November 20, 2017: From Davis, California comes Hot Flash Heat Wave, a four-piece band made up of, Adam Abildgaard and Nathan Blum – both on guitar and vocals – Ted Davis on bass and vocals, and Nick Duffy on the drums.
Now based in San Fransisco, Hot Flash Heat Wave (HFHW) are making their mark not only in the Bay Area, but across the US. They released their first LP, Neapolitan back in 2015 a “melodically upbeat, hook-filled garage rock” album about love and life with influences ranging from The Beach Boys to Weezer (Terrorbird).
Then in April of 2017, they released Soaked – a “cleaner cut” album (since more time was invested in production) consisting of songs with short thoughtful lyrics that range in tone and theme while still holding their classic “heat-wave” sound.
Hot Flash Heat Wave have toured with names like Mild High Club, Surfer Blood, and more (Terrorbird) and after the release of their sophomore album Soaked, they headlined their own national tour.
Now 2017 is coming to an end and the guys are preparing for what 2018 has in store for them.
We had the privilege of talking to Nathan Blum about the Soaked, tour, and more.
This is what he had to say:
You released your album “Soaked” earlier this year. What can you tell us about it?
Soaked was a colletion of songs we wrote while living in a house together in San Francisco. Many of our friends moved out of the city at that time so the song is a reflection of the relationships that we had during the time and feelings that came from a changing city. We recorded it in Oakland and spent a few months straight in the studio tracking the songs out.
Has your writing process evolved since the release of Neapolitan and Soaked? If so, how?
With Neapolitan we wrote the songs and figured out how to play them live then went straight into the studio and recorded the album. With soaked we demo’d out the songs in advance so we knew more of what we wanted from the recording process one we got into the studio. It was less of a guessing game.
Since the release of Soaked, do you feel like HFHW’s sound has evolved?
We have embraced more loft elements and some stranger & chiller sounds. The next record will sound more organic and midfi vibey bedroom pop.
How do you choose who sings what on each track?
Whoever begins to write the song will usually end up singing that song.
It seems like you don’t have a set genre to your music – HFHW has been labeled dream pop and garage rock to chill wave and hi-fi. Which is understandable since your sound varies from song to song.
My question is, if you could make up a genre for yourselves, what would it be and why?
I guess our genre should be “heat – wave”. The feelings that one gets when presented with extreme heat.. sometimes that means energy and sometimes it could mean a drenched laziness that glues you to your bed.
What’s your favorite song off of Soaked?
What’s your favorite song to perform?
You’ve toured quite a lot this year. What were your favorite places to visit? What were your favorite places to perform in?
Texas was fucking awesome.. Austin was so fun to hang out in and go swimming in the river. NYC is mind blowing. I went there for my first time on tour and felt like my whole world was changed.
Who are your musical influences?
Marcos Valle, The Smiths, Smith Westerns, Chaz Bundick, Tyler the Creator, Santo and Johnny.
Who do you hope to collaborate with in the future?
TORO Y MOI
Are there any bands/ artists we should check out?
Navy Gangs, Jo Passed, Jons, Inner Wave.
2017 is coming to an end. What was your favorite moment this year?
West coast tour with Inner Wave was such a fun time. We swam in this river and I jumped off a bridge like 40 ft into the water. Felt like pure bliss.
What can we expect from Hot Flash Heat Wave in the coming year?
New music 🙂 Touring.. Clothing
Thanks again to Hot Flash Heat Wave for taking the time to talk to us.
Remember to listen to Soaked AND Neapolitan and keep a look out for new music and tour dates from Hot Flash Heat Wave!
-Gaby
ASTR0MAG 