Grace and the Flat Boys have released their new EP ‘Dark Glass // Rose Tint’.

Speaking of the EP, the band said: “‘Dark Glass // Rose Tint’ is a significant chapter in the Grace & The Flat Boys story and it incorporates a lot of the growth the band has experienced over the past 2 years since we released our first EP, ‘Wheels’. This EP is the best our very different musical backgrounds and influences have come together; they all shine through without any influence necessarily leading in any of the tracks and we think that’s beautiful. The EP has also been put together with a lot of thought about how the tracks could come together both thematically and sonically to create a cohesive listening experience and take the listener on a journey in the way some of our favourite albums do.”

To celebrate their EP release, Grace and the Flat Boys shared with us five tracks that influenced ‘Dark Glass // Rose Tint’.

Linkin Park – Numb | Listen via Spotify
When we first started thinking about this EP, there were some conversations about what we wanted it to sound like. We all agreed that ‘heavy groove’ was something we wanted to come across clearly in this music and felt that early 2000’s Nu Metal was a great place to look for inspiration. While we were writing the EP, there was a lot of listening to this kind of music to get us in the right headspace and ‘Numb’ by Linkin Park just stands out as a great example of what can happen when so many seemingly unrelated things come together to create something great. From the combination of distorted guitars, clean piano sounds and syncopated grooves to the overarching themes and emotions, there’s a lot of this song reflected throughout the EP.

Kokoroko – Abusey Junction | Listen via Spotify
A lot of Kokoroko’s music has inspired the sounds of the EP, especially the Afrobeat influence and how they can effortlessly develop one musical theme for ages without it feeling repetitive. Abusey junction in particular was a great inspiration for the track ‘Solitude’ in how the horns interact with the rest of the instruments, especially the guitar to create a really calming yet captivating soundscape. The influences don’t come across now as strongly as when this song was first being put together with guitar as the primary instrument, but it definitely influenced the orchestration of the horn parts for this song.

Poppy Ajudha – Watermelon Man (Under the Sun) | Listen via Spotify
This song’s influence comes across in the less upbeat tracks of the EP. This song is an amazing example of retaining a relatively simple harmonic line and focusing on groove and other elements of the music to keep things interesting. We think this is a song to almost zone out to but you’re kept alert by the changes in grooves from really laidback and simple to more complex upbeat rhythms allowing for distinct shifts in feel between sections of the song. The vocals are also really soulful and the simple harmony serves as a perfect canvas to let the vocals do their thing and we tried to incorporate this sort of thinking, particularly in ‘Planet Express’.

Biffy Clyro – Sounds Like Balloons | Listen via Spotify
Scottish band, Scottish inspirations! The influences of this song come through mostly in the guitar-led songs on the EP. We absolutely love the use of dynamics and other elements on this track that make it sound huge while retaining contrasts between different song sections. From the dark harmony and syncopated guitar riff in the verses to the open sounds created with the chords in the choruses and doubling up of vocals that just makes you want to sing along with an imaginary crowd in true stadium gig fashion.

Outkast – Liberation (with CeeLo Green) | Listen via Spotify
The drums and percussion really make this song what it is and create an atmosphere that just makes you want to close your eyes and explore all the sounds. The use of multiple vocal layers makes this such a soulful song and a joyful and entrancing listening experience. The rap on this song also takes on a much more poetic form than usual and inspired us to explore more forms of vocal expression on the EP.

Listen to Grace and the Flat Boys ‘Dark Glass // Rose Tint’ via Spotify below:

Listen to the influences behind ‘Dark Glass // Rose Tint’ via Spotify: