Fanfarlo Interview by ''Foforks''

1.First things first:  Could you tell us a little about how you guys got together to form Fanfarlo, the idea behind it and those basic details for those not that familiar with your work?

Fanfarlo started as a bedroom recording project for Simon at home in Sweden. He moved to London and started playing shows, which were attended by his future band members. The London music scene is small and incestuous, so it was only a matter of time before we crossed paths. I joined the band as their drummer in the summer of 2006 and four years, one album and a couple of singles later here we are.

2.We have to admit that we got to know Fanfarlo a little bit more after knowing that the band would be part of the soundtrack for Eclipse, and because of that we were looking through the sound and style of the members of the band. Listening to Reservoir, your first album, we noticed some similarity with Beirut. This American band got some recognition in Brazil after being part of the soundtrack for Capitu, a brazilian mini-series based on the book Don Casmurro from Machado de Assis. And after researching a little bit more we found out that you guys really have some connection with Beirut. So what other influences does Fanfarlo have? Do you know anything about brazilian music?

I have a limited knowledge of Brazilian music. I know Astrud Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Os Mutantes (who I saw for the first time recently), CSS, Sepultura…

They’re all Brazilian, but definitely not part of the same scene!

As for influences, Cathy’s been soaking up the late 70’s and 80’s output by Paul McCartney, Leon’s got Teen Dream by Beach House on repeat, Simon’s been listening to post-punk and new wave, I’ve been reading about the German painter Otto Dix and Justin…all he does right now is watch or listen to American baseball!

3.Have u listened the Eclipse Soundtrack yet? If u did, what are your thoughts about it?

I heard most of it when it premiered online in early June, but I’m yet to hear the complete soundtrack. I was mainly curious about Metric’s song since they worked with Howard Shore on that.

4.The name Fanfarlo comes from a novel written in the XIX century by Baudelaire, and in the novel he projects himself into the main character, Samuel. With this in mind, what traits each of Fanfarlo’s members project into the music? How would you describe Fanfarlo’s sound to this new audience that is coming with the success of the Eclipse soundtrack?

Simon’s the catalyst for the songs. He’ll record a rough demo that will inspire us to write parts individually at home. Everyone has ideas about arrangements, so the next time we meet at practice, we try all these ideas out. It’s difficult to say what individual traits each one of us ‘projects into the music’ because it’s a free for all!

For anyone who has just discovered Fanfarlo through our song “Atlas,” you come to us in between albums. Atlas can be viewed as the link between our first album “Reservoir” and the new album we’re working on. Expect more percussion, electronics and abandonment and less layers, density and security.

5.We often see Fanfarlo described as being a bookish quintet, so do you know anything about the Twilight books or had a chance to read them? We are advising you to read the Saga, now what kind of book would you recommend to us? Something that you like and think Twifans would do too.

I know that Stephanie Meyer is the author of the Twilight books, but none of us have read them, though I have friends and family who have. Anything I know about Twilight comes from what reviews I’ve read or heard. I think fans of Twilight may enjoy folk tales. One of my favourite books is Arthur Ransome’s “Old Peter’s Russian Tales.” The stories contain heroes and villains, monsters, freaks, supernatural occurances, romance, heartbreak, tragedy and triumph.

6.When we were talking before you told me that you still didn’t have a chance to watch the Twilight Movies (but you said that your brother had the first two movies and you’ve asked him to lend them to you and that your sisters were fans, so that’s a start lol), are you into these type of movies with creatures like vampires, wolves and all that?

I grew up watching low-budget, gory ‘Hammer’ horror films and science fiction courtesy of my brother. I guess that left an impression on me since I still enjoy fantasy films like Pan’s Labyrinth, The Fall or Let The Right One In. I should clarify that my sisters did read the Twilight books for fun but I don’t know if I would call them fans!

7.The band had a really interesting idea for the promotion of the first album, charging only $1.00 for its download, and that gave a chance for a lot of people to hear your sound. This is something that, like this interview, is possible thanks to the internet. So how strongly do you guys depend on it to be in contact with fans and to promote your work?

We’re accessible via the internet should anyone wish to get in touch, though we do get the occasional fan letter in the post. Most people contact us via our website www.fanfarlo.com or by sites like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter mainly to ask when we’re playing near them, so I tend to let them know about that news.

8.You are part of the soundtrack for the most successful movie out there right now, of course this fact for sure is gonna make Fanfarlo even more accessible to a new audience, and some of that audience is more familiarized with other sounds, stuff like Miley Cyrus and Bieber. So now that Fanfarlo can reach out to those fans, what do you think could be attractive to them in your music?

I believe our melodies, stories within the songs, arrangements and being a band that exists outside of the charts but is within your reach are all attractions.

9.We’ve seen Episode 3 of Under the Reservoir which documents the studio process to create and record Atlas. Speaking of the lyrics and all those parts, did you have the opportunity to talk to anyone from Eclipse about what they wanted the music to be like or was everything created without any influence from them whatsoever? What about the remixed version?

Atlas wasn’t written for Eclipse. It was a demo we’d recorded in 2008. Alexandra Patsavas allowed us to re-record the song and we had full creative control during the entire process. Being on the soundtrack was a simple “Yes” or “No” decision.

10.So how was the process to get into the soundtrack?

We only became involved when we were asked to be on the soundtrack! Behind the scenes, Alexandra Patsavas, the music supervisor for the previous Twilight soundtracks had heard an old demo of Atlas and asked for permission to include it in Eclipse. We said yes, but only if we could re-record the song as the song had changed considerably since we’d started to perform it on tour. Luckily our re-recording was approved.

The remix came about because iTunes asked for some bonus tracks. The Time and Space Machine (Richard Norris – who is one half of “Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve”) had remixed another of our songs, “Fire Escape,” so we asked him to remix Atlas.

11.Atlas is played when Edward takes Bella to go meet with Jacob, because he’s going to hunt. In this scene, you can kind of see Bella’s indecision between the two of them, while the guys try to mark their territory. The song is being played in Edward’s car while they are driving to go meet Jake. You haven’t see the movie yet but do you think the song was well fitted at this point in the movie, with that context?

Since Atlas wasn’t written for Eclipse, we had no idea if it would be used in the film or just the soundtrack, so you’re the first to tell us that it is in the final cut. From your description, it does sound like a significant moment but I’d have to watch the film to fully understand the context.

12.We know that you Amos likes soccer and really wants to come to Brazil during the World Cup 2014 to watch a few games, but before that happens, will we have a chance to see Fanfarlo around here anytime soon?

Well, I’m never been to the World Cup or Brazil, so 2014 might be my chance to do both. I do hope Fanfarlo get to play in Brazil one day. Who should I call to make that happen?

13. Ok, you are going to an island for the rest of your days, and you have a chance to take some things/people with you, things that you like and people to make you company, so what/who would you choose?

Your drums or your girl: My girl. She likes travelling.

Your ipod or your phone: Phone.

Edward or Jacob: I don’t know enough about either of them! (Sorry!)

The Queen or Obama: Obama.

Miley Cyrus or Justin Bieber: Wow, what a choice. I think I’ll go with Ms. Cyrus as I’ve heard a bit more about her than Mr. Bieber.

Your laptop or your favorite book: My laptop. So the island has wi-fi, yeah? (Foforks: Yep, its kind of like the island from Lost, lol)

14. Now when we give you a few words tell us the first thing that comes into your mind, ok? Go!
Music: is everywhere
Future: who knows?
Bite or be bitten: bitten, then bite back.
Favorite food: right now, cereal (it’s breakfast time)
Favorite drink: water
Favorite place in the world: I’m still looking.
Worst Flaw: putting others first
Best Quality: haha, as above!
You Love… uninterrupted sleep
You Hate… violence
Fanfarlo: is completing our second album
Twilight Fans: just getting to know them.
Brazil: Batucada
Créu: Grace K. Melo
And of course, would you send a message for us at Foforks and for the brazilian fans?
Done! (see picture)

Thanks to Foforks