As a London-based electro-rock band with a questionable sense of fashion, the three members of Trash Fashion are not here to play by the rules. This notion is only enforced in the outfit’s brand new album ‘Underprepared’, an eleven-track offering of thunderous bass riffs, infectious melodies, and grinding guitar work.
Intrigued to find out more about the act and its members, I was stoked when Jet Storm (the maestro of chaos) said he’d have a little chat with us! Taking us through the thematic influences behind ‘Underprepared’, how the name Trash Fashion came into existence, and which three records he’d take with him to a deserted island, please give a warm welcome to our new friend Jet Storm of Trash Fashion!
Hi Jet! It’s awesome to have you here! Thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us! Before we get into the nitty-gritty, could you tell us about Trash Fashion and how you would describe your sound for those who have yet to discover it?
We’ve used many expressions over the years. Rave rock seems to be the one that makes the most sense to me. We also used to describe our sound as Daft Punk meets Iron Maiden and I still think that sums us up pretty well most of the time, but maybe now it’s more Gorillaz meets Blur!! 😅🤔🤣
But in essence, Trash Fashion is a blend of whatever comes to mind, with a conscious sense to try and be experimental with our combinations of sounds which doesn’t always help with playlisting. Before anything else, it has to have energy and has to get you dancing. Oh, and I’m a sucker for a vocal harmony or 10!
I’ve been absolutely loving the brand new album ‘Underprepared’! Whether it’s ‘You’re A Baby’ or ‘No Dancing Tonight’, there seems to be something for everyone to enjoy and fall for. Is there an overall theme to the record or does each song stand on its own?
The vast majority of the album was written either just before or after the birth of my first child, and therefore was heavily framed and influenced by all the emotions around it – getting old, feeling washed up, excited but super stressed and worried with the pressure of being responsible for someone else for the first time, and all in my 40s! Therefore there is a common theme lyrically, all centered around my girl Leyla, (and indeed the track with her name is the middle one on the album!)
However, due to suddenly having very little time, and being forced to write, record and mix music usually between 11 pm and 3 am, it has funnily enough helped to focus my mind and, in some respect, allowed me to keep things simpler. Whereas, previously, things would have been all over the place, messy and confused and over-thought…not that it isn’t still now (that’s kinda the Trash Fashion ethos after all! 😂) but less so!
Now, I’m sorry to pose such a tough question so early on, but what song of yours are you most proud of and why?
Ahhh how could I ever choose! Well, I was really pleased when ‘Night of Error’ got found by people last year – that was always my favourite track from back in the day, and I knew it had something when I made it. But, unfortunately, when it was released, it was at the arse end of the Nu rave trend and people weren’t interested in more music from the band that did ‘Rave Dave’! 🤣
From this album, I’m really pleased with all of the tracks for different reasons but I think ‘Growing Up’ sums up the band pretty well. And, I get to mention all my musical idles from the 90s too! Lastly, I’m really proud of the lyrics in ‘Freaky Oldies’ – I’ll let you have a listen!
Who are some of your biggest musical influences? Who did you grow up listening to? And would you say that your tastes have changed over the years?
I grew up in the ’80s and ’90s, absorbing everything from Britpop (Blur, Supergrass, The Longpigs, Pulp etc), 80s Disco-Pop (D-Train, Chaka Khan, Michael Jackson etc), French House/Electro (Daft Punk, Modjo, Fred Falke etc). Later more Electro/Rap such as Gorillaz, Busta Rhymes, and Eminem, and even the greater heavy rock/Metal such as Queens of the Stone Age, Iron Maiden, Metallica and Radiohead. Finally Funk and Soul such as Stevie Wonder (my King!!) and Marvin Gaye, Donald Byrd etc etc.
But, honestly, Blur wins every time as it’s most of those bands in one!
I think I’ve become more open to music over the years, and have realised that one piece of music can take many, many forms, so I try to look past the aesthetics of style and genre etc which means I’ve begun to appreciate more stuff I maybe thought was shite before. But generally, I always love stuff that makes me emotional in some way, shape or form!
What would “being successful” in the music industry look like to you? And is it something that you think about when creating new music?
Good question! Well, success is all relative; just over a year ago we had 500 listeners per month on Spotify and now it’s much more than that. If you’d asked me a year ago, all I wanted was to be able to put out an album I’m 100% happy with and proud of and get some more listeners and that’s now happened. But now I want to get our next album out and be playing Glastonbury in 2025! It would be nice to be able to dedicate more time to it too and actually make some kind of living from it, but hey it’s nice to dream anyway! 😅
I’m a sucker for having to know the origins of a band’s name. I just can’t help myself! How exactly did Trash Fashion come about?
Haha, I can barely remember this…but I think I’d drawn some random logo that had a TF in it just because it looked cool, so we were trying to think of names with a T and F. We had mates over in Birmingham and we all sat there in the garden writing down names then put them together and chose the preferred one.
As I recall, I think Trash Fantasy won, but then I decided to change it to Trash Fashion as it made more sense with our general vibe – F*&k Fashion basically!
OK, Jet – desert island time! You’re allowed to grab 3 albums before being stranded on an island. Which do you choose?
Ooooh, nice! The first two are in a heartbeat – ‘Modern Life is Rubbish’ by Blur and ‘Innervisions’ by Stevie Wonder. For the last one, there are tonnes to choose from, but for a healthy mix, I’d probably go for ‘Seventh Son of a Seventh Son’ by Iron Maiden! All killer and no filler in any of those albums!!
Thanks so much for your time, Jet! It’s been a pleasure getting to know you a little better! Before we let you go though, what can we expect from Trash Fashion going forward?
Well, we’re doing a bunch of promotion for the new album right now, including some hush-hush TV stuff coming up. But I’m also deep into the next album which is taking place nicely, and even toying with sticking a track from it out before the end of the year! Then hopefully we get out on the road soon to bring the sweet Marmite sounds of Trash Fashion to a dive near you!
