Foal of surprises
Published Date:
25 September 2008
By Staff Copy
Who knew eh? Shooting stars Foals will be following up their October 9 gig at the brand spanking new Leeds Academy with a kick-ass set showing off their DJing skills.
And playing host will be everyone's favourite Call Lane nightspot Jakes Bar& Grill.
The Oxford quintet – who offer a scintillating dovetail of minimalist electro indie pop in a similar vein to The Klaxons – have already had a few hit records with Cassius, Balloons and Hummer which featured in the hit TV show Skins.
But they're also keen on getting behind the decks as often as possible and leading the charge is Edwyn who just by chance was actually born in Leeds. Fancy.
Nightscene caught up with Ed for a quick Q&A...
So, how do you think you've been received by the British public? Are you surprised?
Sometimes. None of us were expecting to even scrape the charts. But it's not like we've become this unwieldy pop sensation – I don't even think we could be if we tried.
Do you feel you've not quite arrived yet – how far do you think you have to go?
I noticed that our record was available to listen to on Virgin Atlantic's in-flight entertainment the other day. I guess if the Mile High Club are getting down to our music then we must have arrived. Seriously though, we have a long way to go.
Any defining moments so far?
Meeting random kids in random towns across the world who love our music is pretty special. I know the stock answer is playing Glastonbury, but that was actually a weird anti-climax. I felt so dislocated.
So, what made you get into Djing?
I've been into DJing for years, but playing with Foals has given me the opportunity to DJ to more people more often. I love dance music plain and simple, and I love trying to get people to dance to records they maybe wouldn't normally dance to.
Do you do it wherever you gig or is this 'double Foals bill' a rarity?
It's a rarity. I mostly DJ in and around London during our infrequent time off.
Do you view DJing as an extension of your musicality – or two entirely different entities?
An extension, but a pretty different one. I'm into disco and deep house and the connection between that and the music we make as Foals definitely makes sense to me. Maybe it only makes sense to me.
What do you think of people who view DJs as inferior to the people who purely write, make and perform music?
Mmm, for the most part they're probably right. DJing is mostly just functional. Some hip hop DJs have changed music in a creative way though.
How did the Jake's Bar gig come about?
They asked me to play. I said yes. It was a wonderful day.
Have you been to Leeds before – if so what were your experiences?
Many times, I was born off Harehills Lane. We've played around Leeds quite a bit – we used to play shows at the Brudenell Social Club pretty regularly with various Leeds bands.
If you hit the international big time which would HAVE to go – the music or the DJing?
The DJing of course. I know where my loyalties lie.
The full article contains 548 words and appears in EE Scene newspaper.
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Last Updated:
25 September 2008 11:10 AM
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Source:
EE Scene
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Location:
Leeds