With a new single and a set of local and interstate dates lined up, Perth 5-piece Fourth Floor Collapse return to the spotlight this month after a relatively quiet end to 2002. Dan Forrestal [guitarist and backing vocals] gave us an insight into what's happening with the band, and what to expect of their forthcoming album, due to be recorded later this year.

With things kicking back in to gear, what's the general feeling in the Fourth Floor Camp at the moment?
It's optimistic and determined. We're aiming for this next album to be one that gets out to a lot more people than we've reached previously and we're also very excited about the music we've made.

You've just released your new single "Sun". Can you give us a bit of background to this song?
It was actually first done at the tail end of our sessions for Half Deserted Streets but we didn't get it finished in time. Michael brought that one in. It's got a different flavour to a lot of Fourth Floor songs. It's upbeat musically but lyrically if you delve deeper it has quite pessimistic lyrics, which find to be a wonderful combination and not as incongruous as it sounds.

Fourth Floor Collapse have a sound which resists definition... as a band do you have a set idea as to how you want the songs to come out, or is experimentation a big part of the writing process?
I like the idea that we defy definition. We have a writing process that works in several different ways and it keeps us fresh. There are no barriers up to what we're going to come up with. There's no set idea, just to make everything as good as we possibly can. We have a great feeling about 2003. A lot of expectation and a lot of excitement. This year has a lot of potential for us.

You're heading back over to Sydney for some shows in march... is success over there very important and something the band strives for, or is it more a case of just playing to capacity each night and being satisfied within that?
We're not satsfied with our position at the moment. People in Perth get the chance to see us a lot, so any chance to expand the number of people who see us is great and this trip is also a bit of an industry aimed trip also. We'll do radio promotion and try to get some national press. If we were happy with playing to capacity in Perth, that'd be fine but we wouldn't achieve anything more than that. So, we're aiming a bit higher.

Quite a few WA artists pack up and head east in order to further their careers and gain more exposure. Has relocation ever been considered?
It has been considered and it might be considered in the future but at the moment we're quite happy with what we can achieve nationally from a base here. But by the same token I think we need to do whatever it takes to get as far as we can with Fourth Floor. WA will always be home though.

Later in the year you're set to record the follow-up to 2001's "Half-Deserted Streets". How are the songs progressing, and what can fans expect to be different this time around?
It's sounding like more of everything. There's the next generation of our songwriting really and a step in the right direction. We've made an effort to be concise but more interesting at the same time. There's the same large variety of approaches on this album and our layered sound is intact - it's just better. We have 25 songs now and we'll probably record 30 before we start to pare it back to a nice collection of the best material. I don't think we're ready to go for the double album just yet though.

When talking about artists hailing from perth, FFC are often portrayed in a positive light by both punters and musicians alike. Do you attribute this to having a genuinely unique sound, plain hard work, or a combination of both?
Yeah, it's both hopefully. We work hard and I think you have to. If you're not prepared to work you'll see results that reflect that. So, we try as hard as we can, and do as much we possibly can. There are so many people around the world putting out music and great music too, that if you don't have something unique then you're behind the eight ball from the start. Hopefully when people see us or hear us we come across as a likeable band.

Do you think being part of an original scene as close-knitted as Western Australia's has helped you as a band, or is it something that you try to break free of?
Probably both. It has helped us. For a long time we thought there was some club in Perth that we weren't part of, but we've kind of existed in our own little sphere. After a while you just meet all the people around town who are doing brilliant creative things and they become friends and you see them at a lot of important shows - you see them play and they see you. Perth is small enough for you to be apart of everything. At the same time, I'd like to think we're going to go beyond being a 'Perth' band. We don't sound like Perth, hopefully we sound international, Perth just happens to be our home town.

What constitutes a good gig for you guys, and has there been a highlight show which stands out in the memory bank?
Nowadays there's been a few highlights where you walk off stage going "oh wow". The last one was at the Swan Basement, a small pub, filled amost to capacity. Other memorable moments have been our album launch in the Octagon Theatre, and getting a great repsonse from 3,000 Alex Lloyd fans.

Finally, what's the ultimate ambition for Fourth Floor Collapse?
To get the most that we possibly can out of this band. To make great album after great album. There are a lot of albums that have given all they have to offer after three listens - that's what I want to avoid. I want to make music that has enough depth that you can listen to it forever, you know, the albums you put on and still find something new in it or a depth that keeps it fresh.