This week we're putting The Tonearm's needle on Ann Arbor krautrock band Fling ii. I sat down with drummer and synthesist Brad Gowland, and guitarist Richard Murphy, to chat about their third album, 3, which is out now on We Are Busy Bodies. It’s six tracks cut down from hours of studio jamming. We talk about Richard's path from ambient guitar to doom metal, Brad finding four minutes inside a fifty-minute take, and how a Magic: The Gathering card - and a commune breakup - inspired the band’s name. (The musical excerpts heard in the interview are from Fling ii’s 3) — Dig DeeperFling ii: Visit Fling ii on Bandcamp, where the full catalog livesPurchase 3 from We Are Busy Bodies, Bandcamp, or Qobuz, and listen on your streaming platform of choice.2 (2024), the record that introduced Dave Van Dusen's pedal steel — BandcampThe self-titled debut (2022), seven tracks from the band's first weekend at Willis Sound — BandcampThe debut's 2024 vinyl reissue on Italy's Black Sweat Records, distributed by Forced ExposureThe Studio and the Label: Willis Sound — the converted church in Willis, Michigan where every Fling ii record has been madeWe Are Busy Bodies, the Toronto label behind 3 — and Exclaim!'s interview with founder Eric Warner on the label's first twenty yearsThe label's roster on BandcampElsewhere in the Band: Sif, Richard Murphy's instrumental doom project, which Brad Gowland produces and programs drums forMusical References: Neu!'s "Hallogallo" — the track Richard played Brad in high school, and the founding reference point for the bandEarth's The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull (Southern Lord, 2008), the ambient half of Brad's original pitch — also on BandcampElder, the stoner-metal band whose turn to unqualified krautrock Richard citesBlood Incantation's Timewave Zero, the synth record Brad keeps returning toWater Damage, the Austin group whose In E the live show came to resembleAmon Düül II, whose split from their parent commune gave the band its nameOsees, whose cover art set the visual templateScenes and Support: R. Solomon, the goth synth-pop act who shared the Ann Arbor billRyan Spencer, the Detroit DJ and producer whose new project closed the showNew Orleans Synth Cult, the collective Richard describes playing laundromats — also on InstagramRead More: RetroFuturista's August 2026 interview with Brad Gowland, on motorik, pedal steel, and recording at Willis SoundFifteen Questions: Fling ii about krautrockElsewhere on The Tonearm: Suzanne Ciani: The Buchla's Orchestral Homecoming — the episode Brad name-checks at the close, and its companion article, Speaking the Word of the Buchla— Dig into this episode's complete show notes at podcast.thetonearm.com— • Did you enjoy this episode? Please share it with a friend! You can also rate The Tonearm ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. • Subscribe! Be the first to check out each new episode of The Tonearm in your podcast app of choice. • Looking for more? Visit podcast.thetonearm.com for bonus content, web-only interviews + features, and the Talk Of The Tonearm email newsletter. You can also follow us on Bluesky, Mastodon, YouTube, and LinkedIn. • Be sure to bookmark our online magazine, The Tonearm! → thetonearm.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
