Family Fodder
- Website:
- Bio: Is the long-awaited album by legendary post-punk band, Family Fodder. We pick up the story in 2005…. Evil mastermind, Alig Fodder, awakes from a deep slumber, drinks the (vegetarian) blood ... (more)
- Bio: Is the long-awaited album by legendary post-punk band, Family Fodder. We pick up the story in 2005…. Evil mastermind, Alig Fodder, awakes from a deep slumber, drinks the (vegetarian) blood of a virgin, and puts on the coffee. What to do next? Yet another Greatest Hits album? Sponsored world tour? No. The long-awaited album, Classical Music.
The first step was a solo single on Tomlab, followed by collaborations with David Shrigley, PSAPP, and the Animal Folk. Alig teamed up with singer and multi-instu-mentalist, Darlini Singh-Kaul. By an amazing coincidence, she turned out to be Half-Punjabi, half-French, half-English (count them) daughter of Fodder singer, Dominique Levillain. Small world.
Family Fodder was originally formed in 1979 – with a cast of thousands over three decades. They emerged from the melting-pot of 70s/80s London alongside This Heat, Flying Lizards, The Pop Group, Slits and many others. The original formula consisted of psychedelic and new wave influences, incisive song-writing, improvisation, experiment and far-out dub mixing. They always managed to evade major exposure, but influenced generations of bands on five continents. Various compilations have been re-issued from the 11 vinyl singles and 3 albums of the early period. FF was often more at home in the studio than on-stage, but completed several European tours as well as cherished performances in their native London. Performances from the new band are eagerly awaited, preferably not paid in peanuts this time. Pistachios. Walnuts.
The current album was a labour of love – assembled from performances, with attention to detail, layering the vocal blend of Alig and Darlini’s voices. Apart from the ubiquitous string arrangements, the music features Arabic oud (electric and acoustic) as well as guitar, keyboards and percussion. The lyrics tackle the familiar Fodder topics of emotion, philosophy, relationships and politics as well as the politics of relationships.
There is a bittersweet leitmotif of nostalgia, loss, and déjà-vu underscoring the childlike innocence of these songs. The next album is about Comedy. Sessions are booked for this autumn – provisionally entitled “Fast Songs” – with the emphasis on the old Fodder technique of ‘instant songs’. Meanwhile Alig keeps busy with remixes for Mirror Mirror and The Chap. (less)
