Fenech-Soler Interview: SXSW 2010

Posted on Feb 22nd 2010 10:17AM by Colleen Larson
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Hailing from the tiny English village of Kings Cliff where, unlike London, the music scene is nonexistent, Fenech-Soler, a glam/electro pop band, is ready and anxious for their first performance in the United States at SXSW in March. The creators of 'Lies,' and 'The Cult of Romance,' the band has an album due out in April and is featured on Groove Armada's 'Paper Romance' from the 'Black Light' album. Fenech-Soler is Ben Duffy, Ross Duffy, Daniel Francis and Andrew Lindsey. Spinner caught up with front man Ben Duffy.

Describe your sound in your own words.

We are electronic with a club/dance background. I would describe our sound as "slick" pop songs, and we're not scared of melody. We keep our songs short, but not contrived or overly pop. We have an upbeat and feel good sound.

Where are you from?

Kings Cliff, a village in the English countryside. We grew up there. There's no music scene and we're segregated. A lot of London bands are friends, but we're outside the London scene. But we do play in London a lot, and in the last year things have picked up for us.

How did your band form?

Ross is my brother. We grew up in a musical/Irish family and actually lived in Dallas for a time. Our father toured in a Country and Blue Grass band in the late 70s and early 80s. We were brought up with music. There's Daniel, who lived with us at the house [in Kings Cliff] for three years. We said, let's try to make a band out of it. Andy, who plays drums, joined the band last year. He's a studio wiz.

How did you come up with your band name?

We didn't want a name that would categorize us. We didn't want to be a "the" band. Our name came from Daniel's -- Daniel Francis Fenech-Soler.

What are your musical influences?

We like the records and sounds of the late 70s early 80s with strong chorus. The Whispers is a band we really respect. We like George Bensen.

Beatles or Stones?

Stones

What's the craziest thing you've seen or experienced while on tour?

A few months ago we performed at a skate park on a skate ramp. It was pretty crazy. Industrial, there were like four and a half thousand people, not a music venue. It was absolutely bonkers.

Any final words?

We're getting set to come to America and we've made sure we're on top of it. I'm confident. We've watched SXSW on MTV and to finally get the chance to perform there is great.

Colleen Larson is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.