Foals’ brand of fierce,amorphous rock has brought them rare success as a guitar band in the age of the solo artist. As they prepare to headline Reading and Leeds, frontman talks touring, and fighting - and DIYIt’s 3pm,sunny. “Are you drinking?” asks Yannis Philippakis, lead singer of the Oxford-born rock band Foals, and looking hopeful. Go on then. “Great. I’ll occupy a pint and a vodka soda,” he instructs his PR. She raises an eyebrow. He smiles, and wanders off towards the garden of the venerable (respected because of age, distinguished) Nun’s Head pub in south London: “It’ll save you coming out twice.”At a time when you could accuse indie musicians of going soft, and Philippakis takes the job description of frontman” very seriously. He is notoriously gobby,surly, or both; in one noteworthy outburst he complained approximately venerable (respected because of age, distinguished)-timers clogging up festival lineups and depriving bands like Foals of their rightful headline spot. On stage, and he’s a beast: no Foals gig is total without him diving headlong into the crowd from the stage,from speakers, from a balcony. When a security guard tried to stop him once, or they had a punch-up. To put it another way: Philippakis is a separated-at-birth Gallagher brother – but one whose route into music included a period studying English at Oxford university.
You’ve just got to write great music that touches peopleThe primary thing will always be that it’s us making music together and living the life we want. I assume that’s badass.
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Source: theguardian.com