These differences are pronounced on Stein and Woywitka’s first collaborative LP: The calming moments feeling nearly blissful, and the ominously tense moments feeling stark and visceral. While chatting with the pair, I make a remark about FHANG seeming like the soundtrack to a surreal film, due to its volatility and extensive grandiose moments. When I inquire whether Sam and Mishka’s work is informed by movie soundtracks, I am pleasantly surprised by their response. “This album actually came from some sessions doing music for a film script that I was writing,” Woywitka says. “It was about the soundtrack at first, and when that idea was abandoned, it became about the album. Afterwards, it became about the band. Before too long, we begin to descend the rabbit hole discussing our favourite movie soundtracks,” he elaborates.
“Soundtracks are a huge influence for both of us,” Stein says, “And as far as influences go, I [used to] listen to the original Blade Runner soundtrack almost religiously for many years. The movie is a masterpiece, in my opinion, because there’s so little dialogue that you get most of the story from the music. [Greek electronic composer] Vangelis just killed it. So did Ridley Scott.”
As our conversation veers towards the topic of film, I ask what kinds of movies, music, and books Mishka and Sam have engaged with to keep busy during the pandemic. Soon I learn, however, that FHANG was very much a pandemic activity, taking all the time, passion, and effort out of the duo’s daily lives. Mishka describes quarantining in a hotel room upon hearing the news of a canceled tour, and feeling “a sense of staring right into the gaping mouth of the most fearsome aspects of a strange, changed new world.” FHANG was their way of coping with the surges of fear, confusion and tragedy which were all too prevalent for the duo during this unprecedented time.
This included not only the creation of music, but also their accompanying videos. In the music video for “King Blame,” a man in a rabbit mask follows an alienated protagonist on his late-night voyage through a strange and psychedelic urban realm. “Vaudevillian” alternates between visuals of a strange masked individual and a disturbed Sam Woywitka being painted in colourful makeup. The Lynchian video for “Something Real,” features Woywitka and Stein at a tea party, staring deadpan into the camera with mysteriously grave facial expressions.
All of these visual pleasures were produced with Woywitka behind the camera, and Stein giving his creative input from time to time. Stein expresses his initial reluctance with the filming, much to his amazement later on: “When [Sam] talked about buying a crazy camera and learning video editing software, I was thinking that’s not something you can just pick up and do… but apparently for Sam, it is. When Sam sent me the [video] edits, I literally had no comments. It was great.” Woywitka’s adeptness for video creation clearly shines through in the band’s mesmerising visuals, all of which are strangely beautiful.
