FOALS
Despite being one of the most hotly tipped bands of the year, Foals are reluctant idols. Camilla Pia finds out why
F
rom blogosphere sweethearts to daytime radio fodder. Foals‘ recent rise to fame has been meteoric. With Anni/ores. they have easily made one of the albums of 2008. and the famously energetic outfit are about to embark
on a run of totally sold ottt l'K shows at some of
the biggest venues they have ever played (tickets priced at £9 for March‘s QTvll' gig in (ilasgow were going for £60 on eBay last week). Some critics have even made musical comparisons with Radiohead. and while the weight of expectation clearly lies heavily on their shoulders. it is undoubtedly an exciting time for this band.
We catch up with Yannis Philippakis in Seattle. on a jaunt to meet with new Stateside label Sub Pop following some packed-to-bttrsting shows in New York. and he is markedly different from the talkative young musician we interviewed in August last year. Back then. the talented Zl-year- old was brimming with ideas. discussing the state of pop and detailing grand aspirations for the Oxford-based fivesome's future. He chatted passionately for over an hour about working on the debut record with TV On The Radio‘s Dave Sitek. ranted about the shallowness of contemporary culture and in particular London metropolitan-centric white boy indie. and waxed eloquent about 'l‘imbaland. Alan l.omax‘s Field Recordings and afrobeat. It was the kind of interview that inspires you to pick tip an instrument and start dreaming. Today. however. he is noticeably reticent. possibly due in pan to jet lag and a gruelling schedule of interviews which have left him physically spent.
‘We made the record that we wanted to make and hopefully people will like it.‘ he says matter of factly. ‘Commercially. I don‘t know how it will do and to be honest we don‘t care. The people who matter to us seem to like it and we are proud of it so we don‘t think about the other side of it too much.‘ A lot has been made of the band's decision not to use producer Sitek‘s final mix of the album. and when we ask Philippakis about the subsequent music press attention he becomes exasperated. 'He is one of the great American producers. As time goes on he will have a historical relevance. and there are very few around now that you can say that about so it's a bit annoying when people say that be fucked up.‘
20 THE LIST 28 Feb-13 Mar 2308
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So let‘s allow the music to speak for itself. .-lnlidolev is a triumph. and with its intoxicating. cleverly constructed mix of intricate polyrhythms. haunting brass sections. juddering hasslines. lining guitars played high on the fret board and beautiful melodies. it sticks out a mile from anything being made by the band's peers. For anyone well versed in the works of l-‘ela Kuti. litiga/i. Battles and Steve Reich it may not be wholly original. btit the way lioals combine these more serious influences with unabashed pop sensibilities formed from a love of(iw'en Stefani. Jtistin Timberlakc and .\'elly l-‘urtado is completely new. The band performed at lbi/a Rocks and appeared on ('hannel 4 teen drama Skins as well as wooing the underground by playng house parties tip and down the country. At times it is hard to believe that such a tightly— knit and adept group of musicians got together (from the ashes of math rock act The lidmund Fitzgerald) less than two years ago.
The debut's lyrics are also strikingly different from many of l5oals‘ contemporaries: they are fragmented. poetic and full of imagery. ‘Basically'. when we write it's intuitich l’ltilippakis. 'but I tried to make it so that when you listen to the record on headphones my voice enters your head for 45 minutes and words cover the inside of your sktill with images. The lyrics are taken from ten years worth of journals and I like the idea of them making the record quite cinematic and photographic.‘
These musical innovations will ensure the band continue to grace maga/ine covers for most of 3008. So is the frontman ever worried about how he comes across in interview s‘.’ 'Yes. of course. We live inside our own heads so much that we
‘MY VOICE ENTERS YOUR HEAD FOR
45 MINUTES AND WORDS COVER THE INSIDE OF YOUR SKULL WITH IMAGES'
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Foals’ opinions haven't changed but they’re less willing to share them since fame came calling
forget people are actually listening to what w e'rc saying and then we end up in troublef
During our interview last year. l’hilippakis described how he felt alienated from the current crop of indie acts. laying into 'pouting bands in their winklepickers and fucking hoxton hairdos‘ and swearing never to 'jam with Jack l’enate‘. Yet when questioned about whether he still feels like this he responds strongly: look. I never went to rock school and learned how to do interviews so I am bound to say stuff that people don't like. You say things llippantly and all of a sudden someone takes it to heart and everyone is discussing it . . . it‘s weird. When we first started out we were naive and talked to journalists as if we were