2008 WRITING FOLIO AISHAH HAMZA WOODLANDS DR.16 #05-141 S(730538) [email protected] 81135984 INTERVIEW text by aishah hamza brit- rockers “Wow. We’re really happy to do an interview for Singapore! You’re not allowed to drop chewing gum in your city are you? Is that right? Sorry if I’m a little ignorant,” says Edwin Congreave, keyboardist of the next big band, FOALS. True to the Oxford-dropout tag he brandishes, Edwin answers my questions articulately and elaborately. He even cared enough to apologize for grammatical errors he might have made (there were virtually none!). Given their enthusiasm to speak to anyone who enquires about the band, it is no wonder then that these Brit-lads are enjoying a meteoric rise via word-of-mouth. FOALS. INTERVIEW text by aishah hamza “Wow. We’re really happy to do an interview for Singapore! You’re not allowed to drop chewing gum in your city are you? Is that right? Sorry if I’m a little ignorant,” says Edwin Congreave, keyboardist of the next big band, FOALS. True to the Oxford-dropout tag he brandishes, Edwin answers my questions articulately and elaborately. He even cared enough to apologize for grammatical errors he might have made (there were virtually none!). Given their enthusiasm to speak to anyone who enquires “I don’T ThinK THE M AINSTREam will GET US liKE WE’D about the band, it is no liKE TO BE GOTTEN and I ThinK IF WE do GET BIG WE’RE wonder then that these Brit-lads are enjoying a GOING TO INEVITABLY maKE IT HARDER FOR THEM TO GET US.” meteoric rise via word-of-mouth. Word has gotten around that so i’m looking forward to working on to. It’s just this dynamic that came FOALS is one of the upcoming another album and making more music. about unconsciously. bands to watch for, in 2008. Do what we’re trying to do is going to take you think the mainstream audi- more than one album to get across. we But, yeah, it’s not very math and it’s not have to tour hard as well. very techno. It’s certainly not new wave! ence will get what you’re trying I think in the future we’ll broaden out a to do with your debut album? I don’t think the mainstream will get us bit, and take in some new influences. None of us knows. We have some like we’d like to be gotten- and I think if We’re into writing pop music, you know, pretty short indie disco songs on the we do get big we’re going to inevitably and we’re always changing our minds album, so it’d be disingenuous of us to make it harder for them to get us. As and wanting to do new things. suggest that no-one’s going to get it. long as we get to play around the world But there’s some pretty weird shit as to receptive audiences, I’m happy. Do you consider your music well--instrumental, meandering, pretty more elitist than the now- psyched stuff. I really hope people are FOALS’ brand of music has been generic indie scene or is it the patient with it and take it on its own alluded to sub-genres such as polar opposite whereby you’re merits. The hype creates preconcep- math-rock, dance-punk, techno trying to make your music as tions and antagonisms and none of that and new wave. If you could use widely-accessible as possible? is going to benefit us. an analogy to describe your music, what would it be? Indie is a fairly redundant term now, I think it’s a great album--though it’s full as you say, but we are on an (sort of) of flaws as well. i would have liked to Dance-punk worked for a lot of our independent label, and we only want to have done a lot of things differently, and earlier stuff I think. We act like punks work with people with that sort of bullish and we make music that you can dance independent mindset, you know, working for yourself and not compromising. But also finding new stuff to do. Most press in this country at least is open to the indie scene being difficult and fractured, so it’s easy to stand aside from a lot of what’s going on. I sincerely hope that we’re not an elitist band. I don’t know how to avoid being described like that though, if we go around saying that we’re “WE ACT better than other people. We don’t want to compromise in some ways but obviously we want as many people as possible to like us, so... whew, it’s a work in progress. At some point in our lives, we probably listened to music we don't like to own up to- like Ant and Dec, back when they were called PJ and Duncan! What sort of 'embarrassing' music did you guys enjoy listening to back then? Haha. My dad listens to Rachmaninov and my mum doesn't listen to anything much, so I just listened to my older sister's Beatles and R.E.M cassettes. And then Blur and Radiohead. Maybe not that embarrassing (I still like those bands!) though I bought some R&B singles when I was like eleven or twelve I think. I remember buying Brandy & Monica "The Boy Is Mine", which I loved. My parents were probably pretty concerned by that. Walter, Jimmy, and Jack used to listen to a lot of skater punk, I think. And Yannis was listening to Skinny Puppy at around the age of eight. Judging from all the hype and accolades, you're on your way to becoming richer than you are now. Do you think you'll make better music then, or are poverty-afflicted bands more inclined to produce better music? Oh god, I don't know about being rich, but it'd be nice to able to afford rent and some clothes. The poverty/creativity thing can work in different and strange ways. Obviously massive bands bloated with wealth like the Red Hot Chilli Peppers or whoever are just embarrassing themselves every time they write a new song. But then someone like Timbaland seems to know what he's doing, despite the millions. And then there's the Beatles. Coming from a background where you had to work hard does help, but you can't really measure those things. You just keep your head down and make music for yourself. For us, speaking personally, when we can afford to buy a place to call a studio, and to buy more equipment, and we can afford to have time to live and sleep in it, then I think we're going to produce better music. “I REMEMBER BUYinG BrandY & MoniCA’S THE BOY IS MINE whiCH I loVED. MY ParENTS WERE PROBABLY PRETTY CONCERNED BY THAT .” Having already appeared in SPIN, NME, PITCHFORK and a whole slew of other online music websites, FOALS are set to take 2008 by storm. This bunch of university dropouts however, refuse to indulge in bragging rights opting instead to remain driven and grounded. Incidentally, the boys from FOALS are signed with Sub Pop Records. This legendary label has superb talent-spot- ting abilities- their most famous signing being grunge-band, Nirvana. Whether Foals can achieve a similar status remains to be seen but since they emanate such a positive attitude, you can’t help but root for them. “WE ACT LIKE PUNKS.” FOALS are: Jack [drummer], Edwin [keyboardist], Walter [bassist], Jimmy [guitarist], Yannis [vocalist] INTERVIEW text by aishah hamza Vagabonds turn rockstars, Rock Kills Kid, haven’t always had it easy. Their road to recognition did not materialize overnight. Yet they are creating all the right new waves in the American music industry. I speak to bassist, Shawn Dailey and find out what makes the band tick and how they deservedly got to where they are. ROCK f f KILLS KID INTERVIEW text by aishah hamza “jeff ACTUALLY WROTE THE FIRST RECORD WHILE HE was ILLEGALLY LIVING AT OUR REHEARSAL STUDIO FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS.” n the wee hours of New Year’s Eve, Wondering if their collective name had And what a name it has turned out to I received an email that says “I anything to do with the band’s other be for them. First, they were signed on Ihaven’t forgotten about you nor the violent tendencies or acts of mischief, to one of the top music labels in the interview!!! Happy New Year!” I asked Shawn about the origins of the industry, Reprise Records- something name Rock Kills Kid. Shawn admits he has been dreaming This is not what you would expect from of since the third grade. Then, Rolling a felon who has been denied entry into “The name came from a friend of ours. Stone magazine named them as the Canada for the “use of explosives”. But We were sitting around trying to think band to watch for 2006. Shawn Dailey, bassist of the upcoming of a band name and he said we should L.A band, Rock Kills Kid, appears to be call it Rock Music Kills Kids and Jeff, our They have also been invited to play twice nothing more than mischievous and a lead-singer, shortened it to Rock Kills at the Last Call with Carson Daly show probe into the matter reveals that he Kid.