.png)
Interview: The Horrors
- Olive McCagh
- 3 days ago
- 8 min read
Interviewed by Olive McCagh
"Creativity is my way of understanding myself, and it's my way of engaging with the world, interacting with the world." FARIS BADWAN
Over the last twenty years, The Horrors have remained at the forefront of indie music. Moving with the times, the group has continued to evolve their sound and attitude, gracing the project space to nurture their craft and perfect their newest album 'Night Life'. I was lucky enough to catch up with the lead singer, Faris Badwan, ahead of their first Australian headline tour in over a decade. Faris spoke with introspection about their 2024 return, the inner workings of his mind during the writing process, and his excitement to return to Australia’s landscape and fans.
I just want to firstly congratulate you on ‘Nightlife’. What a way to return after some years. I'm curious as to why it felt like the right moment for The Horrors to drop such a massive project like this, after the break?
I don't know if it did feel like the right moment. I think albums always take longer than you sort of expect them to, and although it was seven years between our full-length records. We were kind of working the whole time through that time. So, I don't think there's ever really been a period since we started The Horrors where we weren't working on it in some way. Then stuff comes out when it's done, basically. So, you know, I wish I could plan things a little bit more and sort of figure out the best time to release a record. But I'm not very good at that.
You guys have been described as like a metamorphosis, constantly growing and changing between genres. With such a long career, you know, it makes sense. But I'd love to know why you think now, you were drawn to this more electronic, droning and moody sound in Nightlife, and maybe where that came from?
I think just because of the kind of emotions that the songs were hitting, it suited that kind of production. I feel like when we start a song, we’ll often start more with a feeling than being like, okay, we're going to try these chords. Reese and I will often prefer to work in a way where the songs stem from like more of a soundscape. I think in the beginning we’d like a certain mood. And then I would find a lyric that it kind of connects to. we would sort of try to like hone in on that feeling, I think we can get better at that as well. But I just prefer songs that are written in that way. When I think about the music that I listen to, I'll be more drawn to stuff that is atmosphere based and mood based more than, you know, like stereotypical song structures. It’s always about trying to sculpt a feeling in the end.
Was there a moment that you remember where you guys realised you had found that sound, and that maybe there was an album there?
I think that we had written the songs and then realised that we didn't necessarily have a band to record them with. We did a lot of stuff through messing around in [Rhys's] room ourselves and making things in a very DIY way this time. And then that’s when we went to Eve Rothman studio and we started adding some additional production from Amelia, I think that’s when it felt like it kind of crystallized into its own thing.
It was quite an insular process. I think that it's cool to be really sparing with the ingredients you add and just try to find a place that feels re-energizing to you, like a place where you feel like you haven't exactly covered all the ground a million times before.
I find it really confusing when people are in bands and they want to make the same record again and again, because I would just find that really boring. I don't think necessarily that we hop around genres as much as people say we do. But I think that we are generally driven by chasing things that feel exciting and spontaneous and new. So, I’m more into that approach, I guess.
I think curiosity is what can keep a band relevant and making music that can grow with the times as well.
Yes. The thing that makes it actually worth doing, is curiosity and generally I think it's also the thing that makes life fun as well. You know, curiosity is kind of the best trait to have. Like imagine not being interested in the world. I find that's so kind of terrifying that there might be people who exist like that, you know?
As you mentioned, throughout the since the beginning of the band, there hasn't really been a “break” of work. But I was curious if you have experienced writer's block or times when you've struggled to create for The Horrors. And if so, I would love to know what kind of inspired you to keep writing and making music.
I’ve never felt like there was nothing left to explore with The Horrors. Because, you know, there's no one saying that we can’t do what we want. So, it's not like I'm going to lose the desire to be making things. It's just that's the thing that makes life fun for me. I'm not going to stop.
Creativity is my way of understanding myself, and it's my way of engaging with the world, interacting with the world. It's not that I necessarily experience writer's block. I think that I'll switch between different disciplines, I'll go through periods where I don't feel like writing lyrics or I don't feel like taking photos, I don't feel like drawing. But I’ll switch to something else and then I'll be gathering ideas for the other ones in the meantime. It’s the whole process of creating, it’s quite a stream of consciousness, it's informed by whatever I'm feeling on a day-to-day basis.
I feel like you can gather ideas in so many different ways and, often, you might be sat watching a film at 3-AM and some thought that you have, ends up being the spark for an album in five years’ time, you know. So, I just think it's more about having this approach of being open to things to noticing the things that are passing through your head.
I wanted to talk about where you wrote most of the album, because I'm really curious about how the environment can influence themes and sounds.
Yeah, definitely, I am as well. I think that especially when the music that you're most drawn to is atmosphere and mood based, your physical setting has such a huge bearing on it. And I think that the London that Rhys and I were writing the songs in, it was through and after Covid, it felt quite dissociative. Because I often walk around a lot at night just through having insomnia, I get into that headspace, quite often.
Anyway, it felt like recording the album in LA, there's quite a lot of parallels with how sort of alien and lonely LA feels. It feels very detached, especially at the moment. I found it quite jarring. When we went to LA, I spent a couple of weeks on my own before the session started, just kind of like I didn't tell anyone I was there. And I was walking around and people don't walk on the street in LA. It’s very detached and the homeless situation is just like so in your face, you kind of can't believe that so many people have fallen through and there's no safety net for them.
It connected to the feeling I had when I was in London and, and it went pretty well with the songs. I'm a big believer in like, setting. Because I worked a lot in Rhys’s bedroom, I really believe in finding ways of setting the mood when you're making stuff that is complementary to it. feel like you can, like you can like zone in even more on a feeling when you do that.
I wanted to ask as well, you returned to Australia for the first time in over a decade for Dark MOFO in Tasmania last year, and you're coming back this April. Is there anything in particular that draws you to Australian crowds or anything that you might find different?
I mean, talking about that feeling of dissociation, I find it quite easy to get into that place when I'm walking around Australia as well. I've always loved playing places like Melbourne and Sydney, especially when we get to actually spend time there. I like walking through Melbourne at night. I love the buildings and the architecture and it's a very different feeling from Europe. I also love going to places like Perth and walking around on a beach there and you're the only one there. I love being in the Australian countryside as well, or whatever you call it. I think the nature in Australia is really exciting to me.
I'm sure you get to explore it all when you come back. What about when you play live? Is there any different response like this with your audiences, anything you've experienced?
I was talking to another journalist about this briefly. It’s interesting to me how there's a bit more depth of knowledge with Australian journalists for some reason, compared to Europe. It's because the standard has changed quite a lot in Europe, I think. I guess I've always found that Australian audiences have a real deep appreciation for music, but also a dedication to following a band for their whole career and seeing the changes. And that suits us because that's kind of like the way that our career has gone. So yeah, I've always loved it. I couldn't believe that it had been more than ten years since we did a headline tour. It's easier to tour now with a new lineup because it feels like things feel a bit more re-energised, and some members are experiencing some things for the first time and that's kind of cool for enthusiasm. We've enjoyed it very much.
I stalked your setlists from Dark Mofo, and throughout it you play older works like Primary Colours, Sky envy alongside tracks from your newest album. What is it like revisiting and performing older work?
I think we always try to interpret the older songs slightly differently. It's cool to leave room for stuff to adapt as you play it over the years, because it does seem very strange the idea of like, you write a song when you're like twenty-two and then you're playing the exact same version of it for the rest of your life. That just seems a little bit crazy to me. So, I like when stuff changes.
I like to leave opportunities within the songs for them to change and grow into something else. Often, we can be playing an old song from, from 2002, the mid 2000s, and the new way of playing it might spark an idea for a new song.
How is it balancing older songs with your newer work and shifting between different moods? How do you guys go about curating your set lists?
I think we do it quite instinctively. I think because Rhys and I, we met as DJs and people who like playing on records and sharing them with people. I think we approach the set list a little bit like a DJ set, in terms of wanting it to have an emotional flow. In theory, you want that from a set. But I don't think we ever overthink it. We often write down a song and then we'll be like, okay, what feeling is kind of complimentary and what allows the intensity to build and fall. Where do you instinctively feel like you want to have space…
We approach it quite spontaneously. I like the fact that we have the opportunity to change stuff quite frequently now as well. I think it's easier that we have a setup now that allows things to be a bit more fluid and flexible, and I really enjoy that.
The one thing I would say is, it's quite difficult to switch sometimes. I find certain songs require me to access a different part of myself. I find that quite emotionally draining because it's almost like going into different places in my head. Some might need more aggression and then more tenderness somewhere else. I find that it's quite full on to tap into all those different parts over the course of an hour and a half or something. But it's kind of an interesting challenge. I love giving chances for that to happen.
The Horrors are performing at The Princess Theatre on April 10th
