Band portrait by Ben Graville
Fat White Family are back with a new single, a new album and a new sound. You can listen to their new single ‘Feet’ above and long player Serfs Up! will be released by Domino on April 19.
‘Feet’ is powered along by a monstrous Levantine disco groove that locates some middle ground between vintage Sylvester and Algerian rai and points toward a new sound which the band have described as their most pop statement to date.
Speaking about the new album, singer Lias Saoudi said: "Moving up to Sheffield was an important part of making Serfs Up! – just creating a space where we could make a great album. It was the product of an exodus out of London.
"It was a heroin-free zone. That was important. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like we weren’t doing drugs at all but none of that other stuff."
Talking about the complex and sometimes fraught relationships within the group he struck a positive note saying: "Because it’s not just Saul and me writing the songs any more but Nathan as well it’s been a hard process working out who is actually in charge from time to time but it’s borne fruit. It’s the most diverse album we’ve done yet I guess and the most pop by far."
Today’s single release was preceded by a short teaser video of Lias carrying a throne up a hill – a clear reference to Depeche Mode’s ‘Enjoy The Silence’ video. Speaking about the clip he said: "The video was shot in the peak district with director Niall Trask. The idea for it came from my big brother Tamlan out in China. I guess its pretty much a direct representation of the making of the record."
