Start Listening To: Test Plan
Unveiling the Raw Energy and DIY Spirit of Test Plan.
Test Plan, are a DIY trio shaking up London's music scene with their high-energy, scuzzy sound. Comprising Max, Mike, and Rory, Test Plan brings together a fusion of backgrounds from Bournemouth, Greece, and Dubai, converging in the heart of London to create music that's as intense as it is groovy. Their debut single, "So Bored at Your Squat Rave" serves as a gritty introduction to their musical ethos. With lyrics that explore themes of dissatisfaction and alienation amidst the chaos of modern life, Test Plan's music hits hard and resonates deeply.
For those unfamiliar with your music, can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and about the music you make?
Hello! We’re test plan - Max, Mike and Rory - and we’re a DIY trio formed in London. Rory is from Bournemouth, Mike is from Greece and Max grew up in Dubai but we’ve all been living in London now for several years. The music we make is high energy, scuzzy, loud guitar music. It’s heavy and it’s groovy - intentionally trying to capture the state between dancing and moshing.
Why should people start listening to test plan?
It’s always an amazing feeling when people resonate with what we do. We love making music and performing together - it gives us catharsis, purpose and joy. But honestly, there’s no real reason people should listen to us! Listen to whatever makes you feel something, and if our energy and noise does that for you, that’s awesome.
We loved your debut single ‘So Bored at Your Squat Rave’. Can you tell us more about the lyrics of his song?
This song was written by Max, initially starting with the refrain “So Bored at Your Squat Rave”, which was kind of playful at first but developed into something much more conceptual. Max thought it was a funny notion to be caught up in an inherently exciting and adrenaline inducing experience (a squat rave) but to be unfazed, wishing you were somewhere else with better sound and better booze. The song is ultimately about being lost and chasing a feeling, expecting to find fulfilment through partying but actually finding the opposite and reacting with a smug tantrum, blaming everything and everyone rather than yourself. It’s a depiction of fear and alienation propped up by a fat bass line and waves of distortion.
How was the single produced?
We recorded this song entirely in our rehearsal space with our good friend Darren Jones who engineered and mixed the track along with others we'd been working on. He saw us play our second ever show and was super enthused to work with us! So we basically turned our space into a make-shift studio for a couple of days, all totally DIY with mics taped to cymbal stands, blankets wrapped around the ceiling, the four of us crammed around cables and piles of gear. We’ve spent a lot of time in our room recording demos and jams and we wanted to capture our live energy in its purest form. It was an experiment in itself to see whether it would be possible to record something a bit more ambitious than simply demos in there.
"Dissatisfaction and paranoia" are strong emotions conveyed in your music. How do you hope your audience connects with these feelings, and what message do you want to convey through your music?
Modern life is full of insane anxieties and stresses and the weight of the world is constantly hanging over your shoulders. Things can be so stressful quite often, but it can be relieved (at least for us) by playing music. Loud angry music has always been a phenomenal way to open up that valve and let some pressure out.
Exploring negativity in art is a vital way of decompressing and understanding the world. I think we’ve all found ourselves caught up, tense and wanting to escape our surroundings.
Could you discuss the significance of your band's name test plan and how it reflects your musical identity?
Our name has a lot more significance to us now then it did back when we decided on it. It was no epiphany moment tho… We had a long list of names compiled before we played our first gig and test plan was simply the one with the most votes. No other band had it so that helped too we guess! test plan is a reflection on what the band is; we’re constantly bombarding ourselves with more and more ideas, trying out new things, and we have a huge craving for what we can do with this band. We’re always looking one or two steps ahead - although not in a “big vision” way. We’re driven by anxiety and impatience and we want to move forward all the time. You have to pick something and go for it. That's the test plan.
Can you tell us about your individual musical backgrounds and how they contribute to the band's overall sound and chemistry?
Despite growing up in different countries, the three of us have had a similar journey as musicians. We were all at some point in hardcore, metal and deathcore bands and then all moved towards indie/alternative music in our late teens and both as musicians and music fans. Even if it’s not always directly heard in our tunes, we all love loud and dark music and we all share a symbiotic gut reaction to musical ideas when they hit that angsty sweet spot. In short, we all just like really loud and horrible music! Our paths just met naturally from there, and by naturally, Rory and Mike met online, and Rory pulled Max into our practice room after Max coincidently finished a rehearsal with another band down the hall and test plan was born from that day! There isn’t one main songwriter in the band and we work on songs together, which works because our tastes mesh together really nicely. We cover a lot of ground for three people outside of making the music too; Mike has a background in audio tech which has been essential for getting demos together and engineering the band’s sound. Rory used to run a label and has a keen sense for distribution, social media and booking shows. Max is a filmmaker and visual artist which has been utilised for creating cover art, merch designs and music videos.
Can you tell us more about your latest single 'Walking in a Vacuum'?
‘Walking in a Vacuum’ is essentially a dance song with the structure and development that you may expect from that world of music. Our musical language as a band however is derived from influences across noise-rock, shoegaze, hardcore punk and metal and has taken us a lot of live performances and recording, including releasing our first single to realise that our music necessitates a huge amount of intensity. Practically, this meant an unhinged vocal delivery, the most disgusting bass tones we could conure and guitar parts are either crushingly low or ear piercingly high. Darren Jones, who recorded and produced this and our previous single, found this amazing balance so that the groove and punchiness of the song was never lost amongst the noise and fully captured the mood we were trying to translate. We love loud and dark music that makes you want to move and 'Walking in a Vacuum' is a very conscious attempt at making something that fits this mould.
Could you share insights into the creative process behind your music video?
The idea was to find the simplest way possible to make imagery that felt cursed and unnerving. We had a storyboard laid out with various scenarios for us to all move between, inspired by a variety of photography as well as visual and performance art. These scenes were built with animation in mind so that it could be incorporated as a final stylistic element. The energy from the video really comes from us improvising on the day of the shoot, challenging ourselves to act as weird and feral as possible. Utilising the lighting set up as props was a decision made on the day and we’re really happy with the visual style it created. We cleared out a bedroom with white walls and intentionally wanted to create the feeling that this was a performance piece in an art gallery. Marina Abramović was a big influence on the video. The way she situates herself in extreme situations, in environments like exhibitions, and encourages people to act as observers is really powerful. There’s something animalistic about how she documents herself and acts of violence in her work. Alongside that, filmmakers such as Michael Haneke, David Lynch and Robert Eggers were all big influences on the visual approach. Editing choices were purely based on riding the intensity of the song and trying to match the propulsion of energy being created by the music.
You recently did a launch show at Paper Dress Vintage for your new single? How did you find the show?
We booked this show before the single was fully ready… Being optimistic that we can do everything ourselves, we of course ended up rushing to get everything ready before the show! Time was of the essence and we did manage to get it all in place thankfully and landed on the show day super excited. All the people involved in the show were absolutely great and super eager, the lineup was fantastic with our good friends in violet joining us and Brides who were absolutely captivating! There was a good amount of people we didn't know that just heard about it and showed up to enjoy themselves with some noise and as it was the first time playing Paper Dress, we had a lot of anticipation. The atmosphere turned amazing and the vibes we got from the crowd were beautiful. Lots of excitement, love and fun in the air. Felt like a really good time for everyone!
How does being a DIY band influence your approach to promoting your music?
We consider ourselves as a DIY band and it's very much been our approach since we started. We try to do as much as we possibly can ourselves using resources we have around us, sometimes friends coming on board to help too. Between us, we try to utilise skills we have outside of the songwriting and keep everything in-house: making music videos, making artwork, recording demos, booking shows, self-releasing our music, promotion and more. We also use our rehearsal space as a recording studio guided by our great friend Darren who engineers and produces our music. The only thing we don’t do ourselves is print merch but maybe one day! It’s an approach that just works best for us and allows us to be totally free and in control of what we do and how we do it, promotion or otherwise, making the entire creative process so much more rewarding.
What albums are you still listening to from when you were younger?
Max: Brian Eno’s Ambient Music for Airports and Option Paralysis by The Dillinger Escape Plan.
Mike: Bazooka (self titled 2013) small but amazing Greek band, and Sonic Youth - Goo.
Rory: Nirvana - In Utero is one of the first CD’s I ever bought and it’s always held up. I've also been a massive fan of A Place to Bury Strangers since I was about 16 years old and are my most seen live band.
Which TV series or film would 'So Bored at Your Squat Rave' be the theme music for?
A national geographic documentary about the life of a haggered raver. Or Peep Show.
What do you love right now?
Trying to stay focused and creative.
What do you hate right now?
People being bored in raves or gigs and just standing still! London is infamous for this. Music players put lots of effort, you have to put some effort into dancing yourself too. Show support!
What's in store for Test Plan in the near future? Any plans for tours, new releases, or collaborations that fans should be excited about?
We’ll be playing a lot more shows this year and hopefully getting out on the road and touring! We have some shows outside of London in the pipeline and we’re psyched to be playing our first shows outside the UK at the start of the summer. So who knows, maybe a European tour too! We’re also working on our debut EP which will be out later this year, cooking up a live session, new ideas we can bring to our live show and we’re always writing more music! So hopefully we’ll be sharing whatever we’re doing with you over the course of this year.
