Foals on “scrummy” tour plans and “indie sleaze” at the BandLab NME Awards 2022

Foals hit the red carpet and took a victory lap at the BandLab NME Awards 2022 winners’ room after picking up the night’s gong for Best Music Video. Watch our full video interview above.

When asked if the band could recall any stand-out moments from previous NME awards, drummer Jack Bevan joked before entering the ceremony that they had more of a “favourite lack of memories” from music’s wildest night.

The band also told us what to expect from their yet-to-be-released album ‘Life Is Yours’.

“It’s an escapist record,” frontman Yannis Philippakis said. “We tried to use the songs to transport ourselves from the current climate into places that were nostalgic or optimistic or far-flung or exotic.”

Bevan added that the record was written during COVID when they were “just lusting to go out and experience the world again. So it’s a fun, upbeat, party record with a lot of soul.”

Philippakis also gave us his take on the ‘indie sleaze revival‘.

“We kind of came through at the end of that [time],” he said. “There was actually an amazing optimism and energy with a lot of that period. There was a lot of great music, there was a lot of great hair cuts there was some wild shit going on.”

Guitarist Jimmy Smith added: “People didn’t really care that much about what they looked like, it was fun.”

After picking up their Best Music Video award for their track, ‘Wake Me Up,’ the band headed to the winners’ room and told us what the energy was like that evening at London’s O2 Academy Brixton.

“We’ve seen some cool music, we’re getting a bit wild,” Philippakis said, before joking: “Robert Smith’s here so I can apologise to him for a couple of years ago.”

The Foals’ leader also joked about whispering “something in Greek” into comedian Jamie Demetriou’s ear earlier in the night that he “won’t repeat”.

“I think he was slightly startled,” he joked. “Maybe slightly scared.”

Before leaving the winners’ room, the band also told us their touring but didn’t get specific about what festivals they plan to play outside of their announced Latitude headline spot.

“We got a lot of our own shows and maybe some others,” Philippakis told us. “Basically, buy your tickets for Latitude don’t hold out for something else.”

The trio said they’re feeling “quite scrummy” about hitting the road again, with Smith saying that he was “looking forward to taking my lockdown sofa attire on tour.”

Earlier this week, Foals shared the June 17 release date, track list, and artwork for their upcoming new album, ‘Life Is Yours’.

Check back for the latest news, interviews, winners and more from the BandLab NME Awards 2022.