[image]
[title]If you’ve been keeping up with our gig calendar, you’ll know that the Scottish indie stalwarts are bringing their disco-punk setlist filled with groovy basslines and guitar riffs from their self-titled debut through to their latest album Always Ascending to Zepp@BigBox on November 21. But before you catch the five-piece punch their way through an electrifying live set, bassist Bob Hardy tells us why he’s excited about returning to Singapore, the process behind recording the new album (and the new lineup), and what fans can expect at the show.
RECOMMENDED: Upcoming concerts in Singapore
Are you excited to be back in Singapore?
Yes, it’s been a while! The last time we were there was in 2006 and my memories of it is a little bit hazy, so I’m looking forward to coming back.
What are you looking forward to the most?
Playing the show and meeting fans – that’s really my highlight of touring. It’s nice to come to somewhere like Singapore where you get the buzz of traveling to somewhere exotic. But it all leads back to the show and performing somewhere you don’t go often.
Let’s talk fans. What sets Singapore fans apart from those around the world?
It’s been a while since we last played in Singapore, so I guess we’ll find out when we get there. But we do hear from Singaporean fans online and they seem like really nice people. Looking forward to experiencing the live audience again.
With a new show, you’ll be playing tracks off the new album Always Ascending. What is the album about and what is the recording process like?
We’ve always been a band that wanted to play dance music as a live band, so it’s something we talked about and wanted to take the idea further. The idea was to make a groove-like album which is what we enjoy playing live and went as far as we could. Paul (Thomson), Alex (Kapranos) and myself started writing towards the end of 2015, and then in 2016, we met Julian Corrie through mutual friends. He has a background in electronic music and released a couple of records via an underground label as Miaoux Miaoux. We had a bit of crossover with what we wanted to do musically with him, and it clicked quickly. As we were playing music together, it just felt very natural, and so it became quite a swift process from there on. We also wanted to work with Philippe Zdar (producer) and he was available and into it. He came to visit us in Scotland, playing him what we’ve been up to and it was really exciting. He’s an exciting character. The whole experience was very pleasurable, really.
Describe the writing process as a band. Was there a main inspiration?
All of the songs have different inspirations, even lyrically. One way to kind of write, sometimes, would be Alex and me sitting down writing lyrics together while he’s working out chords on his guitar as well. Other times, there’d be beat or a groove that will work to become a song, or it’d be like a lyrical idea and that’d be the starting point of the song. Each song has a different process.
What are your favourite Franz Ferdinand songs to play live?
At the moment I enjoy playing Lazy Boy, Finally and Lois Lane which are on the new record.
What can fans expect from the show?
Well, we’ll obviously be playing a large amount of songs from the new album, mixing with a selection of hits and deep cuts from the previous four records. Also, things from the back catalogue will change slightly, being augmented by new parts or parts that are on the record but were never previously featured in the live show as we’ve now grown from a four-piece to a five-piece, so they’ve come back to life.
Don’t be a Lazy Boy – get up and get your groove on with Franz Ferdinand at Zepp@BigBox on November 21. Tickets are still available via Apactix from $99.