FFS (an abbreviation of Franz Ferdinand and Sparks) was a
supergroup formed by Scottish
indie rock
Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...
band
Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I.
Fr ...
and American
art rock
Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an art ...
band
Sparks. Their formation was announced on 9 March 2015, but the two bands had been recording since at least the mid-2000s. The group's
eponymous debut studio album was recorded in late 2014 and released through the
Domino Recording Company
Domino Recording Company or simply Domino is a British independent record label based in London. There is also a wing of the label based in Brooklyn, New York that handles releases in the United States, as well as a German division called Dom ...
in the UK on 8 June and in the US on 9 June 2015.
History
Pre-formation (2004)
Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I.
Fr ...
and
Sparks originally began working on music together in 2004, shortly after the release of Franz Ferdinand's
eponymous debut studio album, when it was discovered that the two bands were fans of each other. They had sent each other a few demos, one of which was "Piss Off", the twelfth track on ''FFS'', but the two bands were busy with other activities and they were not able to fully record an album together.
Sparks' demo recording of "Piss Off" was released on their greatest hits collection ''Past Tense: The Best of Sparks'' in 2019.
Formation and ''FFS'' (2014–2015)
In 2013, it was announced that the two bands were both performing at the 2013
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly called the Coachella Festival or simply Coachella) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. ...
. While searching for a dentist in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
,
Alex Kapranos
Alexander Paul Kapranos Huntley (born 20 March 1972) is a Scottish musician, singer, songwriter, record producer and author. He is best known as the lead singer and guitarist of Scottish rock band Franz Ferdinand. He has also been a part of the ...
, the lead singer of Franz Ferdinand, was found by
Ron Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald.
Ron or RON may also refer to:
Arts and media
* Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character
* Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character
*Ron Douglas, the protagonist in ''Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...
and
Russell Mael
Russell Craig Mael (born October 5, 1948) is an American singer best known as the lead singer for the band Sparks which he formed in 1971 with his elder brother Ron Mael. Mael is known for his wide vocal range, in particular his far-reaching ...
of Sparks. The Mael brothers invited the band to watch their set at the festival, and later, the two bands agreed that it was time to record an album together.
On 9 March 2015, it was announced that Franz Ferdinand and Sparks had formed a supergroup together by the name of FFS.
On 1 April, it was announced that the band would be releasing their
eponymous debut studio album on 8 June in the UK and 9 June 2015 in the US ''FFS'' was recorded at
RAK Studios in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
during a 15-day period in late 2014. It was also produced by Grammy Award-winning music producer John Congleton.
''FFS'' was released to a positive critical and commercial success.
In support of the album, FFS appeared on the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
).
Franz Ferdinand and Sparks returned to working on their separate projects. Sparks released album ''
'' following in February 2018. FFS marked the last participation of
alongside members of Franz Ferdinand, before he left the band due to family commitments. Alex Kapranos has publicly stated in multiple occasions that Franz Ferdinand has no intention to resume the band's activities.