The Pink Flowers takes the term “garage band” in the most literal sense. Ryan Faist and Nolan Bennett give low-fi music a fresh new sound, with an old-school twist. Their music is made different by recording using low-quality equipment in a garage. Calming, yet alluring, vocals brought together with melodic instrumentals create a unique listening experience. In 2014, they released two mixtapes online. Then they kicked off the New Year by releasing their three-track EP “Joy,” on January 19th. The EP features the songs “Kids,” “Wallflower,” and “Agnosia.” When listening to the EP in order you’re transported into their world. Ryan took the time to answer a few of our questions.

Lola Who: First of all, how did you come up with that name and what does it mean?
Ryan: It can be whatever your mind determines it to be. To us, it’s peaceful—a nice juxtaposition of the songs. We came up with it after realizing our last name was sh*t.

Lola Who: How did you guys meet and start making music together?
Ryan: We met through a friend, at a show in Toronto. We were both wearing leather jackets, and probably didn’t like each other at first. We realized that we liked the same music early on.

Lola Who: How would you describe the local music scene in Toronto?
Ryan: Eclectic. You can go to the Horseshoe on a Friday and see three rock bands, then walk over to the Cameron House and see three folk acts, then hop in a cab to the Air Canada Center and see Katy Perry. I guess it’s like any other metropolis —there’s something for everyone.

Lola Who: What equipment are you using for recording?
Ryan: We use a DIY setup; a laptop that can only handle 8-tracks, a couple of low-end mics, a mixer, and some guitars. The eight tracks limits us in a way similar to an older recording process… That is nice. A box is good. I don’t like sterile music. It just sounds like work for your ears to listen to it, like a Nintendo game or something.

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Lola Who: How did you develop your sound?
Ryan: I think it happens naturally. It’s retrospective really. I think the fuel is taking in as much or as little information as possible, depending on what you want to do. For me, I don’t like to listen to other artists when I’m writing. I fear that their music will always be better, or that I’ll rip them off. I’ll just listen to a bunch of things all at once when I’m not making anything.

Lola Who: Do you have any confirmed plans for an album?
Ryan: I think we’ll put out an album once we have the set of songs that we’re happy with. It could be in a month or a year. It all depends on how much we enjoy the songs that we’re making. We’re still learning what The Pink Flowers are. I’ve always liked prolific people, so hopefully we can follow that path.

Lola Who: Where was the band’s first show and what was it like?
Ryan: We’ve played around for a while, in other bands. Nolan was in Australia for a while too. The first Pink Flowers show was at the Handlebar. It’s a paper-thin dive in Kensington Market in Toronto. You can fit 50 people in the room, and you run the PA as you’re playing. It’s DIY, and we continue to play there.

Lola Who: Where do you see yourselves in the future?
Ryan: Dead. Just kidding. Sort of.

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By Hillary Loucks