Fink: The British band who conquered US television

Fink are made up of Tim Thornton, Fin Greenall and Guy Whittaker

You may not be able to name a Fink song but in this box-set era of TV viewing, chances are you've heard their music.

Their work has featured on multiple US TV series including The Walking Dead, Battlestar Galactica, House, Lie To Me, CSI: NY and Friday Night Lights.

They have become masters of the sync, where songs are chosen to soundtrack adverts, films or TV episodes.

A successful sync can be lucrative for an artist, both for their finances and their reputation.

"It helps to pay some of the bills for sure," says singer Fin Greenall coyly.

The Walking Dead, based on a comic book series of the same name, features Andrew Lincoln.

One of their biggest syncs came when Warm Shadow, from their 2011 album Perfect Darkness, was featured on an episode of The Walking Dead.

"In the US, when that song featured, our Twitter and social media had a meltdown. The sync thing is great"

The song was later covered by Justin Vernon of Bon Iver.

"The supervisors who place the music in TV shows are really cool to hang out with," says Greenall.

"They always need the same song, something euphoric, involving redemption, overcoming the odds. They'll ask us for ten songs a month and give us the subject matter.

"Sia is one of the greatest examples of a sync changing a career when Breathe Me featured in the Six Feet Under finale, or Snow Patrol's Chasing Cars featuring in Grey's Anatomy."

Hugh Laurie starred in the highly successful medical drama House, which featured music from Fink

Fink's songs have also featured in movies such as Dear John and their latest single Looking Too Closely appeared on a sporting montage during the World Cup.

That single is the first from their latest album, Hard Believer, which has been brought out on their own label, R'COUP'D records, a subsidiary of their long term label Ninja Tune.

"We're lucky to be on an indie," says Greenall. "It wants records so we try to turn around our stuff as fast as possible and put as many records out as possible.

"We wouldn't want to jump ship to a major [label]. That's not a political standpoint. We're really happy where we are and the only reason to leave would be money, but if that's not the issue there's no point.

"It's very unusual to have a relationship with your record label for 10 years. We're friends with everyone, we've seen their kids grow up."

Drummer Tim Thornton says this album is "very different" from previous releases.

"It's much more guitar based, it's more rocky. That's where R'COUP'D came in but that's why we like Ninja Tune. They let us do it," he says.

Fink speak to Newsbeat from the opulent surroundings of the Royal Albert Hall, where they're playing in one of the buildings smaller rooms to a handful of fans.

The band, by their own admission, are more successful and well known in countries outside the UK, namely the Netherlands, Germany and the US.

"Instead of the 60-date tours over and over again like all the other cool little indie bands are doing, we'd do 10 in the UK, 10 in France, 10 in Germany, five in Holland. We'd work Europe," admits Greenall.

"The outcome is, fifth studio album in and we've got Europe. The downside is, on the media side of things, in the UK we get nothing."

Fink worked with Professor Green on his At Your Inconvenience record

The roster of artists they've worked with is impressive, from Amy Winehouse to John Legend and Stephen Manderson, better known as Professor Green.

"Stephen's a great guy. We don't a lot of work with rappers, as you can imagine, but what blew my mind about him was that he was up for it in a real genuine way," says Greenall.

Whilst Emeli Sande's chorus on Read All About It Part III has become synonymous with X Factor heartbreak and TV montages, Fin's voice offers a different perspective on the same lyrics in Read All About It Part II.

"It wasn't just a case of 'we sing the hooks, you do the rapping'," he says. "It was a lot more immersive than that and we wrote material together. His success has been really nice to watch."

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