head on. The biggest thing is that we’re here for each other on the road, and we keep our sense of humor handy at all times!
You recently released a video for the song “Summer Is A Curse” and have released some other videos as well. What inspired the ideas for your videos? Do you tend to go into the process with an idea of what you want the video to look like or do you collaborate with the director on ideas?
The meaning behind the songs themselves is always a factor behind our videos. Collaborating with the directors is something we love to do as they add such a great creative insight to the making of the video. It was exciting to express emotion through not just my voice, but a physical representation as well.
You have toured with bands such as Sleeping With Sirens, PVRIS and Lower Than Atlantis! What has been your favorite part about touring? Are there any bands going forward that you are hoping to tour with?
Our favorite part of touring is meeting and forming relationships with the people we meet on tour, whether it be the artists, the crew, or the amazing fans that we meet at each show. The list of bands that we’d love to tour with would go on forever! We’re just happy to be on the road and sharing our music with people around the world.
You are working on a full-length album, set to be released next year! What can your fans expect from the album? Aside from the album, what’s next for the band?
Fans can expect the unexpected! The diversity of this EP is a precursor to what’s to come on the full length: that being a collection of personal songs with a sonic direction that is unique to who we are as individuals and as a band.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
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Summer Is A Curse EP out now: https://TheFaim.lnk.to/
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