MUSIC
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FFS Art rock explosion with a collaboration made in pop heaven ‘We thought “Take Me Out” was very cool, and wouldn’t it be nice to say hello when they came to Los Angeles?’ Russell Mael is casting his mind back to roughly the moment when he first heard that Glasgow’s art rockers Franz Ferdinand were big fans of Sparks, the art pop band he formed with his brother Ron in the late 60s. That was around the time of Franz Ferdinand’s debut album, and it took a decade before they actually ran into each other, when both bands played Coachella. then recorded it all together in a room. So no hanging around or fannying about,’ says Franz Ferdinand lead singer Alex Kapranos, talking about the intensive 15-day session in 2014 where they finally recorded the whole album.
‘We met and decided then that it would be
great to do something together,’ says Mael. ‘We put forward a couple demos: one was “Piss Off”. But they got swept up by everything, and it didn’t happen at that time.’ Later, it would end up as the closing track on their new album. ‘We had the songs first, rehearsed them and
The result? Energetic, jubilant arch pop, with those signature, naggingly dramatic pianos you’ll recognise from Sparks, piss-takey lyrics typical of both groups, almost pantomime levels of theatricality, and clearly camp fun being had on both sides. Expect a vaudevillian night of art pop and mutual-respect-rock when they perform together at the Art School in Glasgow in June, followed by an appearance at the Edinburgh Festival in late August. (Claire Sawers) ■ The Art School, Glasgow, Tue 16 Jun; Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Mon 24 Aug. See album review, page 84.
4 Jun–3 Sep 2015 THE LIST 79