Th recent premiere of the new video for “No Sleepers Verse” by English ambient rock band FOES promped me to connect with them and learn a bit more about their approach to creative work and plans for the future. Perfect for the moments before you drift to sleep, FOES’ music is a lot more than a fine compilation of lullabies. These guys can seamlessly transition from harmonious and ambient, to ferocious rock. Listen for yourself and scroll down to read the full interview!
Pre-order “Antecedence” at this location. The EP will be released on July 10th via Crooked Noise Records.
Hi guys! I’ve just fallen in love with your new track “No Sleepers Verse”. It’s incredibly stirring. Are you proud of the music video you’ve recently revealed? Tell me a bit about the concept and the production process.
Well originally we’d all brainstormed some quite different ideas for the video, however after talking with Simon, we agreed that letting him run with his own ideas was the best. He didn’t let us down, and it’s quite nice seeing someone else’s take on our songs. We’re immensely proud of that song, the lyrics and background to that song mean a lot to us as a band.
It’s been 1.5 years since your debut EP “Ophir”. How would you describe your own development as an artist since that time? What changes can we expect on your new offering “Antecedence”?
I think on Ophir, we discovered our sound but Antecedence is us defining our sound. A lot of time was spent writing a producing the record, and we ended up with a record very true to ourselves.
Can you explain to us your process? Was it a struggle to wrap up writing and recordings procedures for this EP?
Writing and recording was very natural. We enjoy the process and things actually came together quite quickly. We’ve been sat on the finished article for a little while, making sure we found the right home for it, which of course has its frustrations, but we’re chuffed to be with Crooked Noise, and finally get this EP out for people to hear.
How do you choose your subjects for the stories? What significance do lyrics have to you?
Chris is the lyric man, and the rest of us don’t interrupt. Without giving too much away, most the tracks are about things very close to us so do have a lot of significance to us a band.
Does “Antecedence” have a symbolic significance as a whole?
Antecedence means ‘to go before’. Of course that’s open to interpretation, but for me I like the idea that these songs are stories of things that have gone before the point of releasing this record.
Tell us a little about your fascination with music. Can we even call it that? What does this band mean to you personally?
We’re all extremely passionate about making music. We absolutely love writing, recording and performing together, and it’s all the more enjoyable as we’re such good mates away from music.
Has your closest area and places you lived in played a role in your work?
Liverpool is a city in love with music, so I guess it can rub off on you if you’re here. Although I wouldn’t call our sound particularly ‘Scouse’.
Ok guys, you’ll be doing a couple of shows in late June, finishing off on my birthday, June 28th in London. Are there more plans to hit the road at some time later this year?
Sorry to ruin your birthday, but that show has moved to the 24th! We’re playing a short run of shows in June, before Tech-Fest in July. We have New age festival in August before we head out on tour towards the end of that month. I can’t say too much just yet though… But don’t worry, we’ll be hitting the road.
Bummer. What comes next for you?
Shows. My favourite part. Then we head back in the studio in July, with the aim to release something in the not too distant future.
Thank you so much for doing this interview! I look forward to seeing great things to come from you in the future! Cheers from Warsaw!
No problem. Cheers.
