News Foxygen: Fake Stage Fights And The Art Of Becoming A Band

Foxygen are a band defying the current age. By definition they’re a new being, a couple of fresh faces releasing their debut album, but they’ve existed as a group for ten solid years. Not a single head-turning mp3 or mysterious batch of songs has accompanied their work. They’ve ignored the internet, shunned hype - they’ve even shied away from playing live. They’re two guys who got together in high school, making album after album, and all of a sudden, this glut of music broke out and led to a deal with US label Jagjaguwar. Foxygen are a band now, not just two friends messing around.

“We never even showed these records to anybody beyond our friends,” says Jonathan Rado, one half of the duo. We’re talking over a transatlantic Skype call. In the background you can see flags, memorabilia and in the centre of Rado’s room, the drumkit that was used for all the childhood practice sessions. “When we started it was just fun,” he asserts. “We were just trying to make music that sounded like the music we liked and it just sort of evolved into something else.” The childhood pipe dream is coming into reality for Jonathan and bandmate Sam France. What was once a distraction and a means of messing around is now being played out in a public arena.

“It’s sort of intense because we were never really a live band. We just made a lot of records in my room. And it’s strange because we sort of got thrown into this situation.” It must feel conflicting to be referred to as a new band, sitting alongside peers who only have a couple of tracks to their name. “We’ve been in a band since we were 13-years-old. We’re not new but I get it,” says Jonathan.



When we’re talking about Foxygen, it boils down to a couple of guys who love all kinds of music, who project this into their records and do so at an astounding rate. Following on from ‘We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors Of Peace & Magic’, Jonathan says they have “forty songs” prepped for recording. But a record label and a budget and a reputation: all these things will change how Foxygen lives and breathes. “There’s obviously pressure from record labels to tour more and we try to keep everyone happy, but we’re trying to do all that while still doing things on our own terms.”

We’re asking all these questions because it seems appropriate. Prior to the interview several posts on the band’s Facebook page set the agenda. Statements like “it only seems like we’re ‘making it’ or ‘going places’ on the internet” give the impression of a band trying to keep their feet on the ground. There’s no doubt that they are ‘going places’, whatever that means. This isn’t restricted to some bubble of online acclaim. Jonathan acknowledges as much: “Six months ago we played a show to maybe five people a night, and now it’s 300. It feels really good.”

Lurking behind this mix of emotions is an evidently huge urge to get this god damn record out there. ‘21st Century…’’s songs have existed for a year and a half. A sudden offer from producer Richard Swift back in 2011 helped start this perpetual process. Swift liked what he heard and asked if they wanted to record in his studio. “We wrote [the songs] in like a week,” says Jonathan. “We were really inspired about the fact that [Swift] wanted to make a record with us and we wrote everything to be recorded with him, for that specific purpose. It’s definitely the most inspired I’ve ever felt. And it’s definitely our best batch of songs.”

These songs: They’re more than a good batch. The debut album proper is a stunning collection of instant, strangely uplifting tracks. Unlike previous EP ‘Take The Kids Off Broadway’, which by Jonathan’s admission, was “very meticulous” and “intimidating to the listener,” these songs are heavy on ideas, but not to an overwhelming degree.

Defining these meticulous constructions is an undeniable nod to the past. Some culture freaks might call it detrimental to music, to make songs so referential and steeped in history, but fans don’t seem to mind. These listeners aren’t seeking nostalgia trips, they’re just being confronted with music that, at times, sounds a lot like David Bowie, or channels the production of a Velvet Underground record. And they like what they hear. Jonathan’s cautious to signal his annoyance at all the comparisons, because it ultimately means the band are doing something right. “You could be compared to worse things,” he says.

Influences come from all sides but ultimately Jonathan and Sam are two guys who love rock ‘n roll and its legacy. A big part of them yearns to be a rockstar. “In 2012 [it was] hard to be a rock band. The ‘60s and ‘70s had so much money. You could wreck whatever you wanted, be mean to whoever because you’re a rock star.” But emerging from a process of hitting cymbals in his bedroom to playing to crowds of thousands, Jonathan’s closer to being a rockstar than he thinks.

Foxygen’s debut album ‘We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors Of Peace & Magic’ is out now via Jagjaguwar.

Taken from the February 2013 issue of DIY, available now. For more details click here.