Flash Peasants is, simply put, ‘hip-hop meets punk from Corby’. Former Acoda bandmates Shaun Flynn and Stephen Crook reunited for the love of the creative process, and in 2021 are back in the game.
New Boots: Flash Peasants are back! Sort of. A track,’Bucking The Trend’, from the 2017 EP now has a new video. Explain yourself.
Stephen Crook: Hey, thanks for having us! We wanted to book end the debut EP cycle before embarking on a new era of Flash Peasants. ‘Bucking The Trend’ is the final track on the first EP, so it made sense as a resolve of sorts.
It was shot by the Kettering talent that is Jazza. How did the collaboration come about?
We’ve been pals with Jazza for a good few years, so it was just a case of asking and they jumped at the chance to work with us! They did a video for ‘Magic Money Tree’ a wee while back and we loved it, so we were keen to do more. So easy to work with, we’d certainly recommend them to anyone looking for a videographer/photographer.
Does the song resonate in particular during pandemic times?
I suppose so! You could say it’s a theme song for the ultra-rich who’ve tripled their wealth while a lot of The World are struggling. That’s certainly Bucking The Trend…
Do you recall those early days when you formed Flash Peasants? How did it occur? Was there a ‘grand plan’?
FP started in Shaun’s garage. We’d been playing in a band together for five years or so, and when he left we still felt compelled to create music together when we hung out. I think the ‘grand plan’ if any, was to play a gig with Flamegriller, a hip-hop trio from West Yorkshire who heavily inspired us and we did just that for our first ever show. After that I suppose the plan is to have an outlet for creativity and perform. Although we – and I know it’s a cliche – write music for ourselves, in the live setting we’re very much about entertaining the audience and sending people away with a smile on their face.
Has lockdown helped or hindered the FP creative process?
Helped. I had writers block for a good year or so. Then, one morning some plaster peeled away from my bedroom ceiling that looked just like the Flamegriller logo. I took it as a sign from the hip-hop Gods, and was compelled to begin writing again. A few months in and we had a bunch of demos ready.
There’s new music brewing I hear. Tell us more.
These demos became the foundation of the second EP. We were able to record the whole thing in a day with ExP of Flamegriller at Dub Why studios in between the first and second lockdown. Our plan is to release it before Autumn.
Fave local act of the past year – who and why?
Raging Speedhorn. ‘Cause they keep making solid records and crack on with their art even though they’re old as fuck! That’s coming from someone who started ‘rapping’ in his early thirties, haha! True Corby style legends.
What is your burning desire to do in the future?
We want to release this second EP and play some bloody gigs man! We, like many people, have been craving a live music environment for over a year now. The new EP is very diverse, so we’re not afraid to jump on a bill with a rock band, DJ or solo artist. We just want to do our bit and make a connection with the people.
The ‘Bucking The Trend’ video is online now, taken from the self-titled EP available digitally everywhere.
