The Rise
Your new favorite artist can pop up overnight. Introducing Foals.
Foals can be summed up in one unique tidbit – they want their guitars to sound like insects. “They’re meant to sound like insects,” says Yannis Philippakis, vocalist. “They’re played high on the fret board—we even hold our instruments up high. The result sounds like a cloud of insects forming these strange harmonies.” I actually have no idea if they accomplish this or not, but I do know that Foals write some catchy indie dance pop.
Hailing from Oxford England, Foals tries to blend dance music with a sense of technicality that normally isn’t found within the genre – yet they try to avoid chords at all costs. No chords and sounding like insects would normally be a recipe for disaster – but it all works, assumingly because of Yannis’ self proclaimed OCD when it clean sounding music.
Their live show is electric – with some critics claiming they are the best live band in the UK. As for the picture? Yannis has an unhealthy obsession with Andy Roddick, claiming that he is an American hero and could have been a character in The Great Gatsby. Hey, we all need to pull inspiration from somewhere.
Listen to “Balloons” below, and try to figure out how the hell the guitars sound like insects, because I have no idea.
STREAM: Foals - Balloons
Posted by Wes Soltis on Mar 11, 2008 @ 12:00 am
