In Conversation With #243 - Media Giant
North London’s alt-pop purveyors Media Giant have just released their debut EP ‘Market Research’ via Brace Yourself Records.
The new EP, written and produced by the trio, showcases the band's playful experimentation, quirky insouciance and deft touch of consumerist satire all while never letting its eye off the hook-driven prize. Their sound harks back to the golden age of new wave; drawing on funk, disco and punk elements, their music is reminiscent of LCD Soundsystem, Bowie, Talking Heads and The Rapture, all while creating a deeply unique, daring sound of their own that separates them from their peers.
The band took a moment to talk to us about the EP.
Hey there Media Giant - how are you? So your EP is out now - how does it feel to have it out there in the world?
Tom K - Hello there When The Horn Blows. Morale in the Media Giant camp is at an all-time high - it feels very good to have an EP out. It’s been a long time coming for us, and we’re glad the music is finally out of our hands, so we can’t be tempted to tinker with it any more.
It is called ‘Market Research’ - what is the meaning behind that?
Tom K - When we first started the band, we decided to use this ridiculous corporate-sounding voice for all our social media and branding; it’s been really fun building a jokey little universe for our music to exist in. One of the things we did was make a Spotify playlist called Market Research, which we presented as a load of songs we’d fed into an algorithm to write our songs for us. I like the idea of us presenting our music as if it’s completely soulless and manufactured, hopefully no-one takes it too seriously though.
Where was it recorded? Any behind the scenes stories from the creative process you are happy to share with us?
Tom S - The recording was done in two different places. Afraid of the Dark, Guilt/Shame and Strange Weather were all recorded at Big Toe Studios, with our good friend Max Fletcher, who was originally in the band and played bass on the former two. Then Man Bites Dog and Son of a Son were recorded in my bedroom (MG HQ) during that last lockdown, which is where they were all mixed as well.
Nick K - On a good day, if I was feeling loose, I used to hit a really high note (a D6 I’m told, for anyone interested in the music notes) and I was encouraged to capture it in the studio. You can hear it sampled at the end of ‘Man Bites Dog’ if you listen for it. It sounds like metal scraping against metal, or a train departing, and I’m not sure how much treatment it got or if that’s just what I sound like. I’ve never successfully attempted it since.
Tom S also sampled a sound effect from an internationally successful sci-fi franchise, but for legal reasons I’m absolutely not going to tell you what that is.
What are the key themes and influences on the EP?
Tom K - I think lyrically all these songs are quite angry, or at least anxious. Mainly at the state of the world, the looming climate collapse, societal breakdown, all that cheery stuff. In terms of musical influences we have a few favourites but we try and incorporate as much as possible so we don’t sound like any one particular thing!
If the EP could be the soundtrack to any film - which one would it be and why?
Tom K - I think it would fit really well in a John Wick film if he was fighting mainly landlords and tories. Its got a strong anti-capitalist message but it’s very upbeat and in-your-face, like Keanu Reeves’ fists.
Do you have a favorite lyric on the EP - if so, which one and why?
Tom S - I always really liked ‘No real person, no skin in the game’, because I wrote very a similar lyric around the same time and it turned out me and Tom had been inspired by the exact same episode of Succession.
Now the EP is out there - what next?
Tom K - The three of us live together and were all locked down together during the pandemic, so we had a lot of time to write. We’ve got a lot of material to choose from in terms of our next release so hopefully there should be more to come before the end of the year!
Tom S - I’ve been talking a lot with ChatGPT recently, getting it to suggest chord progressions, lyrics and other ideas, so I’m going to see where that can take us. There’s been nothing great yet, but I’m hoping synergy can be achieved.
