“Totally Fine,” the new album, arrived on October 18 via Human Worth.

Transmission 128: Interview with The Eurosuite

British experimental band The Eurosuite discusses Totally Fine, their third album released via Human Worth in 2024, and their improvisational approach.

Title: Totally Fine
Artist: The Eurosuite
Release Date: 2024-10-18
Genres: Noise Rock, Post-punk, Synth Punk
Label: Human Worth
Description: British experimental band The Eurosuite discusses Totally Fine, their third album released via Human Worth in 2024, and their improvisational approach.

The Eurosuite is an experimental British band combining synth-punk, noise-rock, and no-wave influences in an abrasive, unpredictable sound. Formed by members from groups like USA Nails, Nitkowski, and Screen Wives, their discography includes three albums: Hot Off Depress (2020), Sorry (2023), and Totally Fine (2024). Produced by Wayne Adams at Bear Bites Horse Studios, Totally Fine centers on full-band improvisations. The record merges tight post-punk, no-wave textures, and experimental surf rock. Released through Human Worth, a portion of sales from Totally Fine supports Refugee Action.

Can you take us back to the moment when you first felt compelled to create music? What started that initial drive?

Gareth: Watching a Betamax of Live Aid sometime in the late ’80s, specifically the bits with Mark Knopfler. That’s why all the bands I’m in sound like Dire Straits.

Mike N: Coincidentally, my first experience seeing anyone play guitar was a VHS of Dire Straits, so “The Knopf” has a lot to answer for in terms of our band.

Mike K: I didn’t really go out much as a teenager. My dad gave me an old Squier bass guitar from a guy he worked with. It was battered, missing a tuning peg, and it was love at first sight. After that, I spent every penny of my EMA (and then student loans) on music and second-hand instruments from cash converters. I started recording on a Tascam 4-track soon after, though I wasn’t actually in a band until I turned 26.

Dan: At school, my friend needed a bass player for his band, so I decided to give it a go. I didn’t realize it then, but doing that led me to where I am today, playing in bands.

When did you realize this was the sound you wanted to make? Tell us about the first time you all played together.

Gareth: I don’t know if there was a moment where we consciously realized what we wanted to do with this band. We just got into a room and started playing. We try not to think too much.

Mike N: Gaz and Dan sent me a playlist and said they wanted to start a synth-punk band. When we got in the room, it just felt right. There was very little musical direction; it just happened.

Mike K: My previous band, Screen Wives (hi, Tom and Corey xo), was ending, and I was extricating myself from a toxic relationship with my ex, who I was also living with. The others had been jamming for a bit, and Gaz asked if I would do some high-pitched weird guitar (which is the only guitar I can do, tbh) and sent me some phone recordings. I wrote some parts at home and finally joined them at practice once I found a place to live. I was a huge fan of their other bands, so I was nervous, but it seems to have worked out.

Dan: As Gareth and Mike N mentioned, there was no conscious decision in the sound of the band. We’re pretty loose with it. Choosing who to ask to play in The Eurosuite gave me a vague idea that the band would incorporate various influences from everyone, leading to a somewhat deranged sound.

What non-musical influences—such as literature or visual art—impact your songwriting and themes?

Mike K: We recorded the LP in February 2023, so during the writing/recording process, I loved:

• In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
• A rare solo holiday to Gran Canaria
• The movie Marcel the Shell With Shoes On

Dan: Personally, I love Adrian Tomine’s work. He’s a graphic comic artist whose work shows snapshots and vignettes of ordinary lives. I think I always want to paint a picture with the lyrics I write, no matter how ambiguous they might seem.

What inspired the shift toward a more minimalistic direction on Totally Fine compared to Sorry?

Gareth: I mean, I don’t think it is that minimal. I’m constantly thinking about what we can cut from songs. I love it when a band can commit to a single idea without feeling the need to embellish it. If it were up to me, we’d play even more minimally. But it’s good to have my bandmates rein in that impulse sometimes.

Mike N: When I think of minimalism in music, I don’t necessarily think about playing less. I think about playing in the gaps or spreading a phrase across two or more instruments, which I guess we’ve done more on this record.

Mike K: Personally, I was trying to take up less space (I was the principal songwriter in my previous bands, and my guitar playing took up a lot of frequencies). This time around, it was more about finding a good hook and trying to play it a few different ways over the course of the song rather than writing a million different parts.

What personal experiences influenced the themes on Totally Fine?

Mike K: In terms of writing the music, we’ve talked about the “first idea best idea” concept in the press release, which definitely shapes the songs. Also, three of us were previously in math-y bands, so it’s been a mental cleanse to not overthink every note and to trust each other’s judgment.

Dan: Past experiences with other bands, self-reflection, entering middle age. Sorry to be vague!

In what ways has your sound evolved since your debut album Hot Off Depress?

Gareth: I injured my hand just before we started writing the most recent album, so I had to write drum parts that I could play with one hand. It wasn’t ideal, but it forced us to think differently. I guess that’s more of a devolution than evolution.

Mike N: Yeah, it really forced our hand.

Mike K: I own at least one more guitar pedal. It goes EEEEE. I’m also more comfortable with the weird tuning I play in (which I slightly modified from Greg’s tuning from the band Punching Swans, thank you, Greg xo).

Dan: The major difference or evolution in our sound since Hot Off Depress is that we worked with Wayne Adams, who recorded Sorry and Totally Fine. For Totally Fine, he took on more of a producer role, switching things up with the panning and additional percussion. We recorded HOD by ourselves due to lack of funds, so it has a more DIY aesthetic.

How do current social and political climates influence your music and lyrics?

Mike K: Generally, I just want to be the noisy weird figure I needed to see and hear back when I was a closeted teenager. I hope I can be that for other queer people.

Dan: To paraphrase a good friend of mine, “I love it when a band is political with how they behave and the choices they make rather than sing about it.”

A portion of your album sales supports Refugee Action. Why is this cause important to you?

Gareth: This summer in the UK, the far-right brazenly started targeting hotels housing asylum seekers and, honestly, anyone who wasn’t white. Against that backdrop, it seemed more important than ever to support refugees, especially as most are escaping conditions created or supported by our government(s).

Mike K: As Gaz said, really. Fascism is on the rise everywhere, so it feels important to support a charity that opposes that and helps some of the most vulnerable people in society.

Do you have any new material in the works? What’s next for The Eurosuite?

Mike N: Hopefully a complete leap into something strange.

Mike K: We’ve jammed some stuff that sounds much weirder than before, and most of it has potential. There’s a split single with one of my favorite bands, but we probably shouldn’t say more about it in case I jinx it. I’m excited to write LP4.

Dan: Some new ideas are forming for what could be our next release. When that might be, who knows. Really proud of Totally Fine, so I’d love to gig those songs more. We have one more gig before the end of the year and hopefully a tour next year.

Photos courtesy of The Eurosuite

Matteo Damiani

Matteo Damiani is an Italian photographer and author. Curator of the sites Retrofuturista.com; weirditaly.com; china-underground.com and others