Matthew Barton Stokes Friendly Fires with Short Documentary

Matthew Barton’s latest project ‘SVEA’ is an engaging and thoughtful documentary that follows premier electro indie outfit Friendly Fires during the recording of an unreleased album. Matthew and the band had already collaborated on the ‘Pala’ tour diaries. Although the final work has not yet been released due to the band’s thorough perfectionism, the film shows a talented group during the most vital part of their creative process.

Doing his best to remain impartial, Matthew spent ten claustrophobic days with the band outside of Karstadt in Sweden at a remote barn. The freezing location was chosen for its lack of distractions as they worked together writing, recording and forming the basis of the proposed new album. Matthew was keen to capture the creative struggles that all bands have to negotiate as they attempt to create notable work, even for a group of Friendly Fire’s status.

The film’s narrative reveals a human element that both creative and non creative audiences can identify with - the emotional strain involved in creating art work at its most fresh and potent. Matthew’s relaxed, unobtrusive camera and cleverly understated documentary style captures the group’s natural reactions; in doing so we are shown the essence of the band’s creative process at a pivotal time in their narrative.