I fell in love with The Delta Fiasco when I had the great pleasure of seeing them open for Shiny Toy Guns last year. I wish I could remember more about the actual show; alcohol had been consumed, and a year later, details are blurry. What can be said, however, is that their fiercely energetic performance and rousing music continued to pulsate through my veins long after the show ended. I woke up the morning after to find all their songs downloaded to my iTunes and their beats pounding in my head in sync with my hangover headache. An aural addiction was born. 

My addiction is composed of guitarist and synth player Nathan “Nath” Walczak, guitarist and vocalist Nick “Nikki” Bentley, and drummer Simon Hilton. The three fuse together heavy drums and guitars, laptops, synthesizers, and hot-blooded vocals to create an unusual, symphonic-like amalgamation of electronica/dance/good-ole-fashioned-rock-n-roll. One thing particularly appealing about this band is Nikki’s ability to pronounce his words so the listener can actually comprehend the lyrics. His passionate eloquence creates a sense of intimacy that cuts through the wall of instrumental sound. 

The band kindly answered my questions via email. See their myspace here.

Liv: Where are the three of you from? When did you get together, musically?

 Nikki: We are all from the Manchester area, but the Delta Fiasco itself was formed in Liverpool; we lived there for about 4 years. Nathan and I have been in bands together since…forever. It’s necessary for us to be in the same band; we are perfectionists and no one else will work with us. Simon joined us about two years ago when we decided we wanted live drums instead of programmed. 

 Liv: You mention the extremely happening Liverpool music scene on your site…how did you go from being surrounded by crazy cool music to actually deciding you wanted to make your own sound?

 Nikki: We just wanted to do something different. Liverpool music is and has been great, but it was 2007 and people around us were still trying to emulate that merseybeat, Liverpool sound. Maybe because we weren’t raised there we didn’t feel drawn to making that kind of music. We turned up one day and went… errr fuck this!  And did something nobody else was doing. Laptop beats, synths, and guitars all together. We loved bands like Radiohead, Vast, and NIN but at the same time loved the Prodigy, Fischerspooner, and the Faint. We decided to make something that encompassed everything, and so the Delta Fiasco was dragged kicking and screaming into the world. 

Liv: Specific musical influences?

 Nathan: Right at this second? Bond themes, samurai sword beats, gospel vocals, and 90′s piano riffs. Also Koyaanisqatsi by Philip Glass.

Liv: If not an influence, what bands or artists, or types of music, do you listen to on a regular basis?

Nikki: I dj, so I’m always listening to lots of house and electronic music; mainly the newest stuff. But at the moment I am listening to Bat for Lashes, Ennio Morricone, and Deee – Lite. I listened to the new Peaches record the other day; it’s really cool! Soulwax produced a few tracks that sound fucking great. Damn them for being so good! Nath is listening to lots of Vast right now and the Kills. Si was listening to The Police the last time I saw his ipod… he loves white reggae. 

Liv: Do you guys have a favorite locale or venue?

 Simon: We are so well-traveled, it’s pretty hard to have a favorite. We always have a great time at Moscow in L.A though. Also, Liverpool’s “Korova” club is amazing, as is Berlin’s “Gold Lion” party. 

Liv: If there is any band or musician you would ideally love to collaborate with in any capacity, who would it be? Or have you already collaborated with such an artist?

 Nikki: We have worked with amazing people already, particularly producers. Jagz Kooner (Primal Scream/Kasabian) produced our first single and Anthony ‘Fu’ Valcic (NIN/Marylin Manson) produced our Dreameater E.P. Also Chester Bennington from Linkin Park stops by our studio regularly to give us advice, which is, of course, incredible. It would be great to get his vocals on a track at some point; I think him and Nath’s voices would really work together.

Liv: Favorite song to play live?

Nikki: Right now, personally, it is “White Rat”. When we play live we mix the songs into each other, the same way a dj would; we have an amazing link going into “White Rat” at the moment. We have a new track called “Eat Me Alive”, which I am desperate to play live. It sounds like Prince having a fight with Nine Inch Nails. You KNOW what a good fight that would be!

Liv: What is your goal as a band? What message are you trying to send, or are you just making music? What are your musical intentions?

Nikki: We want everyone hear our music, like it, and join in. I want to create a buzz in people that tingles their fingers and stings their feet. We played a show in the mid west at an illegal warehouse rave. It was nuts. I played the first bass note and a girl was sick onto another girl’s face. Nuts! There were people jumping all over the place and just totally having it all night. I got off stage and thought, “Yeah that’s what music is about!” No rules. Forgetting everything for a few hours. So I guess overall, I want us to be a fucking huge band. If anyone in a band tells you he or she doesn’t want to be massive…. he or she is either lying or his or her heart’s not in it. 

Liv: What’s your song writing process?

Nikki: Most of the time I will start with a riff or piece of music, Nath writes the lyrics, and we go from there. But that is not our exclusive formula. Sometimes we come up with something at rehearsal, from a loop or drum pattern, and develop a song out of that idea. All of us have such different musical backgrounds that there are plenty of ideas thrown around. It makes our writing so unique. 

Liv: How has your music evolved since you all first started playing together?

Nikki: It evolves daily. It’s definitely become more mature and powerful. The journey this band has been on only adds to that. We started in Liverpool, and ended up in L.A. That’s fucking weird for anyone, and I think we all constantly live in a state of varying reality about it. It takes awhile to sink in. Also, touring with Shiny Toy Guns for 4 months helped us all develop musically. Playing night after night, you start to figure out what people like and what they don’t, and what works for you as a band and what doesn’t. People can expect our album to be really grand.

Liv: What has been your biggest challenge as a band? Have you been able to overcome that challenge? If so, how?

Nikki: Trying to get a hold of our manager…I’m still working on it but I think his phone is broken…

*photos courtesy of the band’s myspace

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