Delivered through their fine three-track EP, ‘Giant’, and its accompanying video and artwork, local pop-rock-punksters Abnorm demonstrate that difficult emotions such as rage and anger can be quantified if enough time is spent producing the sounds, words, and images that reflect those feelings. Combining a ‘horror’ video for ‘Giant’, a collaboration with the talented Krzysztof Furgała, ‘Giant’ is more than a collection of songs; it’s a complete artistic think-piece and statement. Damian Robinson caught up with Abnorm to find out more.
Congratulations on the EP. It’s a strong collection of songs. Could you tell us a little BIT about the concept and the songs?
Thank you! ‘Giant’ will be coming out on Valentine’s Day, and it’s kind of an anti-Valentine statement in a way. To create the overall effect, we’ve put some of our songs together and combined them with videos and images that help make this more than just a musical release – it’s a full visual experience.
The EP title track, ‘Giant’, is also the name of one of the EP tracks. How did you come to that decision?
‘Giant’ is about my rage, which I find hard to describe sometimes – so the music and the lyrics are a way of trying to capture this. The song itself was called ‘Giant’ to reflect that, but then we thought it was kind of a cool pun to call the EP the same title. We could make ourselves laugh by saying things like: “This EP is going to be giant.” So it’s both a serious title but also an in-joke for us.
Alongside the EP, you’ve recorded an official music video for the release with Krzysztof Furgała at Caviar Studios in Newcastle. Could you tell us a little about that experience and your choice?
The video was our first together and we really enjoyed the experience, especially working with Krzysztof. In the video, I end up eating the band halfway through and being covered in blood, which you might not have guessed would happen from the first part of the video. We loved the idea and the video and we really like how it’s turned out.
It feels like visuals are important to the whole EP as there’s considerable EP artwork and press photos by Adam Kennedy…
We wanted the EP to be a full concept from music to visuals to video and we couldn’t be happier with the whole package. Using more than just one medium was important to us from the start and Adam’s done a great job helping us build out the concept.
Musically, ‘Giant’ fits nicely with the other two songs, ‘Gasoline’ and ‘Petals’, on the EP…
The three songs were written around the same time so they felt like they belonged together. We play the three songs at all of our shows, so they were a natural choice to go on the EP as they had a similar vibe and combined well.
The next step is the launch, then?
Yes, we’ve got an EP launch planned with some great bands and friends, which will be fun. Then we’re straight into more shows. Some shows have already been announced and some are due to be announced, so keep an eye on where we’ll be playing. At the same time, we want to get back into the recording studio as soon as we can, so we’re feeling good and confident and ready for 2025.
The ‘Giant’ EP will be available on all streaming platforms from Friday 14th February.
