Friendly Fires
St. Albans’ suppliers of synth-laden floor fillers, Friendly Fires, have had a meteoric rise since breakthrough single ‘Paris’ hit the clubs. 2008 saw the release of their self-titled debut album, which, by the end of the year, featured highly in many a critic’s annual ‘best of’ list. Now, with several award nominations and a legion of fans behind them, we caught up with them to have a quick chat…
What was your highlight of 2008?
I reckon it was Reading when we performed ‘Jump Into The Pool’ with loads of Brazilian percussionists and dancers. That was a big highlight; it worked really well. We thought it was a great idea but weren’t sure if people would be into it, but just did it anyway. People are always asking when are you getting them back, and will they be joining the band on a permanent basis? If only, is the answer to that question. We thought that song having a South American, samba influence, that it’d be good to do something like that. The guy who runs the drum group is full of ideas and he’s always emailing me things that he thinks will be good for the band.
What are your plans for 2009?
We’re working on some new ideas which will hopefully see the light of day in the summer. We did the NME tour and then off to Europe. It’s all been touring, but its nice to get some time off and chuck some new ideas around. We’re trying to get things recorded. It’s nice, to know, because when you’re on the road it just gets repetitive and you end up playing the same songs every night. When you’re on the first album, they’re the songs that you’ve been playing since your conception, which for us was like two and a half years ago. So it will be really nice to get some new stuff down.
Who do you think will be big in 20009?
Heartbreak supported us at Koko. They released their first album last year but they seem to have made inroads into people’s consciousness. It’ll be nice to see them continue that and go further. What they’re doing is something that isn’t done that well a lot – really dramatic and heartfelt music with dance influences. They combine proper songs and dance music really well.
What do you think will happen musically in the next 12 months?
I reckon it’ll be the return of the mainstream of metal. Not nu Metal but more a kind of Iron Maiden – Brit heavy metal stuff and big hair. Maybe stuff like winger and that hair metal nonsense. I just think it’s about time. Actually scrap that, I think it’s time for some big ballards like hip hop power ballards. The Kanye West album is full of them and that ‘I’ll be Missing You’ track is king of a hip hop power ballard. 2009 will be the year of hip hop power ballrds.
Will you be making any self-improvements in 2009?
Personally I want to give up beer. I’m really fed up of larger – I think its really over rated and , having been playing lots of gigs all year….I’d like it if someone invented something that was like beer but didn’t taste all chemically.
Maybe you should give shandies a go?
OK, drink more shandies instead.
