W: Meg Glover

Hailing from Stoke, five-piece FOARN are set to release their debut EP on the 15th of August. 

Formed in late 2023, the members of FOARN each worked on music projects separately before banding together in their musical endeavour. And ahead of their release, we caught up with guitarists Kie and Alex about all things FOARN, and their five track EP.

As a relatively new group, Kie explained to us how they got started. “So essentially I was working with a group of lads and a couple of people had sort of died off. We were looking for members to come in and replace them.

“It was quite unique really because you don't usually get a group of people that all seem to just fit each other's wants, but also can get on without killing each other,” he says. 

With their first single ‘Wild Skies’ released in January of this year, ‘Games’ and ‘Lights’, subsequently followed. With the two tracks ‘Get You Alone’ and ‘Mess’ yet to grace our ears, the tracklist is described by the guitarists as “not a track out of place”, and that each song “stands up in its own right”. 

About their process for their new EP, guitarist Alex says that “I think we probably work better under pressure”. He talks about the quick turnaround for some of the tracks on the EP.  “‘Lights’ was our third single and was fairly new, and we probably had that song kicking about for about probably three or four weeks at an absolute push,” he says. 

As the deadline of recording approached Alex told us that “probably a week before, we were still sort of squabbling over what tracks we were going to put on there”. And the FOARN guitarist said that they didn’t know whether ‘Wild Skies’ would make the EP. A song that sits at their most streamed on Spotify currently - and we have to say we’re glad it made the cut. But whatever hasn’t made the EP they have settled on for upcoming singles. ‘Doubts’ being one of the tracks which didn’t make the EP this time is one to watch out for, says Alex.

As for EP favourites, ‘Lights’ is pinned as a standout for Kie. He said: “I think ‘Lights’ is pretty cool because as a guitar player I don't think it's a style that I would necessarily go to as a first port of call. So I think it pushes me into different realms for a selfish reason.

“But then there's a song we've got called ‘Mess’ and I think the guys were really trusting on that. They really kind of gave me poetic license to shape and direct that tune and they all got on board with it.”

We also asked FOARN how they would describe their music. “I think one thing I think about our sound is I think it's a real mix of like gritty kind of guitar tones, but mixed with floaty kind of poppy sounds as well,” says Kie. 

“It's almost kind of like the floaty side of it smooths out the edges of the rock stuff.”

With Kings of Leon as a band collectively listened to, Alex says that they’re “probably the one that we try to fit the picture with the most”. But in general, they all have differing tastes that contribute to a “hint of something different” across all of the tracks on their EP. 

Talking about how this spills into the five tracks on their EP, Kie said: “It's almost like the five of them shouldn't really go together side by side. And I think that's a bit of a nod to the fact that we were all over the show with what our individual influences were, and what we were listening to at the time.”

That said, Kie admitted that they’ve “had a real mixed bag of feedback” in terms of what people think their music sounds like. “And it's quite interesting because everything that they say they think it sounds like are things that we quite like. So, we all like Arctic Monkeys, Blossoms, Catfish, Kings of Leon - just to name a few bands,” he says.

One thing sticks out about the feedback on their new tracks and that is that people think FOARN are a Manchester band. “I don't know if that's because we've been up to Manchester a lot, but they even just say in terms of the sound, you sound like a Manchester band,” says Kie.

“I think being from Stoke, in one sense you're in no man's land because you’re located in between so many different big cities. In particular Liverpool and Manchester have such big music scenes and I think they sort of spread further than their actual cities.”

So, while people can draw comparisons between FOARN and born-and-bred Mancunian bands, there may be some truth to it. “There was a massive sound from Manchester in the 90s, and I was born in the 90s. So I think it's one of those things, it kind of goes in via osmosis, doesn't it?” Kie says.

While they may sound like a Manchester band, we wanted to get the low-down on the scene in Stoke. Speaking about the music in Stoke Kie told us that as a band they have seen the scene in different stages. 

He said: “When we were younger, in other projects, it was actually quite thriving. If we're talking pre-COVID, there would be a lot of bands all with very different sounds, but all kinds of playing to a good level. 

“But obviously as some of them have gotten older and don't do that anymore, there seems to be a bit of a void now, especially post-COVID and and some of the things that are coming through.”

In comparison to places like Manchester, the FOARN guitarists admit that the scene is smaller. So, for the band, they have aspirations to play in larger cities, and all roads lead to Manchester thanks to the musical comparisons. “Manchester is a really logical sort of choice for us because I think if people are enjoying the sound, it's like, well, why would you not try and play there as much as you could, you know?” says Kie.

With their new EP out in just a few days, big things are coming from the Stoke band, and we definitely think they are one to watch. And we hope to see them in Manchester very soon.