Night Wolf & The Fods Discuss The Process Of Remaking “Kickback” & Story Of The Collab

Intro:

In today’s article, we’ll be interviewing both the UK’s own Night Wolf & the mega-talented music collective The Fods. Their new record, “Kickback,” reimagines The Fods’ original track, with Night Wolf rebuilding it from scratch by retaining only the vocals while crafting a laid-back trip-hop atmosphere. The members of The Fods consist of: Neil "Birch" Birchall - Vocals, Alan Winn - Backing Vocals, Chris "EZ" Ranson - Guitar, Paul "Ol" Collins - Multi-Inst., & Rob Critchley - Lyrics/Writer. Night Wolf plays an important role, too, with his background as an established producer, sound designer, and engineer. As their first collaboration, the result is a powerful track full of optimistic lyrics that showcases a brighter shift from Night Wolf’s typically darker sound. Before reading our brief conversation, make sure you check out this new track below.

Me: What was the creative process like while making this new record?

The Fods (Ol): That’s a very long story that goes back to a bunch of young upstarts who fancied being in a band and making a noise. It was a long time ago and probably involved a few arguments, but lo and behold, after a lot of rehearsal room sweat, a 5-minute behemoth was born that became the centrepiece of our live set. The original pre-remix track is a traditional band song with equal parts indie, rock, punk, and storytelling. Fast forward quite some time, and that was handed to NW with a completely open book to do whatever with it.

Night Wolf: The original song I had no part in, but I heard these guys on a radio station called XRP Radio, and we chatted there, where they were looking for remixes of songs. They sent me some songs, and I ended up remaking Kickback from the ground up just using the vocals from the original song, now edited into a new structure. For me, the background vocals are what instantly made me feel a vibe to the song and where I wanted to take it. They gave me stems and pretty much just let me get on with it, and sent them what I made; they just so happened to like it enough to release it!

How would you all describe your music to someone who’s never heard it before? Has it evolved throughout time?

The Fods: We are essentially an indie punk rock band, but we don’t stick to one sound, and we are making music which appeals to us.

Night Wolf: A combination of Electronic, Trip Hop, Cinematic and Alt Pop/Dark Pop ummm a little hip hoppy a little experimentally , umm… yer! It is hard to stick in a lane as I enjoy making music that blends elements from each, but it's in that pile of words somewhere up there. A little Downtempoey? Ok, I don’t know, it's Night Wolf.

What does the title mean to you, and how did you choose it?

The Fods (Rob): Kickback was, I believe, the second song we wrote, and if I remember the late 1980’s, before we were called The Fods, we were called Don’t Argue, and we performed Kickback a few times under that moniker. Whilst we were coming to a consensus about a band name, Kickback was definitely in the mix. Kickback has a good amount of history, and has a place in our heart.

Night Wolf: For me, it goes very well with the overall vibe of the song, but does not hold the same sentiment to me as the band, of course, as they named it.

What proved to be the most challenging part of the creation process?

The Fods (Ol): Based on how the old band used to perform this live, it had never been recorded, and used to meander and have freeform jams in the middle - so getting some form of agreed (or dis-agreed) arrangement together that solidified all that was a challenge in The Fods original version. And then giving Night Wolf a license to just NOT consider any of that at all.

Night Wolf: I took into consideration that the work and effort put into the original song needed to be appreciated within the remix, so I threw everything away and started again with the vocals. No , I have a love for the music The Fods make as it is, me remaking the song was of made no sense to keep other elements within the production as it is a different beast and mood. This was another project that came together very easily once I heard the backing vocals so no real challenge so to say, it was enjoyable to work with these vocals.

Additionally, what does your life look like outside of music? Any hobbies or things fans may not expect?

The Fods: Real day job, sports, and to travel as much as possible.

Night Wolf: I am creating a sound effect company and building the first packs to go on sale later this year called No Paw Audio, I am in process of developing music videos alongside my own project at home where I am making a series of mini videos (Short form content) to promote my back catalog of music and advertise what is available for use in Film/TV + Game projects. Lost My Way Home - Lois Powell + Night Wolf is the first video I am making next month. I used to want to be a professional wrestler. Thankfully, after training with Jake The Snake Roberts at a younger age, I grew out of it + due to my condition of my back, I think I would no longer be able to stand at all if I had continued down that path.

Was there a specific moment when you realized music was your calling? Or was it a natural progression?

The Fods (Ol): Yes - a defining moment for me was being in a mate’s house hearing John Lennon’s voice, on I Feel Fine - their parents’ original copy. I was about 10. Literally a jaw-dropping moment, the whole band, the sound of the 45 on the turntable, everything. They threw me out of the house after I'd demanded they play it again after about the 10th time. Whilst that moment didn’t make me want to actually become a musician, it definitely was the day I became a music fan.

Night Wolf: Music has always been a huge part of my life. My fondest memories are being at home with my sisters and mum and seeing my dad every weekend, my sisters when they were in their teens were trying to get into the music business in their girl band called Genie, they ended up somehow on TV quite a few times and rubbed shoulders with quite a selection of famous people at the time, they ended up performing to Boyzone on live TV (Fully Booked), they also made friends with Edwin Star and the saxophonist James who ended up playing at one of their wedding’s, they had some news articles and were in some music magazines, i was already in the early stages of creating my own music then I had always wrote lyrics and played the piano before getting my first workstation a Roland Fantom X6, I started creating music around the same time actually! Anyway, so my sisters and I guess the eclectic taste of music my parents led me to believe it was really possible to make music a career, and the possibility of being yourself and expressing it somehow. I was always in bands growing up or in music groups. Another thing I followed with my sisters was Scottish marching band rehearsals.

This is where I grew to love playing just the snare drum. My parents got me a drum kit when I was 3 years old. And apparently, I could hold a rhythm before destroying it like a true rock star would, that is a joke. I learnt to play the piano from a young age, but only went up to I think it was grade 3, where I then lost interest in learning other people's music and wanted to just make my own. Although I now regret not completing my grades now, that is something to still accomplish. In school, I would often now think about it, always be in the music rooms, and ended up befriending guitar players to jam with. Our first rock bands were called Hed Shot and had like 8 of us. We eventually got quite good and down to 4 members, but sadly never got to recording it properly; all I have left of those days are some cassette tapes with shady recordings.

Additionally, do you have any other upcoming releases or plans that you're comfortable sharing with the readers?

The Fods (Rob): Absolutely, we are 8 completed songs into releasing an album. It is as yet untitled, but we are incredibly happy with the 8 songs we have so far. The last ones are taking a long time, but that's because we want them to be as good as possible. This album is a long time in the making, and we are so excited to share it.

Night Wolf: I have many songs I am still working on currently and already have other artists waiting to be contacted when I am back in creation mode so to say, due to all the backoffice stuff currently and other projects such as trying to get the music out to more ears and music videos and creation of No Paw Audio, I am not able to enjoy making music right now as I can not really relax until my whiteboard is clear again and I am close! I will continue to work with Lois Powell for sure this year and hope to create an album together, as well as being open to working with other artists again, including The Fods. Who knows, I might actually sample and keep certain parts of the original song this time around. I feel in my bones that the next remix/remake will not be as chilled out as this one. Just keep on pushing! You will certainly be hearing more from me this year, and there will be more releases upcoming on EscaVolt Records.

And finally, in your own words, why should a new listener check out this new release today?

The Fods (Rob): We hope listeners will be intrigued by what we release. We deliberately try to come out with different sounds, so there is always a bit of the unknown with any release. Keep your mind and ears open, and we think you will get The Fods.

Night Wolf: This is a unique collaboration between two worlds that rightly should not fit together so well, but it is for those who enjoy some minimalism with their trip hop and a Alt Pop flair, the vocals work really well in this blend of instruments used, and the production purposely allows the storytelling of the lyrics to be center stage. I also have many other songs available to listen to or even lease for projects such as online content creation and small film projects. I can be contacted directly for quotes on bigger projects and offer bespoke music creation as well as sound effects and sound design. This is the start of many a new thing for me, and I am learning as I go and bettering myself. I would really hope to find some people out there that would gain something from watching the progress and really appreciate anyone that takes the time to listen to what we are doing in the sea of artists out there. Please visit - www.nightwolfuk.com