Fenech-Soler werden unter der Hand schon als die Nachwuchshelden des Dancefloors betitelt – und das schon nach 2 Singles und obwohl die vier britischen Jungs noch keinen Plattenvertrag an Land gezogen haben. Doch auch so werden wir die Songs der Band dieses Jahr wohl noch öfters hören. Zum Beispiel ihre neue Single “Stop And Stare“, die diese Woche erschienen ist und hier via itunes digital zu erwerben ist. Doch wer steckt hinter diesem komischen Bandnamen und was ist vom wahrscheinlich im August erscheinenden Album zu erwarten? Das alles gibt es in unserem Interview mit der Band!
1.) Band facts
– Name: Fenech-Soler
– Band members: Ben Duffy, Ross Duffy, Andrew Lindsay and Dan Soler
– Founding year: 2008
– Residence: Kings Cliffe
– Current album: Coimg out in August this year.
2.) Questionnaire:
– How did you at first start to make music and what was your impulse?
Ross and I are brothers and come from a very musical family. Our dad was a country musician and toured with people like Tammy Wynette, Dolly Parton and Charley Pride so we grew up with instruments close to hand. We met Dan as he went to school with Ross and later met Andy as he was an engineer in a local studio we used. It wasn’t long before we got bored and bought an apple mac and started messing around with electronic music at home. I think discovering early Chemical Brothers and Daft Punk records really set us off in our desire to learn how that kind of music was made.
– How did you become a band?
It wasn’t long after we started writing music at home that we knew we wanted it to turn into something we preformed live. I suppose it changed how we approached recording as we started to envisage it on a large stage. There was however quite some time of ‘getting it right’ when it came to recreating the songs live. I think bands in the club world always have a hard task to produces electronic sounds live. There is a fine line and it can go wrong!
– How did you come up with your band name, what were the reasons for choosing it?
It’s actually Maltese although many people thought we were French when we first appeared on the blogs. We did release our first single on Alan Braxe’s French label so that probably didn’t help but we quite enjoyed the mystery that surrounded it. It’s part of Dan’s name in truth, full name being ‘Daniel Francis Fenech-Soler Trezbiatowski’…
– When did making music get serious for you?
As soon as my brother and I got that computer it has been serious. It took over our lives and hasn’t let go…
– How would you describe your musical style? What are your influences?
As mentioned, our introduction to dance music was early Chems and Daft Punk and it was also at the time we started going to Deepgrove’s club night; ‘Play’ in Bristol. It was this amazing period of realisation that there was so much music out there to be consumed and we were just at the start of it. I personally still love techno and minimal electronic music but we take influence from lots of pop records. Modern American pop sounds have recently interested us with producers like The Neptunes and Pharrell along with Bloodshy and Avant and the Miike Snow record. Songs from the late 70’s early 80’s are continuously high on our list.
– What are you as a band doing at the moment?
Well we have just finished recording our debut album at home and our now in the process of doing the final finishing touches. It’s been a labour of love and we are very proud of it. Our attention will then turn to the live set which is going to be a lot of fun. We have 30 festivals coming up this year so it’s nice to create a show with those kind of environments in mind.
– At first you were making music and touring without a label, you’re now rumored to be signed to Moda Music (while your Myspace-page is still saying you’d be unsigned).
Moda Music has been absolutely fantastic and have put out our last two singles. We haven’t signed our album yet so in that sense we are still unsigned.
– How is being signed to a label make your lives easier? Otherwise why did you decide to stay unsigned?
I’m not sure many bands decide to stay unsigned out of choice. We have just been working on our record ourselves and have been building a fan base by actually going out and working hard. We thrive on activity and keeping busy. I think to stay as self dependant as you can is a good look especially with the current situation with record labels. I suppose you have to empower yourself on every level.
– You produced your songs up to now yourself – how did this work and where did you have the knowledge from?
Everything we have learnt has simply been by a trial and error approach. When something goes wrong, which is a lot, we would take a few steps back and figure out what happened. It took a while but I think is the best way. Andy is the same but understands sound engineering to a very high level. He’s the technical one!
– How do you normally work on songs? What are the steps/processes? And when do you think of a song as finished?
We have two different home studio set ups. The first one is at mine and Ross’s house and that is where we write the songs. Once we have them to a level we are happy with we take them over to Andy’s and start using all the amazing old analogue synths he has. He has quite a collection.
– You’re working on your debut album – what can we expect from it?
Well there will be some of the songs that people recognise like ‘Lies’ and ‘Stop And Stare’ but we have some heavy tracks that we are really excited about. There is a more down-tempo side to the record that has been very satisfying to record and work on. Stonebridge is a good example.
– Your new single is “Stop & Stare” – could you tell how it was done, what it is about and what’s the story behind it?
Well it was done in the same way as all the others really. The drums were recorded in Andy living room and we produced and mixed it in our studios. The song first came about when we were in Edinburgh playing a show with Groove Aramda. There was a piano where we were staying and we just started writing the chorus which immediately stood out. As soon as we got back from that tour we started to place it all together.
– Do you already know if your record will be also released in Germany?
Without a doubt yes.
– Is there something you have always with you and which is most important wherever you go?
I personally have a lucky chain I wear round my neck that never comes off. I’m not sure about the other guys…
– What would you do if you weren’t in a band?
Difficult question as I know we haven’t thought about anything else in a long time. Maybe using my degree in someway but it bores me thinking about it.
– Which newcomer band/artist would you advise us to look up?
Hudson Mohawke is very good. We saw him at SXSW in America last month. He has a track called ‘Joy Fantastic’ which is amazing. Check him out!
– How would your “Bedroomdisco” look like?
If it could be like the main room at Berghain in Berlin but with a bed in the middle I would be happy. Best disco I’ve ever been to!
– Which song makes you dance independent of the situation?
Anything by Soulwax.
– Which song would fit to your actual situation/mood?
Right now it would probably be something from MF Doom. I work best to his music. Very relaxed.
http://www.myspace.com/fenechsoler
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByaPYdvUIXQ
