Still Standing

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Foals (L-R): Jack Bevan , Yannis Philippakis and Jimmy Smith , Edwin Congreave

double-albums are a notoriously risky prospect.

For each of the classics like "Sign O' The Times and Exile On Main Street, there is a skip-load of failed experiments, and self-indulgent nonsense. Even The Beatles ' White Album would have a quick trim (Piggies anyone? )

So it was with fear, the fans welcomed The Announcement of foals' latest project, a sprawling, double-CD epic that promised to address crumbling political systems, ecological crises and social isolation with Hyper rhythms and arena-sized rock riffs.

Even more nerve-wracking, and it was the Oxford band's first Album without bassist Walter Gervers ; and, for the First Time in its 15-year history, they decided to produce the whole thing by itself,

"had an absolute stinker," admits front man Yannis Philippakis .

"There is a potential, if you produce yourself, to really get lost in your own crazy maze. And we have, but we did it. To keep "

to digest it, was to split the data set into two parts. Everything Not Saved will be Lost part One came out in March, reached Number Two in The Charts and earn their foals.

part Two hits the shelves (or the streaming equivalent of shelves) This Week - picking up the story from The First volume to the closing tracks, where "the hedges are On Fire " and "The Birds are singing," it's the end of The World '".

"In part one there is a feeling of be overwhelmed by this huge, monolithic problems," says Philippakis, "but in part two, the songs will be held in The Aftermath of the rubble, and there is a feeling of" Well, I'm still Here I'm Still Standing , " and how you want to hold out and find meaning?"

Sitting on a trunk backstage at the Mercury Prize , with his, The Star talked to us about part Two of the most important Moments - from the graphics to its text, and the unconventional release strategy.

gardening was an important part of the making of The Album Yannis in his greenhouse, yesterday

We took a break before recording this, because I don't want to write out of obligation or routine. I had lost a desire for always, in the domestic, small routines: Laundry, cat litter and gardening, which I find incredibly therapeutic.

I like the rhythm. She's planning something, and you're responsible for them, and you will see it grow from seedling to fruit. Maybe travel for contrast, I anchored in a point. And I feel like there's a connection To My parents and grandparents. It is something benevolent and ancestors about the growing Things such as vegetables.

The Album opens in The Ruins of the old world

the Red desert is an instrumental that Jimmy [Smith, guitarist] wrote, and sent it to me. I immediately felt it could have been an alternate soundtrack to Stanley Kubrick's 2001 - it conjures up the image of a desolate, primitive, broken landscape.

At the end of part One, it goes down in the fire-imagery, and there is a feeling of defeat - so this was the perfect way to open part Two. You're new to The World , which ended in part one. I think it's like a Eulogy.

Black Bull and in a flash are The Album 's" defiant, threatening the' heart

this is some of the rawest songs we have written, in terms of the riffs. We were really enjoying the feel, just dig into our instruments and the effectiveness of a large, knuckle-dragging riff on a guitar. We enjoy that they are on an almost defiant manner.

Black Bull's lyrics tap into this persona I sometimes have The Feeling of being on the stage - this was the megalomaniac character, feels all-powerful and immortal and untouchable. I wanted to fill The Song , which is kind of dangerous, the male energy, so that it can act as a blotter for all the harmful or destructive feelings you may have would.

For me, it is a little dangerous that I need to check.

release of two albums reflects people the way of listening to The Band 's live shows are electric

We went with the intention to do two sets, but we hit a purple patch and it was the symmetry of the songs, so it was easy to split it into two different parts of the body. are

But it can also be a reaction to the type is changed, like The Music industry. The people are just burning through The Music much faster. The consumption rates are faster, which is a shame. If you spend two years at a little work to think that it will be consumed and disposed of, very quickly, is really very disturbing.

- The Runner has a double meaning

We came up with that riff in a Soundcheck and it just felt good to be a bone-marrow level. We don't really have questions, it is as a piece of music, it was just something where we knew that it had a power in itself.

It was a while before I found a way, with the vocals, And Then I had the idea of the protagonist running through the remains of what exists, and to fight, but the fight against the inner impoverishment. So it can work on a level where there is depression.

Yannis was inspired by an architect, was in a diamond-Luis Barragan was known for his colorful architectural designs

Ikaria and 10,000 Feet, The Turning points of The Album . This is where it starts, on the mortality.

I was interested in the idea of changing States, and I was really impressed by the story of an architect from Mexico named Luis Barragán. It is a battle over his fortune was and, to cut a long story short, His Family donated some of his ashes, in order to have access to his archive, and those now worn an engagement ring from a wealthy Dame, the lady.

I don't know why, but I was busy the story. It seemed a fitting end to The Album , it should start about in the flesh Here - the recording, go into the ether.

The artwork was a 'gift of heaven'

I was surprised by The Photographer from Ecuador. He uses infrared film to take pictures of the lush, red foliage, the interaction with the building. And When I learned to read about his work, I, he was dealing with The Conflict between man and Nature - so that felt like a gift from the heavens, because it encapsulated what a lot of Record . Mainly, because we feel that part One was a "red" Record ; and as a band we didn't have a red Record since our first album [antidote].

The Cover of part Two is photographed, a photographer of the National Geographic , and it is of a cross in The Day of The Dead ceremony in Oaxaca. Again, we saw the orange and black color scheme fit the range of the recording - the a feeling of mortality to has.

I basically just saw the pictures and was impressed by them, from the gut, but then the meanings behind the images in resonance raft with exactly what we wanted, so it's nice.

The Final texts sum up the whole, two-album project

"comes time, comes low The Best of Things , / If we open our eyes".

I have to explain this? It's just that Everything good in The World - go if it were Our Own , individual life, relationships, or The Egyptian Empire, or the human society or the civilization as a whole is all over. Everything is impermanent, at a certain point, and that is what it is all about.

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foals, music

Source of news: bbc.com