In the small university town of Oxford, there lies an unassuming little band called Foals.
Well, not really. They’re not little. They’re huge judging from their fans at RAMfest 2014 in Johannesburg.
Frontman Yannis Philippakis, speaking backstage at the festival said he was very excited to be here “for personal reasons. I got family here so that to me playing here is really exciting.
“I came here a couple of years ago and spent some time in Cape Town and hadn’t really gathered that there was that much interest in Foals, but coming here I understood there was an appetite for us to play.”
He said they didn’t really know what to expect from the local crowd and the band doesn’t like to think about the shows too much so they go onto stage without expectation.
Made up of Philippakis on vocals and guitar, Jack Bevan on drums, Jimmy Smith on guitar and synthesiser, Walter Gervers on bass and backing vocals and Edwin Congreave on keyboard and backing vocals, they began in Oxford in 2005.
The very indie-styled Philippakis takes a drag of his cigarette and with hoodie on, shrugs. The journey, he said, is hard to sum up in a pithy way.
“When we first got signed, there was this feeding frenzy in the UK with a lot of hype, and we were thrust into the limelight and it took us a while to acclimatise.
“We learnt a lot of lessons quite rapidly during that period. Since then we’ve just been focusing on making music and playing each show the best it can be played and not allowing ourselves to get jaded or be tempted by things that can corrupt your enjoyment of making music.”
He said he feels like Foals are playing better than ever, “and we still have a ravenous appetite to make music and to be doing this”.
Foals released their debut album Antidotes in March 2008, and Philippakis says it was largely just circumstance that they are successful, being a very DIY band.
“There wasn’t an infrastructure for music development in Oxford. We were influenced by the likes of Fugazi and American hardcore bands that showed you there was a way of making music without needing to be part of a pop kind of method.
“So yeah, we didn’t have any money. We were broke and during school holidays we would book our own shows, make our own t-shirts and put out our own CDs and just tour.
“I think those experiences were very formative for our band because you never forget playing to nobody night after night and it makes you appreciate the ride a whole lot more.”
Since Antidotes, the band has released two more studio albums; Total Life Forever in 2010 and Holy Fire in 2013 – the latter being the album that shot them to superstardom.
Philippakis said they’re a very different band since 2005. “We have changed. I would be disappointed if we hadn’t, really.
“We are restless creatively and I want it to be something that has forward movement.”
He said the sound now has more dimensions and the band has added a lot of depth.
“At the start, I was very specific about what I wanted it to sound like. I wanted to play at parties and make people dance and we did that, and when we did a second record we didn’t want it to be like the last – like being at the same party repeating the same joke.
“We wanted to do something different, and I think every record will be different to the previous one.”
Foals’ performance at RAMfest was the first time South Africans were treated to their live performance, and it was an energetic one with so much life. Everything was slick and expertly executed, which is no less than fans expected.
From hits like Olympic Airways to their most recent hit, Inhaler, the band had the crowd screaming for more.
But Philippakis suggested they won’t be coming back soon, because there is more touring to complete and when they get back home, they want get back into the studio and start writing.
“We already have fragments, different bits of music and riffs. I’m working on lyrics. I want it to be an intuitive process without a map.
“We don’t want to try plan it out, make it square in advance. We like discovering the road as we walk it, not knowing the destination.”
He said that kind of process didn’t exist before. “It wasn’t organic. There was a kind of preconceived idea about what we wanted.
“I initially wanted the band to be like techno, dry staccato and angular, and that was already pre-existing before we wrote the songs.
“Over time it’s become more intuitive and governed by the gut. I think we have successfully found a way to use the brain to be the slave and not the master, and I think that’s the best way to do it.”
Foals attained success very quickly and have only lost one band member since it began, but they have been pretty constant.
“We’ve been lucky,” said Philippakis. “Some things beset some bands and we haven’t had those kind of problems. We all get along remarkably well considering how much time we spend with each other and how long it’s been.
“There have been hurdles and things we’ve had to overcome, but we definitely are fortunate in the way things have panned out but you never know what’s gonna happen. There might be something around the corner to create problems.”
Philippakis said as much as the band enjoys playing to large crowds, once they are touring, they will take a few weeks off.
“Travelling just for fun is not appealing because we’ve been travelling so much. “I’m excited about going back home and plugging back in to normal life, spending time with my cat and my family, and just taking it easy.
“I personally am looking forward to allowing the time for inspiration to brew, and not forcing it. I’m not going into the studio if I don’t like what I’ve produced.”
As for what’s on Philippakis’ playlist right now is dance music, mainly Burial & Four Tet, who are producers from the UK.
“I’m also listening to old South African music like kwela and penny whistle stuff. I’m also listening to a lot of Wu Tang Clan. I fucking love Wu Tang.”
The band might have a new album, but not anytime soon, because Foals are an organic band, letting things grow slowly rather than pushing out album after album.
“It’s the most honest way of doing things, in a strange way, and most fulfilling,” Philippakis said. – Nikita Ramkissoon
