Factory Floor self-recorded their recent debut album on a vintage mixing desk used by Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart to capture his early hits.
But it was former Joy Division and New Order drummer Stephen Morris who first got behind the London three-piece.
He remixed early 12” singles and worked as a producer for a band who started out as a duo in 2005 and became three in 2009 when Nik Colk Void joined.
When working with the band, Morris said, “I listened to the tracks Lying and Wooden Box and thought they were brilliant... In the tracks I could hear something which reminded me of the spirit of New Order in the early days... They were raw, chaotic, fantastic and different – everything I’ve ever liked in a band.”
Colk Void remembers joining a live band who “looked as if they could fall apart at any moment”.
She compares her arrival to Gillian Gilbert joining New Order.
“It made a better balance and changed the dynamic.”
Factory Floor have since turned their backs on the song-driven material and make minimal crossover electro/dance suited to their current label, DFA, the stable forever entwined with LCD Soundsystem.
Finally feeling settled enough to tackle a full-length album, the trio decided they wanted to record and produce alone.
“One reason the album took a long time for us to do is we wanted to emulate our live sound – but it was impossible.
“When we took the conscious decision to make it a more studio-sounding record, we took over a warehouse in north London and made it into a studio where we lived.
“We ended up with a room filled with loads of different things to play about with. Sometimes there was so much equipment, it was like a playground.”
Despite all the toys on offer, Factory Floor’s self-titled debut has wide vistas. It’s aimed squarely at the dancefloor, mind, and is relentless as it mixes post-punk and minimalism with electro and acid house.
Colk Void admits they saw it as a learning curve rather than a money maker.
“That’s the best way to approach music, especially with what we are doing. Better to use it as a learning tool and make the most of it on a creative level.”
They did call in Timothy “Q” Wiles, an LA-based producer who has previously worked with VCMG and Afrika Bambaataa, when they hit a brick wall.
“It got to the point of mixing when we couldn’t hear them any more. The tracks to us sounded flat. We had to record everything on a high level so our ears were shot. We sent one track, Fall Back, because we’d heard he had done Vince Clark’s record and we liked the sound of that.
“He cleaned them up completely and he had freedom to mix how he wanted. We trusted him once we got Fall Back back. He turned it 3D and pulled out all the elements. Funnily enough, he made it sound more live than we could.”
- Factory Floor play Coalition, King's Road Arches, Brighton, on Saturday, May 17. Doors 7pm, £11.50. Call 01273 606312
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