Foals
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Foals | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Oxford, England |
| Genres | Indie rock Dance-punk Math rock |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Labels | Transgressive (UK) Sub Pop (USA) |
| Associated acts | The Edmund Fitzgerald, Youthmovies |
| Website | Official website |
| Members | |
| Yannis Philippakis (Vocals and guitar) Jack Bevan (Drums) Jimmy Smith (Guitar) Edwin Congreave (Keyboard) Walter Gervers (Bass) |
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| Former members | |
| Andrew Mears | |
Foals are a band from Oxford, England. They are currently signed to Transgressive Records in the UK and Sub Pop in the USA. They released their debut album Antidotes on the 24th of March, 2008 in the UK, and the 8th of April, 2008 in the USA.
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[edit] History
Jack and Yannis were originally in cult math rock band The Edmund Fitzgerald, but this was disbanded after they claimed that things had become “too serious” and they wanted to have more “fun making their music”.
Jimmy is the only one of the band members to have completed his degree: each of the band members quit their respective universities including Yannis and Edwin leaving their English courses at the University of Oxford, when the band signed to Transgressive Records by Ben Mackereth.
The lead singer of Youthmovies, Andrew Mears, originally formed the band, playing as guitarist and lead vocalist. He was present on the bands debut 7” single “Try This On Your Piano/Look At My Furrows Of Worry”, but left shortly afterwards to concentrate on Youthmovies debut album Good Nature.
The band’s musical influences are varied, with the band members citing minimal techno, Arthur Russell, Kraut rock bands such as Harmonia, Talking Heads and marijuana as their main sources of inspiration. Their musical style however, can be more directly linked to various genres such as indie rock, dance-punk, math rock, post-punk revival and techno.
In late 2007, the band began work on their debut album. It was produced by Dave Sitek of TV On The Radio and socialite Wendy Jane. The band, however, decided to mix the album themselves, stating that Sitek made the album sound like “it was recorded in the Grand Canyon”.
Foals released their debut album, entitled Antidotes on the 24th of March, 2008 in the UK and the 8th of April, 2008 in the USA. The album was a commercial success in the United Kingdom, debuting at #3 in the UK Albums Charts on the 30th of March, 2008[1]. The album was a minor success in other countries, charting in Japan, France and the Netherlands.
On the 19th of July, 2008 lead vocalist and guitarist Yannis Philippakis was arrested after a fight broke out at a festival in Barcelona. Media reports indicated that Yannis and members of Foals and the Kaiser Chiefs were involved in breaking up a racist attack by John Lydon of the Sex Pistols on Bloc Party lead vocalist Kele Okereke[2].
Recently, the band has started work on their second album in The House Of Supreme Mathematics, a communal house where members of Foals and other Oxford bands live. The record in its inception has been described by the band members as sounding like “tropical prog” and “like the dream of an eagle dying”[3]. Neither of these descriptions is thought to be accurate.
In August 2009, Foals started recording their album at Svenska Gramofon in Gothenburg, Sweden. The band have described the album as being “a lot less funk” than they had originally planned. A number of new songs have been debuted at recent concerts including “Total Life Forever”, “Death Surf”, “Spanish Sahara”, “Dirty Waves” and a yet-to-be-titled track which is mostly instrumental.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio Albums
| Year | Album | Cover Art |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Antidotes
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[edit] EPs
| Year | Album |
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Live EP
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Gold Gold Gold EP
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[edit] Singles
| Year | Title | Cover art | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Try This On Your Piano/Look At My Furrows Of Worry
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| 2007 | Hummer
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Mathletics
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Balloons
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| 2008 | Cassius
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Red Socks Pugie
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Olympic Airways
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[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Official website
- A Band That Cradles Its Rock, Even Under All Those Layers of Expectations, New York Times
- Foals live pictures
- Spanking New Session on MTV
- Live review Cardiff University
- Drowned in Sound article
- Foals interview
- Impact article
- Take Away Shows on Blogotheque
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