Long Island punk act, Figure Eight are gearing up to release their debut album, Any Given Flower on May 24th. The band, spearheaded by mastermind, multi-instrumentalist and producer Ryan Meyers, is the next in a long line of punk lineage from the area, combining the emotional sincerity of ’90s emo with a hard hitting, visceral punk edge that reflects the raw intensity of the basements and late night sessions where they crafted their sound. The new album, Any Given Flower finds the band maturing following their 2017 EP, Forever and further solidifying their sound.
Recently, Figure Eight released their new track, “Oyster Days,” which can be heard now below. Get to know a little bit more about the band and pick up Any Given Flower on May 24th!
Interview by Dom Vigil
Can you tell us a little bit about Figure Eight for anyone who might be hearing you for the first time?
Figure Eight is a band I started a few years ago with the intention to play rock and roll music for as much people as possible.
You just recently announced your debut album, Any Given Flower out this May! What are you most excited for fans to hear on the album?
Excited for everyone to just hear new music from us in general, its been a long time coming with putting new stuff out so I’m just ready for people to finally hear it! But there some not so “in genre” tracks on it and i hope people still appreciate them just the same as our other songs.
It being your debut album, did you have any major goals in mind when you first started working on Any Given Flower?
Nothing to specific other than wanting to continue to make songs that i truly enjoy and think are good
How do you feel you’ve grown between the release of Forever and Any Given Flower?
I would say the music is a little more mature, the songs are structured a bit better, and the production value has gone up too. I would say the songs on this release are more in the vein of a singer songwriter but with a full band to back it. For instance a lot of the songs started out with just me on acoustic guitar with really abstract soft sung voice memos on my phone! Im still growing as a song writer and producer though so I’m always looking towards the future, but I’m very excited to share our growth on this release.
What was the most challenging part of working on the album? The most rewarding?
Everything!!! This album took me literally a full year to finish which was super painful most of the time haha. But the most rewarding is listening back to it after its done, and I know once the full thing is up on Spotify and I can just listen to it as any other would be experiencing the music, (not viewing it from the band/producer perspective) that will definitely be a great feeling.
You also just released your new single, “Oyster Days”! What inspired this track in particular?
I cant say what in particular inspired this track other than feelings, as cliche as that might sound, its true and it feels good to maybe not have the specifics of it. It makes me feel a lot of different emotions when i listen back to it, and i hope that experience translates to other listeners as well.
With “Oyster Days” out now, could fans expect to hear any more new music before the album drops?
Yes, the title track, “Any Given Flower” will be available in early May!
Do you have any other big plans for 2019?
Going to be touring later this year and just hoping to hop on a lot a lot of shows to spread the good word
Thank you for taking the time to chat with us! Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Thank you for chatting with me as well! thanks to anyone who’s listening to us, feel free to follow us on social media and spotify @figureeightli . Thankyou!
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