Foals are a five piece dance-rock band hailing from Oxford, and are comprised of Yannis Philippakis (20, vocals/guitar), Edwin Congreave (22, keyboards), Walter Gervers (23, bass), Jimmy Smith (22, guitar) and Jack Bevan (21, drums). Currently based in Brighton, the band members were bored of stagnant trends in the current music scene, and decided to make the music that they would want to dance to, “We wanted to make music that was very technical, that wasn’t just party music, but at the same time you could dance to it,” explains Yannis.

The name Foals was derived from Yannis’ surname, which means “little lover of horses” in Greek. “I like Foals because it’s a nice word and it doesn’t give away what the band is about,” he explains. “It sounds fresh and new.”

The members set up in a small rehearsal room to craft their sound, and quickly identified the recipe to the perfect dance-rock tune; driving high percussion in the mix, guitars played above the 12th fret and splashes of synths. The result is an irresistible blend of electronic-pop, dirty disco and pulsating indie-tech displayed on tracks such as Balloons, Two Steps Twice and Hummer.

The band’s debut single, ‘Try This on Your Piano’, was released via Try Harder Records, in Spring 2006; a 7” limited edition single of 700 copies on vinyl. This proceeded to sell out and Foals were quickly snapped up by independent label, Transgressive Records, and released a live EP in February of 2007. This was followed by two further single releases, ‘Hummer/Astronauts and All’ in April and ‘Mathletics/Big Big Love’ in August. During this time the band also appeared in a mini-episode of Skins that aired exclusively on Myspace, and mimicked their passion to play house parties.

Live, their set is fast gaining a reputation as being one of the most energetic on the UK gig circuit at the moment “It’s like we’re all battling for supremacy on stage,” says Edwin. The dance-inflicted beats have seen them rock venues ranging from the kitchen at a house party to London warehouse parties.

Foals released their debut album ‘Antidotes’ on March 24th this year. The album features their hit singles ‘Cassius’ and ‘Balloons’ and was released to wide critical acclaim which has aided in the garnering of new fans far and wide.

‘Antidotes’ could quite easily go down as one of the best albums of 2008, with its relentlessly funky, anthemic songs.

Foals will be performing live at Manchester Academy 1 on Wednesday 8th October. Don’t miss out!