In Rise of the Creative Class, Richard Florida recorded the emergence of a new class of citizens whose foremost values are those of creativity, individuality and difference – he named them ‘the creative class’. Rachelle Crous spoke to The Plastics, who are undoubtedly leaders of the creative class with music inspired by creativity, individuality and difference.

It’s been a much-anticipated wait for your debut album. What creativity stunts can we expect from Shark?
Well, most people these days play to a click track (metronome), so one thing which is (we guess) kind of unique about the album, is that 90% of it is played without the click, live and raw. We also got a live string section on one of the tracks as well as this weird intro song which you have to hear to see what I mean!

What do you think is the essence of creativity required to stay original, especially in an overcrowded music scene as in SA?
Yeah, there is so much competition and politics that in order to stand out, you need to try come at it from some sort of different angle, either that or just throw yourself in and give it everything, preferably both!

In your signature sound, you pay homage to retro-rock and classic pop imagery. Why the decision to become an indie band?
Indie is a label we tried to stay away from at first, but then we found no other quick way to describe our band. We just sort of got into it, it does suit our sound in a way; we also listen to indie music.

In the decision to choose Gordon Raphael as the producer of your first full-length album, you definitely took creativity in the SA music industry to the next level. Why this decision?
For starters, we love the stuff he did with the Strokes! And it just seemed so obvious really, I mean why not? What’s the difference nowadays when anywhere in the world is just a plane flight away? We thought let’s give it a try; we mailed him and he replied the next day and things really started from there…

With different backgrounds from other bands and even a classically trained guitarist in your midst, would you describe yourselves as creative junkies when it comes to making music?
Yes definitely, we really do enjoy the entire creative process that happens from the birth of a song to its recording and beyond and for us it is an essential means of expression. It’s something that has brought us a lot of good times and many brain freezes!

* The first single from The Plastics’ debut album, namely ‘Caves’, will be on radio stations nationwide in early June. The album, Shark, is set for release in July. ❤