We are buzzing at The Music Files to be hosting the premiere of Dunfermline band Foreignfox’s new music video Fractions , directed and shot by Rory Cowieson. Over the last few weeks we also caught up with front man Johnny Watt about the track and the bands upcoming releases.
Who are Foreignfox?
Johnny: We’re a rock band. Jonny Watt on vocals and guitar, Nick Hernandez on drums, Lewis Hamilton on guitars and synths & David McCulloch on bass and sub synth. Based in and around Dunfermline, Fife. We recently got described as Post-punk Noir, so we’re having that.
Your sound has really evolved over the years that you’ve been a band , going from a fairly gritty indie rock sound to something thats more in the post punk realm with your newest single “Fractions” , was this an evolution that came quite naturally?
Johnny: I think regardless of the sound, a good song has to work well acoustically – right up to having a 40 piece orchestra, if you know what I mean. What was most interesting for writing these songs, sonically for us, were deep subby synths and guitars that sound like they’re about to bust the speakers. It was never a conscious decision of how we got there, but as certain elements were introduced that we really liked, we kept. But I guess it comes down to this, we’re not the same people we were when we started the band. Can you imagine Arctic Monkeys singing about being out on the sauce in Sheffield with music blaring from their Sony Erikson? It’d be strange if a band didn’t grow and change.”
You went on a full UK tour last year to push the launch of your single Birthday Flowers and I remember seeing one of your gigs got cancelled due to a wee hiccup that led to all the venues in that town being closed for the day , please tell me more and if you’ve had any other weird and or wonderful gig experiences?
Johnny: That was pretty wild. We didn’t find out that the whole street was shutting until we got to the venue. Apparently a funeral had gotten out of hand and two pubs had already been wrecked throughout the day. The venue staff were really apologetic and offered to cover our costs. We went straight up to Liverpool and then back down to Brighton, which entailed a five hour drive. When we got to the hostel in Brighton, everyone in our triple bunk twelve bed dorm was still completely off their faces in the morning. The sweat was lashing off us, with condensation all on the windows. We neglected to stay the next night and drove straight to Lewy’s sisters in London for refuge. One time, we played this really cool gig called Caitlin’s Gig at the ABC in Glasgow a few years ago. Caitlin was one of the young people who was involved with Nordorff Robins, and her mum reached out to us after they’d both caught us at Butefest. She asked us to perform for all the kids and parents at 11.30am. We walked on stage to ‘Let It Go’ from the Disney film Frozen, a weird and wonderful moment. Nordoff Robins seriously do some great work.
You’ve worked a lot over the years and recently again with one of my favourite producers , Bruce Rintoul, what’s working with him like? And what have you got in store for the coming months?
Johnny: Bruce is a pure wizard man. We’ve known him for over five or six years now. He really gets the stuff we’re recording at the moment. The studio is really cool too, with a reflective slab wall and all the equipment you’d ever need to get what you’re looking for from a song. We’ve got some stuff we’re really looking forward too in the pipe-line, some singles for the last part of 2020. I just really hope we’ll be able to get back out to playing shows again.
You can get a first glimpse of the short film that accompanies the track here:
The Music Files 