Exciting new electro-pop trio F.O.X are already making waves in the music industry, so we couldn't resist the chance to get to know them a little better and put some questions to them in a new and exclusive interview! Find out what they had to say below…
F.O.X
For those new to your music, how best would you describe yourselves as artists?
We would loosely describe ourselves as synth-pop but we're always a bit worried it conjures up images of some Eurotrash kinda throwback, which we're definitely not! 80s inspired with a modern edge. We're very fond of the conflict between major and minor sounds and combining them to make something usually a bit odd.
What was it about the world of music which inspired you to chase a career in it?
For me personally, when I was growing up I really loved the mystique of it, the almost travelling circus aspect to it where you would live this odd life half in the public eye and half sheltered away, the colours, the wild nights, the long days, the glitz and glamour, the creative bursts and the chance to live a different life, away from the humdrum 9-5 conditioned routine most of us find ourselves in.
Music offered a siren-like draw away from all that. I do feel sadly the music industry has lost a lot of that side of things, everything is too transparent, too PC and if you want to email your favourite celeb, you can do so. Nothing is left to wonder about - it's all there on Facebook for you to see.
Can you tell us a bit about your earliest music-related memories?
My most vivid childhood memory of music is actually sitting in the back of my Dad's car travelling to Ipswich. My Dad would always play his favourite artists in the car - he is very into his rock and blues, but I just always remember Fleetwood Mac, 'Tell Me Lies' coming on once, and it gave me this really odd feeling inside, a nervous energy, a feeling that your heart might break and, from that moment in time, I knew music was absolutely what I had to do with my life, and from then onwards that's what I did. I still get the same feeling when I hear that song now.
Where do you draw influence and inspiration from for your work?
We have quite different tastes in music and we always say that if any one of us was to write a song individually, it would sound nothing like what we come up with as a collective. We're very influenced by sounds, sometimes it can just take one bleep from a synth or the strum or a guitar through the 'Abyss' - one of our favourite atmospheri sounds to add into our songs.
Can you tell us a little bit about the creative process behind your new single?
I became obsessed with a song I'd found randomly on YouTube by a 50s band called The Gaypoppers, and proceeded to try and hunt them down. The search proved futile because there's no record (that I've found) of even their names, when exactly they were in operation, whether they are still alive, what success they had etc.
I managed to track down their record producer Bobby Robinson, an eccentric and colourful character who ran a record shop called Bobby's Happy House in New York until he was in his late 80s and the shop had to be bulldozed due to development. By the time I found him and emailed him, I was informed by his family that he was now in a care home with dementia and wouldn't be able to answer any of my questions. So Darren, our bass player, suggested we sample the original track and make a new song out of it with new lyrics and melody.
I was really happy about being able to make a little homage to them and the aim now is to get it into their hands - if indeed they are still alive - and let them know that people are still listening to their music.
If you could collaborate with anybody going forward, who would you choose and why?
I would probably say Santigold - I think we could make a banger of a song together, she has great style and unusual hooks and thinks outside the box whilst still making awesome, accessible pop. I would also love to sing with Stevie Wonder… Just putting it out there…
Can you tell us a random, funny fact about the group that not many people know?
In our previous incarnation as 'Angry Vs The Bear', we were the first band to ever play at the Houses Of Parliament. The most surreal gig of our lives. Lots of MPs looking very unimpressed and asking when we were going to be finishing.
Do you have any definitive aims or goals for your career?
We ticked off a big one when we did a stadium tour with Depeche Mode a couple of years ago - it was like being in another world and was something I dreamed of doing as a child. It really gave us a look into what happens when you're at the top of your game and it was incredibly exciting.
Going forward we would love to do more touring and keep being able to be financially secure just doing what we love in life, which is music.
Finally, what do you have coming up in the next few weeks and months?
We have a show coming up at The Social in London (tonight - September 14) and one at The Monarch in London on November 9. We are starting writing our next album and we plan to be doing lots of touring across the UK and Europe soon!
Keep up-to-date with F.O.X on their official website www.foxtheband.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/foxtheband1 and on Twitter @FoxTheBand1.