- Thu, 2011-08-11 09:36
Hannah Clark tickled our fancy a while back when she returned to the indie scene as FOE following the break-up of Arthur. We announced her work in our indie section and a few months later, found ourselves invited to send some questions across to FOE as her debut single, Deep Water Heart Breaker arrived on 8th August 2011, produced by the former frontman of Arthur's scene-mates Elle Milano, now turned producer / solo artist Entrepreneurs.
Released via Stella Mortos, the independent label hooked up with Mercury Music subsidiary Vertigo Records for the release, proving FOE's scuzzy pop take on cerebral nineties inspired indie is catching the attention of big label players and hopefully, a wider audience alike. We found out a little more about the young singer you should be keeping an eye on...
"I Like Music because… it speaks to all of us.” FOE
ILM: When did you begin creating your own music?
FOE: I was learning guitar from quite a young age, but I think my favourite memory is playing Beatles covers with my dad. That spurred me on to write my own songs. I remember a couple of my first songs, one called Nature, one called Angels. I miss that naivety, haha.
ILM: How would you describe your music making approach? How do tracks typically come together?
FOE: With Foe it varies. Sometimes I will write a song on guitar just chords and vocals, other times I will programme drum parts, and write all the other musical parts on my computer.
ILM: How important is style and fashion to your music? Do they inform one another?
FOE: To be honest, I know nothing about fashion. Ideally music should speak for itself, but these days it seems fairly important to have some kind of look. At the moment I just enjoy dressing up, painting my face, wearing wigs etc. I'm not bothered about looking cool. Although I think a style for Foe will probably come naturally.
ILM: Who / what are some of your biggest musical inspirations?
FOE: I love so much music, but I'd say my biggest influences would be PJ Harvey, Nirvana, Radiohead, Portishead, The Kills.
ILM: Are you looking forward to your single launch party? What can we expect if we come along?
FOE: I cannot wait for the single launch! I'm dressing up The Old Blue Last! You can expect a great time..
ILM: How would you describe your live show? What affect do you hope to have upon an audience?
FOE: I would say it's a bit more ramshackle than the recordings, but in a good way. I think the live experience should be intense, and exciting to watch.
ILM: What do you think about the current UK music scene?
FOE: I don't know much about scenes and new music really, but I have noticed a resurgence in the 90's sound, and I've noticed a lot more grunge influenced bands around.
So that's kind of cool, I just hope some of this stuff can break through to some larger audiences, and replace some of the generic, lifeless pop that is churned out every month.
ILM: What have you been listening to recently?
FOE: I've been listening to a lot of female fronted grunge bands recently. Bands like Babes in Toyland, and Daisy Chainsaw. I tend to binge on things for a month and then move on to something different.
ILM: What has been your most recent musical discovery? (This can be anything - an artist, an instrument, a venue, an idea...)
FOE: Hmmm, probably Kat Bjelland, singer from Babes in Toyland. Somebody recently told me that they saw parallels between my sound, and theirs, hence my binge.
She is a mega babe.
ILM: What are your future plans?
FOE: At the moment, I am working towards having a really good live set and show. Been learning new songs with the live band, and am looking forward to just playing tons of gigs.
ILM: Anything else we should know?
FOE: Right now I have extreme hiccups.
