In this interview feature, we get to know the most radicalist up and coming stars on the planet.      

This time we speak with Scandinavian krautrock enthusiasts FEWS.

Emerging in 2015 with a mammoth release on South London concept label Speedy Wunderground, FEWS quickly gained attention for their relentless krautrock-inspired sound and invigorating live performances. Signing a deal with PIAS offshoot Play It Again Sam, the feral foursome enlisted the services of renowned producer Dan Carey for a second time, creating one of the most addictive LPs of 2016. Having toured extensively in support of Means, including a smattering of support slots for the almighty Pixies, the quartet have been relatively quiet over the last year or so. Luckily for us, that's all about to change with the release of their highly-anticipated second album Into Red, which will arrive on the 1st of March. With their propulsive recent singles 'Business Man', 'Paradiso' and 'More Than Ever' well and truly capturing our attention, we figured it was about time we got to know FEWS a little better. We caught up with front man Frederick to discuss Myspace, drumming and 5am cab rides. 

***

TMR: There's been a wiff of mystery about you guys from the off. With a conscious lack of surnames provided and your geographically diverse origins, we'd be interested to know more about how you met and what made you want to start making music together?

Frederick met David years ago through Myspace. David had a cool project that I (Frederick) found and just felt I had to get in touch with him and ask if I could join that band. He didn't want me to join so I started recording demos and sent to him. He was really into the demos so we started making songs together. We met one summer somewhere in Sweden and realized we had to name the project something and FEWS started from there. I met Rusty through David and our original bass player Lulu left the band at the airport straight after finishing recording Means. Dan Carey introduced us to Jay and we clicked. Tada.

TMR: Around the release of your debut album Means, you seemed to be operating largely from London. Is that still the case now and if not, what prompted the change?

Yes, we were kind of based in London at that time. We made Jay move to Malmö, Sweden cause we wanted to record an album with as little distractions as possible. That's almost impossible in London.

TMR: We wrote about your interpretation of Gary Numan's 'Metal' last year and were instantly taken with its intense, industrial feel. Do you enjoy working on covers and can you tell us why you chose this particular track?

Nah, we try to stay away from covers actually. I heard 'Metal' for the first time about 2 years ago and loved it. I started playing with the original track and came up with a 'slinga'. We tried playing it together in rehearsal and everyone felt it. So we decided to record it. Rumour is that Mr Numan has even heard it and was into it. Yiha.



TMR: The motorik beats made famous by the krautrock genre, and more specifically Can's Jaki Liebezeit (RIP), seem to be a crucial part of your sound. What is it that attracts you to this style of drumming?

It's a feeling about it all. Sex-like and you enter some kind of trance-like state. Also we've always loved minimal electronic music - the repetitive motion about it. It opens up doors when a bassline stays on one note and suddenly something small changes and the whole thing changes. It's really hard to explain it haha.

TMR: Do you all have similar musical influences and are there any specific artists that inspire you the most as a band?

No, we are quite different when it comes to musical influences really. It's all from Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan to Slayer.

TMR: Speedy Wunderground have been churning out a number of phenomenal left-field singles as of late and your 2015 offering 'ILL' has become a classic example of this. Can you tell us what it was like being part of such a unique record label experience?

It was out of hand. Everything is in one take. You feel the pressure and the excitement of the whole 'live' thing. It's dark, smokey and lazery'. Another 'hard-to-explain' thing. Everyone behind the label (Pierre Hall, Alexis Smith and Dan Carey) are close friends now. The whole label is a family. We're friends with quite a lot of people who have also done a Speedy release.



TMR: Speaking of Dan Carey, we noticed that your new album was recorded at Sickan Studios just outside Malmö and was co-produced by Joakim Lindberg (Echo Ladies, Nightmen etc). How did the recording process for Into Red differ from working with Dan on Means?

Recording Means was our first album and we got to record it with one of the best producers in the world. We recorded 'Metal' with Joakim and the vibe was amazing doing that one. We all wanted to record an album with Joakim and see how it would go standing on our own feet with Joakim basically. He understands where we want to go with music and contributed massively. Also, around the time we recorded the album was an intense period on personal levels for all of us in the band. He understood and made time for everything to work. He's one of the best producers in Sweden, if not the best.

TMR: Environment is obviously an important factor when creating or recording music, but we'd like to know if you could create the ideal environment to listen to FEWS in what would it be?

Maybe in a cab at 5am.

TMR: As a blog specialising in new music, we’d like to take this opportunity to ask if you’ve seen or heard any up-and-coming acts recently that you’d like to give a shout out to?

Crack Cloud released last year’s best album so check them out.

TMR: Finally, what can we expect from FEWS for the rest of 2019?

Broken livers and hopefully world domination.



Into Red will be out on 1^st March via PIAS.

-Holly Mullineaux