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The Franz Ferdinand Interview

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Franz Ferdinand is ready to ‘take you out,’ as this award-winning British band makes their debut appearance in Richmond this Saturday. With a new album, “Always Ascending,” in tow, the indie rock band has hit the road once again, bringing their suave, bouncy dance music to the States.

Now nearly 16 years old, much has changed for these British boys based out of Glasgow, Scotland. Many of the members now have families, which was the motivation behind guitarist Nick McCarthy’s decision to step back from rocker life and into his role as a dad. After his departure, the band invited Julian Corrie to join, a 33-year-old keyboardist with a background in electronic music.

“Having a lineup change gave us the opportunity to push different things in the band than we have previously,” said bassist Bob Hardy. “When we sat down to write the record, we wanted to push that bounce to stress when we play live. We always had that bounce in our music, and absolutely having electronic sounds pushed more to the front. This album is maybe synth-heavier than previous albums, but we gave ourselves the time to play around with synths in the studio and we’re playing around with different instruments and different synthesizers.”

Corrie’s new band members are his seniors by nearly 20 years, but according to Hardy, they welcomed his fresh take. They found he meshed well with the other members of the band and could offer his electronic music background experience for their new album.

“It was something we just had to make the best out of and enjoy expanding the opportunity of having someone much younger in the band,” Hardy said. “It feels like the beginning of the band, or it feels sort of like a new band in many ways, which is nice, it gives a new energy.”

However, after two Brit Awards and several Grammy nominations, as well as 16 years of success, the benefits of their experience is not lost on Hardy.

“What we’re capable live and in the studio now is broader,” Hardy said. “It’s more enjoyable now, the more you’re capable and the more potential you have. As time goes on, I enjoy playing live shows more and more. At first, it’s overwhelming, but you get used to the touring life and you get focused on the energy of the show and putting a show together and playing.”

As Franz continues to experiment with new sounds, they make a point to include the bouncy, rock-pop dance music they set out to make in 2002, but are also excited to see the genre move with the times and the technology available to them. With Corrie’s participation, new tracks like those found on “Always Ascending,” which dropped earlier this year, bring more raw, disco or atmospheric sounds.

“That’s one of the exciting things about being a part of music, you don’t know what’s going to be happening in two or three or five years time,” Hardy said. “You just enjoy it in the moment. Often an album sounds like what we were enjoying on the previous tour and what we were enjoying musically at the time.”

Franz Ferdinand was also recently part of a project titled, “30 Days, 30 Songs,” self-described as “a playlist of songs written and recorded by musicians for a Trump-free America.” Franz’ contribution, “Demagogue,” slams Trump and all his antics. Hardy saw it as a way to release some of the anger and frustration at hearing Trump’s public sexist and xenophobic statements. However, when asked if the band might write similar music concerning the UK and Brexit, Hardy thought it unlikely.

“It’s far too depressing,” Hardy said. “[Brexit is] just a huge national folly. It’s just an act of self-sabotage.”

However, Hardy and his bandmates have been putting that out of their mind as they enjoy touring once more. He finds that playing music here versus playing back home carries almost no difference, as everyone enjoys dancing to their poppy tunes.

“I think humans beings have the same reactions to music and they go to live shows for the same reasons,” Hardy said. “There’s always a celebratory joy for seeing live music.”

Catch Franz Ferdinand this Saturday, Aug. 11 at The National. Show starts at 8 PM. Tickets are $24.50 and you can snag yours here. 

 

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

RVA Global: When In London, Football As the Londoners Do

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As the FIFA World Cup approaches its final match, people around the world are united through a love of soccer, awaiting with fierce anticipation as France goes head-to-head with either England or Croatia, to be determined during today’s 2 p.m. match.

It’s a scene anyone can relate to: a dark bar with darker beer, cramming too many people into a too small pub, all eyes glued above them to that one TV that will either crush their dreams or grant their only wish today–a win. Being in London for England’s World Cup matches is both the authentically familiar and romantically foreign football experience, and it all begins with where to go. A ticket to a watch party with a huge jumbo screen? Cheering on your team at home with friends? Sipping on a beer at a local pub? I opted for the pub experience, because it doesn’t get more British than that.


In England, you may choose between two types of pub experiences, depending on what you want. You can go to a trendy or posh pub that has a more adventurous menu, more beverage options, and can set up a huge projected screen to watch the game; your other option is to go for the standard working man’s pub that will only have typical gastro foods (ie: fish and chips, meat pie), a few brews, and maybe a ten-year-old TV or two up in the corner. The standard pub experience is hard to beat, as it harkens back to decades of Brits watching their football teams play. They’re the people that yell and curse for a bad attempt on goal or cheer and sing along for any well-timed, well-executed play. You find people who have watched their team for years and could tell you anything you wanted to know about a player. The atmosphere is tense, exciting, and a little magical.

“Come on, boy,” one Londoner says to the TV while clutching his beer. A moment later, another man loses his composure to shout, “Let’s go! Let’s go!” as England makes several attempts to score on Sweden. Fast forward 30 minutes into the game when England finally makes a goal, sending all the viewers into hysteria. The older bar guest beside me turns to me and says, “English fans aren’t very forgiving people.” Although there is some praise, criticisms about the English player who just scored, his teammates, and his coach fly around the bar with reckless abandon. The football match was not quite as exciting as the England vs Colombia match just days before, a game England won only through penalty shots. In the wake of the exciting win, this pub’s bartender gave no quarter to his team, saying that in the Columbia match, “[England] is shit, but the birds are quick.” As the third youngest team playing in the World Cup, I can see how inexperience is a factor in some British players’ performances.


As the second half is about to begin, I make my way back to the pub after stepping out to cool off (the pub full of people and has no air conditioning). Minutes later, England secures another goal against Sweden, giving them a 2-0 lead. The entire pub feels brighter, as patrons shout, “There we go, boys!” One of the patrons orders a round of beer and shots for his table to celebrate the lead.

Before I had a chance to finish my ale, the match is over and England moves into the Semi-Finals. Everyone cheers and sings “Football Is Coming Home,” by a group called the Three Lions. The song is an anthem dedicated to England’s efforts to reclaim the World Cup since their last win in 1966. Eventually, the bartender puts the song on over the speakers to drown out the patrons’ loud, off-key singing.

After leaving the pub, we only walk a few blocks down the street and suddenly hear crowds of people chanting for England. Traffic in both directions is stopped, as people have poured onto the streets from various pubs and watch parties to celebrate this momentous win. English flags emblazoned with the three lions are proudly being waved, people are climbing sign posts, and police are gathered for crowd control. Strangely enough, the police are willing to hold up traffic for celebrators as they, too, silently enjoy the excitement of the moment and the satisfaction of the win. Even the cars and buses sitting in traffic honked their horns in celebration.

It was quite the day to be a visitor in London for a one-of-a-kind football experience–the kind of experience that almost made me feel like a local.

Look for more World Cup posts on Chloe’s blog, Adventure in Travels, where she’s blogging during her European vacation. All photos by Chloe Fortin.