Flamango Bay

FLAMANGO BAY announce details of their debut EP The Fool, set to be released on 13th May via 0800-MOSHI-MOSHI.

To celebrate, they share new single "LA", which was written shortly before moving to the eponymous city.

"Because of life circumstances and the pandemic, we really romanticized moving to LA," say the band, who are originally from the Bay Area of San Francisco. "We put a lot of expectations on the city to fix our internal problems. However, when we actually moved there, we were still the same people with the same problems."

"Musically, the song is inspired by pop artists like Harry Styles, Lady Gaga and indie acts like Surf Curse, and probably anything off the Spotify Surf Rock Sunshine playlist."

Flamango Bay was formed in high school by Ikaika Gunderson, Dash Goss Post, and Georgia Manou, with their debut EP inspired by the fool card in tarot; five tracks loosely following an arc from being young, naive and optimistic before learning some harsh life lessons.
The band cite the likes of The Great Gatsby as an influence for its themes around the restrictive nature of blinkered hope, as well as Marvel’s Wandavision for its narrative arc that descends from a contented equilibrium to a fragmented and broken existence. Listeners will also note infectious hooks that lend more to the likes of Mitski and beabadoobee.

“In a more general way we saw our psyches and emotional state about the pandemic reflected in the EP,” says the band. “We graduated high school in the pandemic, started college in the pandemic, moved to LA in the pandemic. All these monumental life events that were supposed to be joyous and exciting were overshadowed by this really depressing world event.”

But beneath it all lies the Bay Area, taking pride of place in the group’s name and influencing everything they do, most clearly in epic closer "Fishing for the Sun" (released last year as a standalone single). Written by Gunderson amidst a gender identity crisis, it was the supportive environment cultivated by the prominent genderqueer and transgender element of the group’s local music scene that allowed them to explore feelings they suggest they may have pushed away for a long time otherwise. 

FLAMANGO BAY have today announced details of their debut EP The Fool, set to be released on 13th May via 0800-MOSHI-MOSHI.

To celebrate, they share new single "LA", which was written shortly before moving to the eponymous city.

"Because of life circumstances and the pandemic, we really romanticized moving to LA," say the band, who are originally from the Bay Area of San Francisco. "We put a lot of expectations on the city to fix our internal problems. However, when we actually moved there, we were still the same people with the same problems."

"Musically, the song is inspired by pop artists like Harry Styles, Lady Gaga and indie acts like Surf Curse, and probably anything off the Spotify Surf Rock Sunshine playlist."

Speaking about the "LA" video, the band said: "we came up with a storyline loosely based around this drive from the Bay Area to Los Angeles, a journey we've been doing a lot recently.

"Ligaya Chinn (the protagonist) is moving to LA, and along the way gets a mysterious invitation to a party. Once she gets to LA, she meets up with us (Flamango Bay) and, after taking in some iconic Los Angeles sights, she goes to the party. At first it's fun, but when she goes to get water, she realizes everything is not what it seems.

"The video ends with an ominous yet silly tone, representative of our feelings towards living in LA.

Director Desmond O'shea adds: "Aah I hate it when people turn into lamps, don't you? Ouch! Made over 2 days and over 14 hours of driving, LA is just what it sounds like; love and disillusionment away from home."