Yannis Philippakis (Greek: Ιωάννης "Γιάννης" Φιλιππάκης) (born 23 April 1986) is the

lead singer The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

and

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

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

Foals A foal is an equine up to one year old; this term is used mainly for horses, but can be used for donkeys. More specific terms are colt for a male foal and filly for a female foal, and are used until the horse is three or four. When the foal is ...

Early life

Born to a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

father and a

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

n Jewish mother, Philippakis lived in Greece until he was 4 years old when his family moved to

. After living there for a year, his parents divorced. Every summer Philippakis would visit his father in Olympos on the Greek island

Karpathos Karpathos ( el, Κάρπαθος, ), also Carpathos, is the second largest of the Greek Dodecanese islands, in the southeastern Aegean Sea. Together with the neighboring smaller Saria Island it forms the municipality of Karpathos, which is part o ...

. His father played a significant role in his life regarding music, teaching him traditional Greek songs. Philippakis was raised in the

Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek language, Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the Eastern Orthodox Church, entire body of Orthodox (Chalced ...

religion.

Education

Philippakis was educated at Magdalen College School. There he had met all of the requirements for an assisted place at Magdalen, where he had taken classes on French, literature, and art. While attending school, Philippakis faced many difficulties due to his father's absence; he would get into trouble with the teachers and was ill-tempered. This led to his being suspended twice. Philippakis then went on to study English literature at

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pro ...

; he dropped out before completing his degree to focus on the band.

Career

Music

Foals

Philippakis formed FOALS in 2005 with friend and former

Youthmovies Youthmovies (previously known as YMSS or Youthmovie Soundtrack Strategies) were an English rock quintet active from 2002 to 2010. They comprised Andrew Mears (guitar and vocals), Al English (guitar), Graeme Murray (drums), Stephen Hammond (ba ...

frontman Andrew Mears after the break-up of his former band The Edmund Fitzgerald, which also featured his Foals bandmate, drummer

Jack Bevan Foals, stylised as FOALS, are a British rock band formed in Oxford in 2005. The band's current line-up consists of Greek-born lead vocalist and guitarist Yannis Philippakis, drummer and percussionist Jack Bevan and rhythm guitarist Jimmy Smith. ...

Other musical projects

In a BBC 6 hub session interview, Philippakis expressed his desire to write a 'ballet with beats'. In 2010, Philippakis appeared and was interviewed in the documentary ''Anyone Can Play Guitar''. Philippakis produced the track "Wolf" on

Trophy Wife A trophy wife is a wife who is regarded as a status symbol for the husband. The term is often used in a derogatory or disparaging way, implying that the wife in question has little personal merit besides her physical attractiveness, requires sub ...

's 2011 EP ''Bruxism''. In January 2018, Philippakis began a monthly club night in south London called MILK. Special guests are kept secret until the night of the performance, making each night different. Every night at MILK is recorded and made available in limited numbers on vinyl for purchase at the following month's event. Philippakis said, "I want to make a club night that me & my friends would want to go to. Where the night acts like a sort of dream collider of different musicians in the hope of the surprising, the life affirming & the downright dirty." In 2020, Grammy-nominated producer duo,

CamelPhat CamelPhat are an English DJ and production duo, consisting of Dave Whelan and Mike Di Scala, formed in Liverpool in 2004. They are best known for the 2017 single "Cola", which peaked at number 3 in the UK Dance Chart, and at number 18 in the UK ...

, released " Hypercolour" featuring Philippakis. The Liverpool duo had stated they were "longtime fans of Foals" and "have always been on

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officiall ...

list to collaborate with" in an interview with

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

. A month after the initial release of " Hypercolour",

released the official visualizer on their YouTube channel. The video itself is directed by Philippakis alongside Kit Moneith and features Philippakis himself against a backdrop of colourful psychedelic imagery and kaleidoscopic scenes.

Other

He performed as an actor in an adaptation of

Marguerite Duras Marguerite Germaine Marie Donnadieu (, 4 April 1914 – 3 March 1996), known as Marguerite Duras (), was a French novelist, playwright, screenwriter, essayist, and experimental filmmaker. Her script for the film ''Hiroshima mon amour'' (1959) ea ...

' ''

Moderato Cantabile ''Moderato Cantabile'' is a novel by Marguerite Duras. It was very popular, selling half a million copies, and was the initial source of Duras' fame. Plot The plot is initially the banal daily routine of a rich woman taking her son to piano lesso ...

'', directed by

Alexander Zeldin Alexander Zeldin (born 24 April 1985) is a British dramatist, author, and theatre director. Career Zeldin made work in Russia, South Korea and the Middle East as well as at the Naples Festival, before, between 2011-2014, developing a number of ...

TV appearances

Individually

* ''

Never Mind the Buzzcocks ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' is a British comedy panel game show with a pop music theme. It has aired on Sky Max since September 2021, having originally aired between November 1996 and January 2015 on BBC Two. The original series was first hoste ...

With Foals

* ''

EA Sports EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to imitate real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" ...

'' * '' Later... with Jools Holland'' * '' Skins'' (Released as a MySpace exclusive, then aired by E4) * ''

The Culture Show ''The Culture Show'' is a British magazine programme about books, art, film, architecture, music, visual fashion and the performing arts. The show was broadcast weekly on BBC Two between 2004 and 2015. Early history Launched in November 2004, th ...

'' * ''

T-Mobile T-Mobile is the brand name used by some of the mobile communications subsidiaries of the German telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom AG in the Czech Republic (T-Mobile Czech Republic), Poland (T-Mobile Polska), the United States (T-Mobile ...

's Transmission'' * ''

The Album Chart Show ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' * '' Barclaycard Mercury Prize Sessions'' * ''

Live from Abbey Road ''Live from Abbey Road'' is a 12-part, one-hour performance series/ documentary that began filming its first season during 2006 at Abbey Road Studios in London. Season 2 was filmed between 2007 and 2008, season 3 was filmed in 2009 and Season ...

'' * ''

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert ''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Spartina Productions and CBS Studios, it is the second it ...

'' * ''

Austin City Limits ''Austin City Limits'' is an American live music television program recorded and produced by Austin PBS. The show helped Austin become widely known in the United States as the "Live Music Capital of the World", and is the only television show t ...

' with

Alejandro Escovedo Alejandro Escovedo (born January 10, 1951) is an American rock musician, songwriter, and singer, who has been recording and touring since the late 1970s. His primary instrument is the guitar. He has played in various rock genres, including punk ...

Peter Buck Peter Lawrence Buck (born December 6, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter. He was a co-founder and the lead guitarist of the alternative rock band R.E.M. He also plays the banjo and mandolin on several R.E.M. songs. Throughout his car ...

'' * ''

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 ...

BBC

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

and

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

Glastonbury Coverage''

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 ''Total Life Forever'' is the second studio album by British indie rock band Foals, released on 10 May 2010 through Transgressive Records. Prior to the album's release, the band described it as sounding "like the dream of an eagle dying". It wa ...

'' (2010) * ''

Holy Fire In Eastern Orthodoxy, Orthodox Christian belief, the Holy Fire ( el, Ἃγιον Φῶς, "Holy Light") is a proposed miracle that occurs every year at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem in Christianity, Jerusalem on Great Saturday, ...

'' (2013) * ''

What Went Down ''What Went Down'' is the fourth studio album by British rock band Foals, released on 28 August 2015 via Transgressive Records in the United Kingdom. The album is produced by James Ford, known for his work with Simian Mobile Disco, The Last Sh ...

'' (2015) * ''

Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost – Part 1 ''Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost – Part 1'' is the fifth studio album by British rock band Foals. It was released on 8 March 2019 through Warner Bros. and Transgressive Records. The album is considered the first half of a two-piece projec ...

'' (2019) * ''

Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost – Part 2 ''Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost – Part 2'' is the sixth studio album by British rock band Foals. It was released on 18 October 2019 through Warner and Transgressive Records. The album is considered the second half of a two-part project, ...

'' (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". ''L ...

'' (2022)

References

External links

*
A Band That Cradles Its Rock, Even Under All Those Layers of Expectations
New York Times
Music Review: Foals
BBC Norfolk – 2008
Foals reviewed on The Mag
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Philippakis, Yannis 1986 births 21st-century Greek male singers 21st-century guitarists People from the South Aegean People educated at Magdalen College School, Oxford Alumni of St John's College, Oxford Greek emigrants to South Africa Greek emigrants to the United Kingdom Greek people of South African descent Greek people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Living people People from Oxford