| They are, in fact, the... Infadels |
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| "we got a text telling us John Peel had played our record and that people were trying to book us – so we came home" |
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With Infadels' new single 'Can't Get Enough' out today (23 Jan), and debut album 'We Are Not The Infadels' out next week (both on Wall Of Sound), now seemed as good a time as any to catch up with guys who we've been closely following ever since they played Xfm's Remix Night back in summer 2004. Even if you've never knowingly played yourself an Infadels track, you have almost definitely heard these guys' music, because the bass-heavy soundtrack to that bizarre 'jellyfish' advert that the 3 mobile network aired last year came from their wall-shatteringly good early single release 'Give Yourself To Me'. The electro-rock sound of that ad is a good introduction to Infadels because, while the debut album is possibly too eclectic to classify with just one genre label, the term 'electronic band' kinda works - I pick that, because shortly after that aforementioned Remix Night performance they won the Best Electronic Band title at that year's Diesel U Music Awards. Anyway, enough of me trying to describe their sound - head on over to their MySpace page (http://www.myspace.com/infadels) where you can hear it for yourself, and see them being pelted by several tonnes of tomatoes. Then check out our interview to hear how the band's Matt Gooderson describes his band's sound, and to find out what all those tomatoes were about. |
Even if you’ve never knowingly played yourself an Infadels track, you have almost definitely heard these guys’ music, because the bass-heavy soundtrack to that bizarre ‘jellyfish’ advert for the 3 mobile network came from their wall-shatteringly good early single release ‘Give Yourself To Me’. “We didn’t make a big song and dance about it,” the band’s Matty Gooderson explains, “so no one knows it’s us. But it’s funny seeing the look on people’s faces when we play it live and the penny drops”.
Some of us, though, have been following Infadels since long before the phone ad. I, like many methinks, first came across them as unsigned newcomers when they played Xfm’s Remix Night back in June 2004. Their debut album, out next week, has been a long time coming – “we wanted to play at least a 100 gigs before we released an album,” Matt tells me, “we’re at 123 now” – but ‘We Are Not The Infadels’ certainly satisfies my considerable anticipation.
But even June 2004 was quite far down the road in the history of this band. “Me and [bandmates] Bnann and Al spent a lot of time writing some terrible music in a band called Balboa,” Matt explains. “I was into making electro initially, but wanted to write songs. I didn’t know how to, but I knew Al from college, and knew he did. I first came across Bnann when his then band supported Al’s then band at a gig. All out respective bands subsequently collapsed at about the same time. We all wanted to do something different, so we formed Balboa”.
“But pretty much everything we produced was awful,” he continues. “So we made one last record [‘Leave Your Body’] and then called it quits and buggered off to a hippy commune in Italy. Then we got a text telling us John Peel had played our record and that people were trying to book us. So we came home”.
With additional members Richie and Wag in place, the buzz slowly started to grow around the band that were now, despite what subsequent album titles might suggest, Infadels (a name that has its origins in Dylan admiration and poor spelling). The aforementioned Remix Night was followed by a double win at the 2004 Diesel U Music Awards, one for ‘Best Electronic Band’, and then a record deal with London’s top dance label Wall Of Sound.
“We have a fiercely independent spirit,” Matt explains. “There was never any intention on signing to a major label. We set up our own label in fact, but then we got an email from [Wall Of Sound boss] Mark Jones saying ‘what’s up?’. We didn’t reply (!), but eventually we signed to his label anyway. On the same day as we won the Diesel Awards in fact. Being with Wall Of Sound allows us to spend more time and energy on the band without compromising any artistic license. Mark is our biggest fan and critic”.
While I’m not sure what an ‘electronic band’ is exactly, it probably does best describe what Infadels do – they’re a rock band who throw electronica into the mix. Matt seems happy with the term, though isn’t so convinced that his band is part of any new ‘rock-meets-dance’ genre. “Electronic band is a good way to describe what we do, but that doesn’t mean we’re part of some new scene. We’re just a band that doesn’t sit in one specific music box, but there have been bands like that forever. I mean, few bands experimented more with their sound than the Beatles. The way I see it there are two kinds of bands. There’s manifesto bands, bands who know what they do well, and stick with it. Franz Ferdinand, Coldplay – they’re both like that”.
“Then there are other bands who are unpredictable,” he continues. “They go into the studio with no idea of how things will turn out. Soulwax, Beta Band, Super Furry Animals – they’re those kind of bands. Radiohead, Primal Scream and Blur, they were like that too. And I think that’s what we’re like. It’s probably more risky doing it our way – Coldplay and Franz Ferdinand will probably sell more records. But sometimes it works. I mean Radiohead, one of their biggest selling albums was the one when they went off in a completely different direction”.
All that in mind, what is like being in the studio with Infadels? “I’ve got a philosophy which says than it is easier to write something new that to perfect something old. If it’s not good, dump it and start again. We did that several times while recording the album. And we didn’t stick with just one kind of thing. In fact, we took a bit of major change in direction half way through, and several songs are very different because of that. It really changed the over all album, for better I think”.
In the studio with the band was hero producer Jagz Kooner, the production talent behind the aforementioned Primal Scream. What did he bring to the album? “We met Jagz at our club night ‘You Wot’, he fell in love with the band and offered his production services. It was a toss up between Jagz and James Ford. But Jagz had bigger hair, so we went with him! He was brilliant. We were 80% of the way there, but couldn’t see a way over the final hurdle. Jagz got us there. He didn’t impose anything on us – just helped us finish what we had already started”.
Working with a producer for the first time was surely a bizarre experience for Matt in particular, being a bedroom producer himself, and the man who had previously programmed the band’s electronic sound. “It could have been weird, but like I say, Jagz was perfect. Some of the stuff on the record is my programming, because when it worked he kept it there. He really worked with us on it – he wasn’t one of those producers that sneaks into the studio at night and changes everything when you’re not looking”.
Given the programmed electronic sound that makes Infadels stand out, is it hard to transfer that into a live performance? “It was more the other way round really. We started off as a live band, and as I said, we really wanted to reach a big live audience before releasing the album. People seem to like our live stuff – that’s frequently what they talk about. So the challenge isn’t recreating the album on stage, its creating an album that lives up to any expectations we’ve set with the live shows”.
Fingers crossed, fans old and new will be suitably impressed with the debut album, and with the single ‘Can’t Get Enough’, out today. And for those that know Infadels for their high impact live shows, the video to the single should satisfy, showing, as it does, the band endeavouring to perform the track in the middle of the bizarre Tomatina festival in Spain, where some 30,000 people pelt each other with over 240,000 pounds of over-ripe tomatoes. “That was Mark Jones' idea,” Matt reveals, “though to be fair he did come and get pelted himself. It’s a brilliant video. While other bands are being made to look all cool in there videos, you get to see us being almost killed by tomatoes”.
Fortunately for us Matt et al survived the pelting, because we’re hoping that with the new single and debut album now upon us, 2006 is going to be a big year for these guys. And with an album this good, we’re pretty sure it will be.
Some Infadels plugging:
Infadels' album 'We Are Not The Infadels' was released on 30 Jan 2006 on Wall Of Sound.
chris@unlimitedmedia.co.uk - published jan 2006
