Flevans
Biography
Flevans began making music in his home town of Brighton using a 4 track cassette recorder on which he’d spend hours looping breaks and hooks to create tracks. It was on the back of a demo created solely using this and a 10 second sampler that Tru Thoughts initially snapped him up, recognizing his innate knack for crafting irresistibly infectious hooks, and commissioning a number of EPs and an album. After a string of sold out 12” singles, Tru Thoughts released the highly successful ‘Make New Friends’ album in 2004. Combining disco and funk with cut and paste sampling sensibilities and infectious basslines, the album – a collection of Flevans’ EP singles – was instantly likeable and irresistibly danceable. It proved very popular on the so called ‘electric-soul’ scene, with the piano tinged, disco infused “The Notion” scoring a place in the Unabombers’ highly respected Electric Souls Vol. 3 compilation.
Read moreAfter the release of two 7“s under the moniker Mooch on London’s Jack To Phono label, Flevans set about working on his second album. Retaining the cheeky, dancefloor friendly attitude of his earlier releases, ‘Unfabulous’ was released on Jack To Phono in September 2007, and it benefitted from an altogether more polished sound, unashamedly merging his trademark use of eccentric samples with the funkiest of breaks, a smattering of horns, and plenty of wah wah guitars. Flevans’ knowledge of what works on a dancefloor shone through – a knowledge that had greatly expanded having DJ’d worldwide at gigs such as the Big Chill Festival, Turntables in New York, The MTV Cannes Film Festival Party, Friends and Family in Tokyo and numerous venues and clubs across Europe. As a trained multi-instrumentalist – playing guitar, bass and piano, amongst others – Flevans had always incorporated some of his playing skills into his music, but never fully explored his potential, relying on a cut and paste basis to his records. After the release of ‘Unfabulous’ in 2007, ready for the next level, he took the bold step of throwing out all the vinyl on which he had previously relied for samples and beats, freeing himself up to move towards creating a more organic, live sound, totally free of samples. A big catalyst for this move was his involvement playing bass for Brighton band Backini in 2008; during his time in the band they played at Abbey Road Studios, Glastonbury Festival and recorded a live Radio 1 set at Maida Vale studios, and this re-ignited his love for the buzz of playing live. And so, locked away in his studio throughout 2008, Flevans recorded his third album, ’27 Devils’. More diverse and polished than any of his previous releases, it features the incredible vocals of Sarah Scott and Shona Foster, as well as several instrumental cuts, covering styles from funk to breaks, electronica and soul, all with Flevans’ original style and sound, and not a sample in sight. Venturing further into uncharted territory, Flevans also contributed his own vocals on a couple of tracks, completing his experience of crafting a fully live record. Only days after the completion of ‘27 Devils’, and on the back of this exciting new progression in sound, Flevans signed a new three album deal with Tru Thoughts. The album was released on 18th May 2009, preceded by a digital download single, “Hold On”/“Hold No Water” on 13th April. www.flevans.co.uk
