Foals, stylised as FOALS, are a British
rock band formed in
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
in 2005. The band's current line-up consists of Greek-born lead vocalist and guitarist
Yannis Philippakis
Yannis Philippakis (Greek: Ιωάννης "Γιάννης" Φιλιππάκης) (born 23 April 1986) is the lead singer and guitarist of the British indie rock band Foals.
Early life
Born to a Greek father and a South African Jewish mother, ...
, drummer and percussionist Jack Bevan and rhythm guitarist Jimmy Smith. They are currently signed to
Warner Records
Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...
, and have released seven studio albums to date: ''
Antidotes
An antidote is a substance that can counteract a form of poisoning. The term ultimately derives from the Greek term φάρμακον ἀντίδοτον ''(pharmakon) antidoton'', "(medicine) given as a remedy". Antidotes for anticoagulants are s ...
'' (2008), ''
Total Life Forever'' (2010), ''
Holy Fire'' (2013), ''
What Went Down'' (2015), and ''
Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost – Part 1''
& 2 (2019) and their most recent, ''
Life Is Yours
''Life Is Yours'' is the seventh studio album by British rock band Foals, released on 17 June 2022 via Warner/ Transgressive/ ADA. The album was preceded by five singles; " Wake Me Up", "2am", "Looking High", "2001" and "Crest of the Wave".
''Li ...
'' (2022). They have also released one
video album, six
extended play
An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record. s and thirty-five
singles.
The band have toured internationally for over a decade, and have featured at many festivals including
Glastonbury
Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbur ...
,
Coachella, and
Roskilde
Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 51,916 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...
. They have won a number of awards, including best live act at the 2013
Q Awards while producers Alan Moulder and Flood were awarded 'UK Producer of the Year' for their work on the album ''Holy Fire''.
The band's studio albums ''
Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost – Part 1 &
2'' were released March and October 2019, respectively, with the latter becoming the group's first album to top the
UK Album Chart.
History
2005–2006: Formation
The lead singer of the band
Youthmovies, Andrew Mears, originally formed the band Foals. He was present on the band's debut 7" single, "Try This on Your Piano/Look at My Furrows of Worry", but left shortly afterwards to concentrate on Youthmovies's debut album, ''
Good Nature''.
Jack Bevan, Lina Simon and
Yannis Philippakis
Yannis Philippakis (Greek: Ιωάννης "Γιάννης" Φιλιππάκης) (born 23 April 1986) is the lead singer and guitarist of the British indie rock band Foals.
Early life
Born to a Greek father and a South African Jewish mother, ...
were originally in cult
math rock band
The Edmund Fitzgerald. The group disbanded, claiming that things had become "too serious" and that they wanted to have more "fun making their music".
Walter Gervers and Jimmy Smith were part of a small Oxford band called Face Meets Grill. They met at and formed the band from members of
Abingdon School
Abingdon School is a day and boarding independent school for boys in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. The twentieth oldest independent British school, it celebrated its 750th anniversary in 2006. The school was described as "highly ...
, the same school that
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass ...
attended. They played gigs in and around Oxford, and recorded an EP in
Hull
Hull may refer to:
Structures
* Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle
* Fuselage, of an aircraft
* Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds
* Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship
* Submarine hull
Mathematics
* Affine hull, in affi ...
. After playing
Truck Festival
Truck Festival is an annual independent music festival in Oxfordshire, England. It was started in 1998 by the Bennett family (including the brothers Robin and Joe of the band Goldrush), who decided that mainstream festivals such as Glastonb ...
in 2004 they separated to follow different paths and careers.
Guitarist Jimmy Smith is the only one of the band members to have completed his degree, at
Hull University, each of the other band members quit their respective universities when the band signed to
Transgressive Records
Transgressive Records is an independent record label based in London, formed in 2004. Its founders, Tim Dellow and Toby L, first met at a Bloc Party gig organised by Toby's Rockfeedback website.
The label's debut release was "1am" by the Subwa ...
.
2007–2008: ''Antidotes''
In early 2007, the band released the limited edition 7" singles "
Hummer" and "
Mathletics", both produced by Gareth Parton. "Hummer" later featured on the
Channel Four
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service in ...
teen drama ''
Skins''. Philippakis described this period as 'the music was almost a premeditated mix of blending techno and minimalism
ndwe'd set ourselves these rules, like 'only staccato rhythms', and 'guitars must be played really high'.
In the summer of 2007, Foals began working on their debut album in New York. It was produced by
Dave Sitek of
TV on the Radio. However, the band decided to mix the album themselves, stating that Sitek made the first master copy of the album sound like "it was recorded in the Grand Canyon". Philippakis has stated a number of times that Foals and Sitek are on good terms, even though the mix by Sitek was rejected by the band. Foals released their debut album, titled ''
Antidotes
An antidote is a substance that can counteract a form of poisoning. The term ultimately derives from the Greek term φάρμακον ἀντίδοτον ''(pharmakon) antidoton'', "(medicine) given as a remedy". Antidotes for anticoagulants are s ...
'', on 24 March 2008 in the UK and on 8 April 2008 in the US. The album was a commercial success in the UK, debuting at number 3 on the UK Albums Charts. The album was a minor success in other countries, charting in Japan, France and the Netherlands. Non-UK versions of the album include the early Parton-produced singles.
2009–2010: ''Total Life Forever''
In August 2009, Foals started recording their second album at Svenska Grammofon Studion in Gothenburg, Sweden. The album, ''
Total Life Forever'', has been described by the band members as sounding like "tropical prog" and "like the dream of an eagle dying". The band have described the album as being "a lot less
funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the mi ...
" than they had originally planned. The album was produced by Luke Smith, formerly of
Clor
Clor was a short-lived five-piece band from Brixton, England, formed by Barry Dobbin and Luke Smith in 2003 and which signed to the Parlophone record label after only six gigs. The band released a self-titled first album, in 2005 to critical ...
. The album's title is named after an element of
Ray Kurzweil's theory of
singularity. The band's frontman,
Yannis Philippakis
Yannis Philippakis (Greek: Ιωάννης "Γιάννης" Φιλιππάκης) (born 23 April 1986) is the lead singer and guitarist of the British indie rock band Foals.
Early life
Born to a Greek father and a South African Jewish mother, ...
, has professed a longtime interest in
futurology, with it informing numerous songs on ''Total Life Forever''.
On 1 March 2010, the promotional single "
Spanish Sahara
Spanish Sahara ( es, Sahara Español; ar, الصحراء الإسبانية, As-Sahrā'a Al-Isbānīyah), officially the Spanish Possessions in the Sahara from 1884 to 1958 then Province of the Sahara between 1958 and 1976, was the name used f ...
" was first played on
Zane Lowe's show Radio 1. Foals' website was updated that night with the video for the track, directed by longtime collaborator Dave Ma, and on 6 March, the Total Life Forever site was launched. There puzzles revealed images, lyrics and sound clips of songs from the album. The last clip appeared on 12 March, with a password entry for Foals' new website. The site was opened on 13 March and presented the art concept and media including samples of songs, photos and videos. Lead single "
This Orient" was released on 3 May 2010. The album was finally released on 10 May 2010.
"Spanish Sahara" was featured in trailers for season seven of ''
Entourage'', season four of ''
Skins'' and ''
Outcasts''. It was also used in the soundtrack of the second season of the E4 drama ''
Misfits''. It was released as a full physical single in September 2010, featuring an edited remix starring the strings of
London Contemporary Orchestra
The London Contemporary Orchestra (LCO), founded in 2008 by Hugh Brunt and Robert Ames, is an ensemble of young musicians whose stated aim is "to explore and promote new music to an increasingly wide audience". LCO staged its inaugural season a ...
. In 2015, it was used by French studio
Dontnod Entertainment in the game ''
Life is Strange
''Life Is Strange'' (abbreviated ''LIS'') is a series of primarily episodic graphic adventure games published by Square Enix's European subsidiary. Created by Dontnod Entertainment, the series debuted with the eponymous first installment, ...
'' as the music for one of its endings.
The album was nominated for the 2010
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the ...
.
In an interview with online magazine
Coup de Main', Jimmy Smith said how the band members live together on and off the road – heading to Australia to record demos for their next album together. "It's just like touring with your family, it's nice."
2012–2013: ''Holy Fire''
''
Holy Fire'' was released in both the UK and the US on 11 February 2013. The album's lead single, "
Inhaler", received its first radio play on 5 November 2012. They played the song "
My Number" for the first time on ''
Later... with Jools Holland''.
Holy Fire was produced by
Flood
A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...
and
Alan Moulder, who have worked with many artists, including
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...
,
The Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins (also referred to as simply Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Ch ...
, and
My Bloody Valentine. The album was recorded at Assault & Battery studios in London.
Yannis Philippakis stated that the recording process had some unconventional moments: "At one point we even made these poor studio interns collect bones. We were inspired by voodoo, these Haitian rhythms. We collected some ourselves, from butchers in Willesden High Road. Mainly cows, I think often they had gristle and cartilage on them, mainly cow and occasionally sheep. We had to order these big pots because one of the shoulder blades was too big! We boiled the flesh away so we could use them as percussion! We wanted to get primitive!"
According to The Guardian: "Their producers, Flood and Alan Moulder, even tricked them by recording their rehearsal in order to capture a more uninhibited sound."
In late November to mid-December, Foals toured the UK for an album preview. The tour was supported by
Petite Noir (a close friend of Philippakis's).
In summer 2013, they attended a number of festivals and headlined Latitude Festival in Suffolk in July. The band have recently played a World and UK tour, which ended with two sell out shows at Alexandra Palace in February. The two shows were in stark contrast compared to playing the same venue 7 years earlier to an almost empty room while supporting Bloc Party, a sentiment which lead singer Philippakis did not fail to mention during the live shows.
''Holy Fire'' was nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2013. ''
Q'' awarded Foals with the Best Live Act award the same year while "Inhaler" received the Best Track award from ''
NME''. In a reader-nominated "Best Album of 2013" poll, ''Holy Fire'' topped the list; as did single "My Number" in a "Best Song of 2013" poll, beating ''NME'' favourites Arctic Monkeys, amongst other acclaimed bands.
2014–2016: ''What Went Down''
On 2 April 2014, in an interview with ''NME'', Yannis Philippakis said "Over the next month I think we're going to start writing tentatively. We've already got some bits and bobs around some riffs and some vocal melodies. I think until May we're gonna go back to Oxford and write in the 'stinkbox' and see what happens." On 9 June 2015, Foals unveiled a short video teasing an upcoming album in 2015.
Foals shared album track "
Mountain at My Gates" on 20 June, premiering the song via BBC Radio 1 as Annie Mac's 'Hottest Record'. On 29 July, the band followed up the track with an accompanying 3D video, filmed on a GoPro HERO. On 6 August, Zane Lowe premiered new song 'A Knife in the Ocean' on his Beats 1 radio show on Apple Music. Foals made public a lyric video for 'A Knife In The Ocean' the same day.
The album ''
What Went Down'' was released on 28 August 2015.
In late 2015, 'Mountain at My Gates' was featured on the official soundtrack of EA Sports
FIFA 16
''FIFA 16'' is a football simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Android and iOS.
The ga ...
.
In 2016, Foals toured the UK and Europe in February/March, followed by a US tour, playing a number of songs from ''What Went Down'' as well as previous releases, with support from Peace (DJ set) and Everything Everything (UK).
2017–2019: Gervers's departure and ''Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost''
In autumn 2017, Foals announced on social media that they were going to start recording materials for a new upcoming album.
On 5 January 2018, they announced that bassist Walter Gervers was departing the band amicably, whilst recording of the fifth album continued.
On 8 January 2019, the band teased their fifth and sixth studio albums, ''
Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost – Part 1'' and ''
Part 2'', respectively. ''Part 1'' was released on 8 March 2019 and ''Part 2'' was released on 18 October 2019.
Following Gervers's departure, it was revealed on 19 February 2019 that Jeremy Pritchard, of British band
Everything Everything would join as touring bassist for the band's remaining live shows of 2019.
''Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost – Part 1'' was preceded by the release via
streaming
Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content i ...
services of
Exits,
On the Luna,
Sunday
Sunday is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. In most Western countries, Sunday is a day of rest and a part of the weekend. It is often considered the first day of the week.
For most observant adherents of Christianity, Sund ...
and In Degrees (a day before the record's release). The album was the
BBC 6 Music Album of the Day on its release date.
In March 2019, the band embarked on the first shows of their "
Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost World Tour" which had dates running throughout 2019 and 2020.
After playing several festivals across the summer of 2019 (including an unannounced set at
Glastonbury
Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbur ...
and a headline performance at
Truck Festival
Truck Festival is an annual independent music festival in Oxfordshire, England. It was started in 1998 by the Bennett family (including the brothers Robin and Joe of the band Goldrush), who decided that mainstream festivals such as Glastonb ...
), the band released a second set of singles, "
Black Bull", "
The Runner" and "Into the Surf" in the lead up to ''Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost – Part 2''.
''
Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost – Part 2'' was released on 18 October 2019 through
Warner and
Transgressive Records
Transgressive Records is an independent record label based in London, formed in 2004. Its founders, Tim Dellow and Toby L, first met at a Bloc Party gig organised by Toby's Rockfeedback website.
The label's debut release was "1am" by the Subwa ...
. The album cover was shot by famed ''
National Geographic
''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widel ...
'' photographer,
Maggie Steber. The album became the band's first to reach No. 1 on the UK Album Chart.
On 7 October 2019, "Rip up the Road", a documentary detailing the recording sessions of "Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost" and subsequent 2019 world tour, was announced, with a premiere scheduled for 11 and 15 November 2019 at London's Doc’n Roll Film Festival and thereafter exclusively through
Amazon Prime respectively.
On 11 November 2019 "Rip Up The Road" directed by ''Toby L'' premiered at the
Rio Cinema in Dalston to an audience consisting of the band, friends and family, fans, documentary contributors/crew. The documentary was filmed over a 12-month period as the band embarked upon a world tour. The film hones in on two career highlight shows at London's
Alexandra Palace
Alexandra Palace is a Grade II listed entertainment and sports venue in London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey. It is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and the later Tottenham Wood Farm. Origi ...
and provides a candid, entertaining and gripping perspective of life on the road and being in a band. It also features their infamous
Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...
secret set on The Park Stage in 2019.
2020–present: COVID-19, Congreave's departure and ''Life Is Yours''
Due to the
COVID-19 crisis
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
and subsequent
global lockdowns, the band was forced to cancel and reschedule their entire 2020 UK and world tour, in support of ''Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost – Part 2'' till Spring 2021.
However, due to the continuing pandemic and ongoing safety restrictions throughout into 2021, the band once again had to reschedule touring until 2022, save for a string of UK summer festival shows during August 2021, which would be the group's first live performances since early 2020. In April 2022, 10 days before the tour commenced, it was re-branded to the '
Life is Yours Tour' in support of their upcoming seventh studio album.
On 22 September 2021, Edwin Congreave announced that he had left the band to pursue a postgraduate degree in economics.
Announcing the news of Congreave's departure, the band revealed that they had already begun working on their next album, this time as a three piece band.
On 11 October 2021, the band announced scoring the opening theme of the
Brian Cox-hosted
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...
science
documentary television series, ''Universe'' with an updated version of "Neptune", re-worked in collaboration with
Hans Zimmer's
Bleeding Fingers composing collective led by the famed
film composer.
On 27 October 2021, the band teased a promotional clip of an
iPhone snooze alarm, cryptically revealing the release date of their seventh studio album's first single, "Wake Me Up" to be released 4 November 2021. The following day, the single was confirmed by the group with a teaser clip of the audio and
music streaming platforms pre-save links respectively. "
Wake Me Up" was premiered and released on 4 November 2021 via
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance ...
's
Clara Amfo's 'Hottest Record'.
On 10 February 2022, Foals released "2am" and announced the name of their seventh album as ''
Life Is Yours
''Life Is Yours'' is the seventh studio album by British rock band Foals, released on 17 June 2022 via Warner/ Transgressive/ ADA. The album was preceded by five singles; " Wake Me Up", "2am", "Looking High", "2001" and "Crest of the Wave".
''Li ...
'', and later announced the 17 June album release date.
On 1 April 2022, the band released the third single, "Looking High".
On 19 May 2022, Foals released the single "2001".
Three days before ''Life Is Yours'' was released, the band released the fifth and final single from the album, "Crest of the Wave".
Live
Foals are considered one of the top UK live acts, having won the 2013 Q Award for Best Live Act and twice being nominated for the NME Award for Best Live Act (2011 and 2013).
The band have released several live EPs (Live At Liars Club, iTunes Live: London Festival '08 and iTunes Festival: London 2010), in addition to the full-length concert film Live At The Royal Albert Hall, which was directed by Dave Ma.
Frontman Yannis Philippakis is known for jumping off balconies and
crowd surfing
Crowd surfing is the process in which a person is passed overhead from person to person (often during a concert), transferring the person from one part of the venue to another. The "crowd surfer" is passed above everyone's heads, with everyone's ...
during the extended interlude of "Two Steps Twice" In October 2013, Philippakis got into a confrontation with a security guard at the Auckland Town Hall in New Zealand, as the security guard attempted to prevent him from jumping into the crowd. At the end of the show, Philippakis told the crowd: "I want to say a massive thank you to you and fuck that security guy."
In April 2020, the band cancelled their remaining tour dates due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, pushing dates back to 2021.
Musical style and influences
Foals are classified as an
indie rock
Indie rock is a 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 music they produ ...
,
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial ...
,
dance-punk
Dance-punk (also known as disco-punk, punk-funk or techno-punk) is a post-punk subgenre that emerged in the late 1970s, and is closely associated with the disco, post-disco and new wave movements.Rip It Up and Start Again: Post Punk 1978-198 ...
,
math rock,
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 ...
,
post-rock
Post-rock is a form of experimental rock characterized by a focus on exploring textures and timbre over traditional rock song structures, chords, or riffs. Post-rock artists are often instrumental, typically combining rock instrumentation w ...
,
post-punk
Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-r ...
,
art punk
Art punk is a subgenre of punk rock in which artists go beyond the genre's rudimentary garage rock and are considered more sophisticated than their peers. These groups still generated punk's aesthetic of being simple, offensive, and free-spiri ...
and
indie pop
Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...
band.
The band's musical influences are varied, with the band members citing
minimal techno,
Arthur Russell,
Krautrock
Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock that developed in West Germany in the late 1960s and early 1970s among artists who blended elements of psychedelic rock, avant-garde composition, and electronic music, ...
bands such as
Harmonia
In Greek mythology, Harmonia (; grc, Ἁρμονία / harmoˈnia/, "harmony", "agreement") is the immortal goddess of harmony and concord. Her Roman counterpart is Concordia. Her Greek opposite is Eris, whose Roman counterpart is Discordi ...
, and
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.[Talki ...](_blank)
, as their main sources of inspiration.
Band members
Current members
*
Yannis Philippakis
Yannis Philippakis (Greek: Ιωάννης "Γιάννης" Φιλιππάκης) (born 23 April 1986) is the lead singer and guitarist of the British indie rock band Foals.
Early life
Born to a Greek father and a South African Jewish mother, ...
– lead guitar
(2005–present), lead vocals
(2006–present), percussion
(2008–2013), bass guitar
(2018–present), backing vocals (2005)
* Jack Bevan – drums, percussion
(2005–present)
* Jimmy Smith –
rhythm guitar
In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...
, keyboards, synthesizer, backing vocals
(2005–present)
Current touring musicians
*
Kit Monteith – percussion,
sampler, backing vocals
(2016–present)
*
Jack Freeman – bass, synthesizer, backing vocals
(2020–2022, 2022–present)
* Joe Price – keyboards, synthesizer
(2022–present)
Former members
* Andrew Mears – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
(2005–2006)
* Walter Gervers – bass, backing vocals
(2005–2018), percussion
(2008–2013)
* Edwin Congreave – keyboards, synthesizer, backing vocals
(2005–2021), bass guitar
(2018–2021)
Former touring musicians
* Vincent Taeger – percussion,
timbales (2019)
*
Jeremy Pritchard – bass, synthesizer, backing vocals
(2019, 2022)
Timeline
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id:bv value:pink legend:Backing_vocals
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id:rg value:brightgreen legend:Rhythm_guitar
id:k value:purple legend:Keyboards,_synthesizer
id:b value:blue legend:Bass
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bar:JB text:"Jack Bevan"
bar:TM text:"TOURING MUSICIANS"
bar:JP2 text:"Joe Price"
bar:JP text:"Jeremy Pritchard"
bar:JF text:"Jack Freeman"
bar:KM text:"Kit Monteith"
bar:VT text:"Vincent Taeger"
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Discography
Studio albums
* ''
Antidotes
An antidote is a substance that can counteract a form of poisoning. The term ultimately derives from the Greek term φάρμακον ἀντίδοτον ''(pharmakon) antidoton'', "(medicine) given as a remedy". Antidotes for anticoagulants are s ...
'' (2008)
* ''
Total Life Forever'' (2010)
* ''
Holy Fire'' (2013)
* ''
What Went Down'' (2015)
* ''
Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost – Part 1'' (2019)
* ''
Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost – Part 2'' (2019)
* ''
Life Is Yours
''Life Is Yours'' is the seventh studio album by British rock band Foals, released on 17 June 2022 via Warner/ Transgressive/ ADA. The album was preceded by five singles; " Wake Me Up", "2am", "Looking High", "2001" and "Crest of the Wave".
''Li ...
'' (2022)
Recognition
''
Total Life Forever'' was nominated for the
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the ...
in July 2010, losing to
The xx
The xx are an English indie rock band from Wandsworth, London, formed in 2005. The band consists of Romy Madley Croft (guitar, vocals), Oliver Sim (bass guitar, vocals), Jamie Smith, also known as Jamie xx (beats, MPC, record production), an ...
's ''
xx'' on 7 September that year.
The album was tested again the following year for Best Album in addition to a nomination for Best Cover Artwork at the
NME Awards. The single "
Spanish Sahara
Spanish Sahara ( es, Sahara Español; ar, الصحراء الإسبانية, As-Sahrā'a Al-Isbānīyah), officially the Spanish Possessions in the Sahara from 1884 to 1958 then Province of the Sahara between 1958 and 1976, was the name used f ...
" was nominated by the same group for Best Track on top of being named all-around Best Band and Best Live Act. In July, the ''
MOJO
Mojo may refer to:
*Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo
Arts, entertainment and media Film and television
* MOJO HD, an American television network
* ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film
* '' ...
'' honour awards also nominated Foals alongside Canadian band
Arcade Fire
Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie rock band, consisting of husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, alongside Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury and Jeremy Gara. The band's current touring line-up also includes former core mem ...
for the calibre of their live performances.
Mercury Prize
, -
, 2010
, ''
Total Life Forever''
, Best Album
,
, -
, 2013
, ''
Holy Fire''
, Best Album
,
, -
, 2019
, ''
Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost - Part 1''
, Best Album
,
Ivor Novello Awards
, -
, 2010
, "
Spanish Sahara
Spanish Sahara ( es, Sahara Español; ar, الصحراء الإسبانية, As-Sahrā'a Al-Isbānīyah), officially the Spanish Possessions in the Sahara from 1884 to 1958 then Province of the Sahara between 1958 and 1976, was the name used f ...
"
,
Best Song Musically and Lyrically
,
NME Awards
, -
, rowspan="5" style="text-align:center;", 2011
, rowspan="2", Foals
, Best British Band
,
, -
, Best Live Act
,
, -
, rowspan="2", ''
Total Life Forever''
, Best British Album
,
, -
, Best Artwork
,
, -
, "
Spanish Sahara
Spanish Sahara ( es, Sahara Español; ar, الصحراء الإسبانية, As-Sahrā'a Al-Isbānīyah), officially the Spanish Possessions in the Sahara from 1884 to 1958 then Province of the Sahara between 1958 and 1976, was the name used f ...
"
, Best Track
,
, -
, rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;", 2013
, Foals
, Best Live Band
,
, -
, "
Inhaler"
, Best Track
,
, -
, 2014
, Foals
, Best British Band
,
, -
, rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;", 2016
, ''
What Went Down''
, Best Album
,
, -
, Foals
, Best British Band
,
, -
, "What Went Down"
, Best Track
,
, -
, rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;", 2020
, rowspan="2", ''Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost - Part 1''
, Best Album
, style="text-align:center;"
, -
, Best Album in the World
,
, -
, Foals
, Best Live Act
,
, -
, 2022
, "Wake Me Up"
, Best Music Video
,
Q Awards
, -
, rowspan="3", 2013
, ''
Holy Fire''
, Best Album
,
, -
, rowspan="2", Foals
, Best Act in the World Today
,
, -
, Best Live Act
,
, -
, rowspan="3", 2015
, Foals
, Best Act in the World Today
,
, -
, rowspan="2", "What Went Down"
, Best Track
,
, -
, Best Video
,
, -
, 2019
, ''Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost – Part 1''
, Best Album
,
Brit Awards
, -
, 2008
, Foals
, Critics' Choice Award
,
, -
, 2016
, Foals
, British Group
,
, -
, 2020
, Foals
, Best Group
,
iHeartRadio Music Awards
, -
, 2017
, Foals
, Best New Rock/Alternative Rock Artist
,
References
External links
*
Foals on Music Feeds TV
{{Authority control
English indie rock groups
Alternative dance musical groups
Brit Award winners
Dance-punk musical groups
NME Awards winners
Musical groups established in 2005
Math rock groups
British musical trios
Musical groups from Oxford