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Buzzy U.K. post-punk act digs funky African grooves, will rock a house party
Growing up on the Greek island of Karpathos, Foals frontman Yannis Philippakis watched his father and other local men perform mandinades, the traditional ritual in which they recount the history of their village by improvising songs in iambic pentameter. Philippakis couldn't participate — "My Greek's not that good," he admits — but he never forgot the custom when he emigrated to Oxford, England, in 1994 and formed the art-punk band Foals a decade later. "We've wanted to try to make music that was like that ritual: a celebration."
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"Balloons"
You can hear that tribal vibe on Foals' debut, Antidotes, out in April. Philippakis, drummer Jack Bevan, guitarist Jimmy Smith, bassist Walter Gervers and keyboardist Edwin Congreave spike their propulsive post-punk rhythms with lean, sparkling guitar lines and riotous chants that Philippakis says were inspired by Alan Lomax chain-gang recordings. Cuts like "Balloons" and "Cassius" feature funky guitar riffs, horns played by the Brooklyn Afro-beat group Antibalas, and the atmospheric production of TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek, whose studio techniques included running drums through distortion pedals.
Foals played their first gigs at house parties in Oxford. Since there was often no stage, the band would perform in the middle of the crowd; things would get so wild that Smith once fell down and knocked out a tooth. "We would load our gear in, and the owner of the house would say, 'Watch the door frame!' " he remembers. "Then you see him later on when we're playing, breaking his own lights and stuff."
Foals may soon move on to bigger venues, but the group will still play gigs that eliminate the band/audience divide. "It's more democratic that way," says Philippakis. "It's not like we're telling everyone to shut the fuck up and watch. We're just part of the party." KEVIN O'DONNELL
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Check out photos of The Foals in London, on stage, in rehearsal and behind the scenes
Photograph by Peter Yang
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British R&B diva wins over Simon Cowell
After winning "X Factor," the U.K. version of American Idol, in 2006, Leona Lewis was hailed as a diva for a new generation: a big-haired, big-voiced prodigy with Mariah's range and Whitney's soul. In England, the Londoner is already a big star, and when Clive Davis showcased her at his Grammy party, Lewis was shocked to find that her idol, Houston, knew her name. "Everyone on my iPod was there!" she says.
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"Bleeding Love"
Lewis mined Nineties-style poppy R&B for her debut, Spirit, which features songwriters Walter Afanasieff (Mariah Carey) and Max Martin (Kelly Clarkson). The result is a collection of dramatic power ballads ("Here I Am") and midtempo tunes laden with synths and strings ("Take a Bow"). Musically, Lewis is influenced by her dad, a DJ who schooled her on Minnie Riperton and Michael Jackson.
Lewis' family nearly went broke on her classical-vocal training, and at seventeen she left school to pursue music, working as a Pizza Hut waitress. After charming Simon Cowell, though, Lewis broke a string of U.K. chart records. Her 2-million-selling Spirit, out in the U.S. in April, has soared thanks to "Bleeding Love," a tender ballad that shows off her gymnastic vocals. But despite her growing profile, the most diva thing about her is also the most innocent. "Disney made a doll of me: Princess Leona," she says. "That was surreal." CARYN GANZ
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Photograph by David Tiltow
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Two Harvard grads write Beach Boys-esque pop songs, count Kanye and Pharrell as fans
Job prospects for Ivy league grads being what they are, Harvard alums Maxwell Drummey and D.A. Wallach decided to choose a solid career with a future. "Rock star" sounded promising.
While their classmates were busy interviewing with Goldman Sachs, singer Wallach and multi-instrumentalist Drummey camped out in their dorm's basement studio, recording their demo, Love the Future — a collection of pop songs with Brian Wilson melodies, early-Beck humor and synth beats. "People" celebrates romance with suburban cougars over digital-crisp surf pop; another sunny ode is titled simply "The Jimmy Choo's." "We tried to bring the visceral production elements you find in hip-hop and inject those into really white music," says Wallach.
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"She Loves Everybody"
Confident they'd achieved this fusion, the duo sent their demo to "anyone in the music industry I could find contact info for," says Wallach. It found its way to Kanye West and later to Pharrell Williams, who signed Chester French to his Star Trak imprint last year. When the duo moved to L.A. after graduation, Pharrell advised them to stay focused. "He said, 'Don't get in the scene, don't be Lindsay Lohan. Making music: That's your job right now.' "
As they finish the studio version of their demo for a summer release, the new hirees are touring with N.E.R.D, meeting Busta Rhymes and hanging out with their gym-toned new fans. "Out here, from a physical standpoint, the women are pretty amazing," says Wallach. So far, the company perks aren't bad. ELLEN CARPENTER
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Photograph by Ture Lillegraven
Next: Does It Offend You, Yeah?
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YEAH?
Brit fellas aim to incite with pogo-ing — and fear — with their frazzled synth-rock
Click above to watch the premiere of the video for
"Rockstar."
The British dance-rock act Does It Offend You, Yeah? — whose sound is an obnoxious, dizzying, perfectly of-the-moment blend of Daft Punk, Justice and a little Rage Against the Machine — weren't an overnight success: It took them at least a few weeks. One weekend in 2006, friends Dan Coop and James Rushent created their first song together, a throbbing, distortion-heavy dance anthem called "Battle Royale."
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"Let's Make Out"
On a whim, they made a MySpace page — grabbing the band name from a Ricky Gervais line in an episode of The Office that happened to be on TV at that moment — and posted the song online. "It was purely for our friends," says Rushent. But their online friends liked the track so much that by the next weekend, the duo were hard at work on more tunes. And when record labels came calling, Coop and Rushent became more than just two dudes with laptops: They recruited two members and formed a group.
"I liked how Prodigy could get away with playing with rock bands," says Rushent. "That's why we went down this road: We didn't want to be in the DJ tent at 4 a.m. — we wanted to be on the main stage." Their debut, You Have No Idea What You're Getting Yourself Into, mixes electronics and live instruments. And their raucous concerts are inspired by a love of Rage: "It's the only band where the audience has to compose themselves before they clap," says Rushent. "That's what we aspire to: 'Don't come too close. It's a bit dangerous.' " BRIAN HIATT
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Photograph by Timothy Cochrane
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Retro British soul belter channels Dusty Springfield, in sound and vision
Click above for an exclusive performance of Duffy performing
"Mercy" in the Rolling Stone office.
Living in a small Welsh town where a trip to the nearest record shop requires two bus rides doesn't bode well for one's musical education. "I didn't know Aretha Franklin existed until I was almost nineteen!" says Duffy, 23, who came across "Respect" while recording her debut album.
Her producer, ex-Suede guitarist Bernard Butler, stocked her iPod with tunes by the likes of Franklin, Al Green, Otis Redding and Dusty Springfield. "He'd do this teasing thing where he'd only give me one or two songs from each act," says Duffy, who studied the music during the six-hour commute from Butler's London studio to her home in the coastal village of Nefyn. "I'd have to go out and buy the rest myself."
The homework paid off: Duffy (she shed her first name, Aimee, six years ago) is racking up comparisons to vintage R&B icons — and not just for her peroxide bouffant and Sixties-glam-girl wardrobe. Rockferry (out May 13th) nods toward classic Stax and Motown with finger-snapping shuffles, gossamer strings and, of course, Duffy's prematurely rich and husky voice — which, ironically, didn't earn her a place in the school choir. "I gave up many of my lunch hours to audition," she laments. "I obviously wasn't adequate for the job."
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"Warwick Avenue"
Her songwriting chops, which she honed during after-school shifts at the local garage, came easier. "All day I'd be pumping gas and dying for a cigarette, but I couldn't smoke because I'd set the place on fire," she says. "It was really boring, but it was a good time for me, sitting there writing."
Teenage ennui, however, pushed Duffy to escape Wales. At sixteen, she embarked on a six-week soul-searching mission to Switzerland (she picked the country at random). "I wanted to be extreme, so I packed my bags and went," she says. By the time Duffy returned to attend college, she had a cache of songs written abroad, but she was nearly broke.
Considering welfare, Duffy was scouted by Waw Ffactor, Wales' American Idol-style competition. Snagging the runner-up spot, she soon found herself working as an unsatisfied backup singer. "I was just a voice — there wasn't room for me artistically," she says. "I was at the point of retiring with that hunger."
Quitting became a nonoption when one of Duffy's demos landed on the desk of veteran music exec Jeannette Lee, who signed on as Duffy's manager and sent her into the studio with Butler. From there, Duffy says, "I cut away all the bullshit and started writing."
Four years later, Duffy emerged with her debut LP, which is already a smash in Britain. The lead single, "Mercy" — marked by a "Chain of Fools"-reminiscent vamp and insistent girl-group "yeah yeahs" — spent four weeks on top of the U.K. singles chart. Duffy was in a car in Paris when she heard it on the radio for the first time. "The driver started beeping the horn and doing swerves down the street," she recalls. "I could've passed out."
Unlike fellow U.K. soul bird Amy Winehouse, Duffy says her tales of love gone bad are not based on real-life heartache. "I don't think I've ever been in love," admits Duffy, who sings about boarding a midnight train to the riverside town of Rock Ferry (near Liverpool) with "a bag of songs and a heavy heart" on the title track. She penned the song after glimpsing the city from a train window. "I've never even been there," she adds, "it's embarrassing." NICOLE FREHSÉE
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"Warwick Avenue" in full
Photograph by David Tiltow
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Texas teen cleans up, finds success with homemade emo
Click above for an exclusive clip of Dan Hunter singing
"Texas."
Four years ago, Dan Hunter was a misfit among the wanna-be cowboys in tiny Aledo, Texas. That wasn't his only problem: "I was smoking an ounce of weed a week," says Hunter, who was fourteen then. After a Mom-mandated rehab stint, Hunter transformed from burnout to electro-pop whiz kid, making demos in his parents' garage.
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"My Attendance Is Bad but My Intentions Are
Good"
With the help of MySpace — his tracks have logged 10 million plays — he signed with Island Records while still in high school. Now eighteen, Hunter makes music as PlayRadioPlay! His debut LP, Texas, is wistful electronica in the vein of the Postal Service.
Though the lead single, "Madi Don't Leave," was self-recorded back in the garage, most of the CD was made in professional studios. And now that he's touring with Yellowcard, Hunter has put his plan to study music production in college on hold. "I had an opportunity to work as an artist in a real-life situation," Hunter says, laughing. "It was kind of a no-brainer." CHRISTIAN HOARD
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Photograph by StudioDahan.com
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Seinfeld-loving Beltway rapper becomes Mark Ronson's latest protégé
Click above to watch Wale perform at South by Southwest 2008
and introduce himself to Rolling Stone.
It's not exactly street to rap about Seinfeld, as D.C.-based Wale does on his Mixtape About Nothing. But the twenty-three-year-old MC doesn't care. "Everybody in hip-hop is trying to prove that they're so gangster," says Wale, who actually got Seinfeld's Julia Louis-Dreyfus to cameo on the mixtape. "Let me be the guy that has something else to say."
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"w.a.l.e.d.a.n.c.e."
Wale (pronounced "wa-LAY") was born Olubowale Akintimehin, the son of Nigerian immigrants who raised him in Washington and exposed him to everything from Fela Kuti to Phil Collins. "I don't consider it black music, white music," says Wale. "I wish the world was like that."
As a teenager, Wale started writing smart, funny rhymes to go with beats built out of D.C.'s funky go-go music. His demo found its way to DJ Mark Ronson, who played it on his radio show. "It was the first thing I'd heard in ages that got me excited," says Ronson. "He's clever like Kanye, with that whole smart-guy-rapper thing like Lupe Fiasco."
Though Ronson says major-label heads have been offering "any amount of money and a Rolls-Royce" to sign Wale, the MC's Afro-beat- and soul-influenced debut album will come out this fall on Ronson's Allido Records. Given Wale's association with Ronson, it's no surprise the rapper has been embraced by indie rockers, but Wale still stews over the reception he gets from hip-hop heads back home: "D.C. is like, 'Fuck that, he's not hood enough.' But you got to be true to yourself. That's living right." EVAN SERPICK
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Photograph by Quang Le
Next: Check out the Artists to Watch from Issue 1040 — November 29, 2007
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Artists to Watch 2008
Low vs
Diamond, Laura Izibor, Ra Ra Riot, 3OH!3, Lykke Li and Dead
Confederate
[From Issue 1060 — September 4, 2008]
Artists
to Watch 2007
Santogold,
Brett Dennen, the Cool Kids, Black Kids, Liam Finn, MGMT, Kate
Nash, Estelle, Year Long Disaster, OneRepublic
[From Issue 1040 — November 29, 2007]
Artists to Watch 2007
The Academy Is..., Mika, Lavender Diamond, Rich Boy, the Fratelli,
Charlotte Gainsbourg, Lifesavas, Amy Winehouse, Manchester
Orchestra, Rose Hill Drive
[From Issue 1023 — April 5, 2007]
Artists to Watch 2006
TV on the Radio, the Boy Least Likely To, Rock Kills Kid,
Wolfmother, Nicole Atkins, Matt White, the Whigs, Papoose, Daniel
Powter, Bonde do Role
[From Issue 997 — April 6, 2006]