Night Wolf and The Fods have collaborated to create Kickback – a track that beautifully balances brooding and warmth, emotive writing with expansive production. We sat down with them to get a sense of the story behind Kickback, their creative partnership, and what music means to them.
Hi, Night Wolf and The Fods! What first got each of you into music?
The Fods (ol): Oh, in my case, it was hearing John Lennon sing I Feel Fine that started my love of music generally, and then Brian May made me want to play guitar, specifically. I needed to know how to make those sounds. (Spoiler: I can’t play or sound like Brian May some 40 years later!)
N.W: I started making sounds when I was 3 years old with a drum kit. I then grew up thankfully being sent to piano and drum lessons, joined loads of percussion-based groups, and then as I got older, I played the drums with my bands Hed Shot and various others. I’d always been writing songs and lyrics on the piano at home as a younger me. I wanted to make my own music rather than learning and playing others’; early on, I got my first workstation keyboard – around 18 years old on store credit, and started to learn how to produce my own songs without a computer. I only later started to learn a DAW.
I have always had a deep love for different styles/genres in music, and my parents had an eclectic taste but also had very different styles of music they liked. My sisters also tried as a girl group called Genie and performed to Boyzone on live TV and made friends with Edwin Starr. I have had a lot of fads in my life and have slowly lost interest; music is certainly not one of them and never will be. I have a lot to learn and find what I am capable of in music, and know my best works are yet to come.
How would you both describe your sound to someone hearing you for the first time?
The Fods: “lo-fi and lo fuss” was a strapline of ours for a while – it just means that really it’s all about the song, and we try and not labour too much over the tiny details of production. Just blast it out, and if it’s a good song, it’s a good song. Maybe garage indie punk will cover the genre – that’s before NW gets hold of them, though.
N.W: I’m not really sure, as I enjoy making music in a spectrum of genres and it’s not always pigeon-hole-able, but “cinematic”, dark pop, trip hop, downtempo stuff with classical elements, and sometimes full on electronic? I enjoy making what I feel, and that’s mostly depressed; I guess that comes across in the music, so please, don’t make me smile ;).
Your latest single, "Kickback", is expansive and brooding – how did your influences come together to shape it?
The Fods (Rob): That's all Night Wolf. The original track and lyrics, which were penned in the early 90’s, were, I think, quite hopeful. I guess there is possibly a dark undercurrent to the lyrics, but the guitar version is quite upbeat, which makes this new version a great juxtaposition.
N.W: When I heard the vocals and lyrics to Kickback, it sent me on a visual ride into almost a barren desert or small shack on a lonely highway in the middle of nowhere, with a convertible on the drive. I wanted to work alongside the backing vocals with the instrumentation, and the cello worked perfectly. This definitely does have subconscious influences from my love of hip hop and trip hop, downtempo genres and darker pop music, and also my love of classical music and epic instrumentals. The Fods would be the main influence, though, for how this came out, as it really was just me following the vocal patterns after the rearrangement and vibing to how it made me feel, which was relaxed and chilled. A minimal approach was needed due to the content and pace of the vocals in the remake. It was a great project to work on!
Has your collaboration changed the way you approach creating music?
The Fods: No, I don’t think we originally set out to make a remixable track. We just write what we write, and record it how we record it. We can’t get too set in our ways anyway because almost every Fods track needs a vocalist to collaborate with us. That makes every experience different– original and remixes. We intend to retain the lack of rules!
N.W: No, not really, I am always learning, and the only way I learn is by doing. I have worked with many other artists and producers and have gained a respect for the process, both working remotely and one-on-one. You must trust who you work with, I feel, and be invested in what they do alongside your own work. I think working with others is a great way to find out what you are capable of: if I had not put my hand up to remake Kickback, then this would never have been a song I would have picked to remix by myself, if that makes sense. It’s worked as it was a challenge for me to see how I could flip this song, as the original is a completely different beast. If there’s anything that changed, it was allowing us to find hard-working people who are actively pushing for new listeners and fans of what we do as a collaborative as well as being our own artists.
How do you both balance external inspiration with your own originality?
The Fods (Rob): As a lyricist, one draws inspiration from any situation, and I also use a lot of imagination, so words in our songs often do not mean anything literal. I would like to think that whoever listens to The Fods interprets the words in their own way.
N.W: I just enjoy making music – I am either lucky or cursed depending on how you see it, but I do not “run out” of ideas. In fact, I am constantly recording voice notes with song ideas when washing up or doing something or daydreaming – not that I have ever made one of those, but I know I have them one day if I do suddenly “dry up”! I have been working on finding what I enjoy making and what could maybe fit for how I feel when I make music. This is now paying off (as I think you can start to tell); maybe I had a hand in a piece of music, and people tell me it sounds unique. I’m still not sure if that’s a compliment or a nice way to put that it’s shit! I am just happy to be able to please my own ears sometimes with what I make, and it allows me to express myself and bring to life these visual ideas I have when creating music. I do not follow trends or really what is even going on in the commercial music world – again, I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing, but I certainly am not aiming to sound like anyone other than Night Wolf.
Apart from music, what makes you who you are?
The Fods: I think we’re pretty simple people. Friends and family, a bit of sport, a nice meal every now and then.
N.W: I’m fully focused on bringing out all the best parts of me creatively, and am following my dreams and establishing a sound effects company called No Paw Audio, alongside working with new and older artists I’ve previously worked with on releasing new music for my record label EscaVolt Records. I’m also in the process of creating music videos for all our recent releases, and I’m learning photography and post-processing – colour grading and editing, etc. Although I’ve always had my hand in various things like those mentioned, I’d never made it into a viable business that would allow me to do what I love – being creative. I’d much prefer to have a busy mind and be able to express myself and do what I enjoy. I’m in a lot of pain and a little mentally drained, but I would rather be doing this than nothing at all.
What’s next for both of you after "Kickback"?
The Fods: We’re ploughing on with the next release cycle, which is 10 songs released as singles over the last 18 months (plus B-sides), which we’ll eventually pull together into an LP. Rob and I (ol) are currently debating over the running order, but alongside that, we’re probably 2 or 3 tracks into the next album already in terms of writing. One day we’ll hit the wall, I’m sure, but right now we’re just spanking it!
N.W: I am just now focusing on what I previously mentioned and establishing my little corner – my companies that I am working through the first edits for my first sound packs. I will continue to work with other artists, and also with these recent artists, as well as with my own albums. I have a whiteboard that still has a list to get through, but once this is cleared as it slowly is being, I will be back into full swing for creative mode. Right now, though, there is a lot of learning, editing, and preparing. But I am aiming to be in full creative mode again and have some new music up soon. You can browse my catalogue and contact me directly for lease or use of any of my available music for your projects or even for bespoke music at www.nightwolfuk.com.
Check us out on socials and links below! We would really appreciate the support and finding our people out there to follow along with the ride. Thank you for listening and reading!
Night Wolf: @NightWolfUK | www.nightwolfuk.com
The Fods: @TheFodsBand | linktr.ee/thefods