- Culture
- 15 Feb 22
The new Foals clip was directed by Tanu Muiño, best known for her work on pop hits like Lil Nas X‘s ‘Montero (Call Me By Your Name)’ and Cardi B‘s ‘Up'.
Oxford band Foals have shared the video for their latest single '2am', taken from their summer 2022 album Life Is Yours.
The video comes via Lil Nas X and Cardi B director Tanu Muiño, and was filmed in their native Kiev.
Of the collaboration, frontman Yannis Philippakis says: “We love Tanu’s work. It wasn’t a collaboration we would’ve predicted, but I met up with Tanu in London, we hit it off and decided to work together. The moment I spoke to Tanu she was interested in the repetition of the lyrics, which is symbolic of being stuck in repeated patterns of bad behaviour. She wanted to visualise that with labyrinths and maze-like loops.”
The director added, “Foals are one of my favourite bands, so this project was a dream to work on with Yannis. The labyrinth idea came from playing the track on repeat and the visuals came together when I met with Yannis. We connected on the creative, which is the ideal situation in videos to have him explain the meaning behind the track and the inspiration of the song.
"The more we spoke, the more the idea revealed itself. We felt the repetition of being stuck in the same place, the same life, the same situations all felt like being trapped in a labyrinth/maze that you are constantly wanting to exit and find a resolution for - you keep trying until you unlock it!”
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With their seventh studio album in the pipeline, Foals are set to embark on a UK headline tour in April, and have set a date at Dublin's Fairview Park on June 27th.
Speaking to Foals' drummer Jack Bevan last week about '2am', he describes the impact of dance and pre-Covid freedom on the album.
“I love them both, but I prefer ‘2am’ as a song," he concedes. "There's a few future fan favourites on this record, but ‘2am’ is one of the most simple songs we've ever written. It’s also one of the catchiest. It’s probably among the best pop songs we've ever written. There's a lightness to it, which spreads across the record. It’s a fun, listenable album.”
“You have to be in a certain mood to want to listen to records from start to finish. This album definitely feels like a record I’d put on if I was getting ready to go on a night out. I put on Metronomy’s The English Riviera in full, and it's a very different vibe - same with Weezer's Blue album," he adds. "People might be surprised a little bit by ‘2am’, but ‘My Number’ was a very simple song as well. It's not a million miles away from that sound, but it's got a very different feel to it. There’s disco in there, and pop.”
Check out the brand new video below: