The longevity of music artists is a complex problem. Labels want you to produce more music to boost sales and streams, something less prolific musicians cannot achieve.
Unless you're Hugo Gruzman and Jimmy Lyell, that is.
The Flight Facilities, a duo of Australian producers Gruzman and Lyell, have been working against the grain for over a decade, releasing music at their speed and comfort and touring as they see fit.
Gruzman and Lyell first met as young adults in Sydney's DJ scene, repeatedly running into each other until they finally gave in to fate and decided to work together. Their first hit in 2010, the groovy lounge disco track "Crave You," was composed in Lyell's bedroom. Its popularity spread almost immediately, but rather than riding the wave of "Crave You," the pair decided to slow down their songwriting and release singles instead of an album.
Their goal was to connect with their audience more effectively, even telling music website The Line of Best Fit that they "never really planned to do an album."
Against the odds, the debut eventually came in the package of the album Down to Earth, released in 2014.
The duo demonstrated that electronic music could be many things at once, including a cacophony of sounds not limited to dreamlike ambient jams, funky rhythms, house, disco, pop, R&B, funk, and more.
In the five years following the release of their debut album, they released several one-off singles and eventually hit the world with their highly anticipated sophomore album, Forever, in 2021. Melodic, energetic and expansive, the album is a perfect metaphor for the Flight Facilities' live performances.
Lights, chanting and signature flight suits make up only a fraction of the experience at the duo's live performances. Their stage presence is so enveloping that you must believe this is what the music is all about for them. They want their music to feel personal, communal and all-encompassing, something that's hard to achieve through those pesky conventional studio albums.
