Die So Fluid

Die So Fluid are the modern incarnation of a ‘power trio’. Their sound is a harmonic mixture of metal riffs, post-punk eclecticism and bittersweet grungesque melody. They are part of the first wave of bands to turn down signing a traditional record deal and embrace the changes the internet has made to the industry by stripping record companies of their distribution and promotion monopolies. Die So Fluid therefore retain ownership of all their recordings and copyright of all their songs. Die So Fluid first surfaced in 2001, touring the country in the wake of their debut e.p. ‘Operation Hypocrite’, released on Sanctuary. They released a further single, ‘Suck Me Dry’ with Sanctuary before forming their own label, Cartesian, and releasing their third single ‘Disconnected’. In 2004 Cartesian released the band’s debut album, ’Spawn of Dysfunction’ in the UK. The album was universally well received and is still selling through the major chains of the UK and iTunes worldwide. Promotion of ’Spawn of Dysfunction’ almost solely relied on the band touring the UK which they did tirelessly, turning up for over 300 shows between 2003 and 2006. Apart from pursuing a campaign of playing their own shows off the beaten track Die So Fluid supported bands like Drowning Pool, Vex Red, Clawfinger, Boy Hits Car, Feeder and The Wildhearts. Further promotion of the album came from a single release of the title track licensed to Retinue records which was supported with a video featuring the babes and the fighters of a metal wrestling event. Recording for ‘Not Everybody Gets a Happy Ending’ started in 2005 with the album’s opening track ‘Gang Of One’. The finished recording was so good it actually caused a crisis within the band as they mutually agreed the song was the pinnacle of what they had been trying to achieve musically on ’Spawn Of Dysfunction’. But in the end it was this realization that freed them to explore a wider range of influences and styles. So, songs like ‘Existential Baby’ and ‘Test Confessional’ draw on Al’s ska background and ‘Throw you away’ features an Egyptian string arrangement thanks to one of Drew’s colleagues in, Gypsy troupe, The Death Orchestra. The finished record is the product of multiple sessions scattered over a two year period. This ungainly recording schedule was adopted because the record was being financed by royalties from ‘spawn’ - as they trickled in. For ‘Not Everybody Gets a Happy Ending’ Mark Williams was back in the producer’s chair at his new premises in the legendary Battery studios building in north west London. The title track was partly fuelled by the long drawn out recording process and, at the time, no prospect of a release. That changed in 2007 when the band crossed paths with George Jackson, ex tour manager to the likes of Bad Company, he had been exiled in Finland since 1975 after a row over a drinks bill with, his then employer, David Essex. Now a label boss George still had a decent set of screwdrivers and was hungry for revenge. Sharing the band’s maverick approach and willingness to exploit a record industry in freefall, a new backer was found and finally ‘Not Everybody Gets a Happy Ending’ got permission to step out of the transporter beam and materialize as flesh and blood. First single ‘Happy Halloween’ was released worldwide on iTunes on November 2nd and coincided with a Halloween festival appearance in Helsinki and Die So Fluid’s portrait by Paul Harries appearing on Finnish postal stamps. The esteemed rock photographer, and long time associate of the band, also directed the video for the single ‘Existential Baby’. The album ‘Not Everybody Gets a Happy Ending’ was released on 25th February 2008. A third album, The World Is Too Big For One Lifetime, will be released in June of 2010.