Montreal based sextet Your Favourite Enemies have recently released their stunning debut EP, ‘Youthful Dreams of an Old Empire’. The band are fierce human rights advocates who remain dedicated to their old school DIY ethos on which they established the foundations of the band. This includes starting their own labelHopeful Tragedy Records and turning a Catholic Church into their own recording studio where they record all of their own material

Sam Turner caught up with front man Alex Foster, and he certainly had plenty to say!

How are you and where can we find you today?

We’re all doing amazingly great. I’m right now in Tokyo, Narita airport to be exact, about to go back to Montreal. We released an album in Japan last March, so I came here to give interviews and to finalize the details of our upcoming Japanese tour, scheduled for the end of September. The rest of the band is supposedly in studio getting ready for the final sessions of recording to complete our next album… but I wound’t be surprised if they were all swimming in some has-been actor’s pool somewhere around Montreal, bragging about knowing famous people and pretending to be living the dream… yeah, “we are in studio awaiting some creative epiphany”, right! We all heard that one before… I guess everyone feeds their soul differently!

Tell us about your new EP Youthful Dreams of an Old Empire?

With a little more distance, I would say that “Youthful Dreams Of An Old Empire” has been the defying incarnation of the collective communion we shared through our resilience to let go of any creative self-inhibition and the complete repudiation of any personal ambitions. Which is many words to say that we simply lost ourselves between what feels true and what we defined was real. From the introspective nature of the lyrics to the contemplative essence of the noise, the songs are an instinctive reflection on the paradox between holding on to the ever growing bitterness of ambitions and surrendering to the uplifting singularity of having a vision. This is the reflection that inspired to EP’s title, “Youthful Dreams Of An Old Empire”.

Alright, that well expressed explanation was to honour the crazy amount of money my parents invested in their attempt to educate the drop out punk out of me and represents in many ways an ode to the public school system. I now know how to copy paste cool words written by someone else on the internet in order to look cool…

As for the rest of us, let’s say the EP is a live captured mix of noise and prog rock, filled with paradoxical lyrics about personal illusions, collective make-believes and about the defying art of truly being alive. Alright, now we all understand what I was talking about…!

You recorded the tracks in a renovated catholic church, what effect do you think this had on the songs?

First of all, I believe that the simple fact of having our own studio facilities, added to our determination to live the moment for what it was, really makes the whole difference. Of course, the incredible singularity of being in a church is quite soulful and stirring, but we realized pretty quickly that the inspirational epiphany wouldn’t come from the spiritual nature of our creative environment. It all came down to the degree of involvement we were ready to have towards each other. Not towards the project itself, but towards our relationships. This ultimately turned what used to be seen as writing sessions into a real sacred upper room of our own. We went back to the foundation of what brought us together, something that is way beyond our collective projects and way deeper than the music itself. That’s what truly redefined everything, from the song writing to the recording process and the fundamental aspect of what we thought was an intimate bond.

But it’s true that the irony of the kids who refused to go to church and grew up being fiercely opposed to the social policies of the catholic church ending in not only owning a church, but creating music and living in one could be an incredibly rhetorical inspiration in itself. And using the confessionals helped solve what used to be tour “high mysteries”. But that will be for another interview. Pray for our lead guitarist, Sef, if it ever comes to that!

With prog, punk, shoegazer and heavy rock mentioned in connection to your sound can you name any particular bands that have influenced you?

We all grew up having different influences and being inspired by all sorts of different arts and artists. But in terms of music, what instinctively comes to mind would be the chaotic exploration (and musical dangerousness) of Sonic Youth, the gloomy landscape of The Cure “Pornography” era, the early Nirvana punk type of utter melodic let go, the defiance of The Stooges, the raw essence of the Pixies, up to the ethos of Fugazi and the freedom of the Grateful Dead… and I would have mentioned Radiohead because it’s trendy, cool and serious to name them as being influential. But ever since our Canadian pride Avril Lavigne mentioned them in her latest single, I guess she took it all with her…  Oh! And Sef (the band’s lead guitar player) would be really happy if I mentioned that he grew up fantasying on spandex shredders like Yngwie Malmsteen’s. Sadly, he can’t wear the same for undisclosed biological reasons…

Honestly, I think it’s the spirit of it all that makes the whole difference for us a band. The let go, sometimes brutally quiet and sometimes whispery intense. The paradoxical elements of rawness and fragility that truly make something unique and special. Without the dangerousness of taking a chance to let a creation be the live incarnation of the moment, it ain’t worth paying attention for us. It’s just nice ear candies meant to numb our emotional guts off… it’s nothing. It needs to feel like it could be taken away from us at any second. So we need to live it for what it is and make something out of it. Again, it’s based on our degree of commitment to the “let go” nature of the moment…

With your background working for Amnesty and the EP’s title, listeners might expect a political slant to the record.  Would this be a correct assumption?

I guess it would be a correct assumption. But for some intrinsic reasons, we’ve never been Woody Guthrie, Billy Bragg, Bob Dylan or The Clash and Rage Against The Machine type of artists. I’ve seen too many absurdities on my own side of the political fence to swallow the first level of easy chew type of propaganda that comes around. I kept a profound reserve in the ways I want to be involved in regards of my personal beliefs and social involvement. I always made sure to preserve Your Favorite Enemies from being some rah, rah, rah, preacher type of cool megaphone tool to cheer my own choir band… (yeah, I practiced that part of my answer before in case I would have to spit some inspired answer) For me, politic is about human beings, not about the logo or the slogan. That’s why I always found it more inspiring to reflect on emotional, spiritual and intimate paradoxes rather than the primal political environment. Other artists are doing a wonderful job of awareness in that matter. As much as I used to be the first in line to every “good cause” parade, I’m now more concerned by the moments where I can make a difference and the invitation to share with people. I never really believed in the preaching part of being an human rights activist. Cultivating a dream remains the ultimate revolution. A transformation is a decision as much as a change is a reaction. At least, that’s how I see it.

To what extent do you think bands have a duty to raise awareness of current world issues?

I don’t know if it’s based on what my old man called “your rebellious attitude makes you a loser” type of “loser attitude” but for me, the term “duty” is clearly a dirty word. I might be naive, but the only duty an artist should have is to be honest in his artistic approach and be willing to assume the degree of commitment he’s got towards his creation. The rest of it is the rest of it. I mean, I’ve been with Amnesty International for a decade and I’ve seen so many of what I call the usual suspects, the “artist” you never saw anywhere close to a no-media type of event or never publicly heard before the cameras are suddenly on. Album release stunts, movie promotion, book media slur… Name it, I saw it all. And I’m even more critical of the “good cause” associations using artists in saint-grail holy name type of causes. There’s so much whoring. When you need to add some “everything for the cause” conscience numbing pill, I guess it’s time to redefine the nature of your involvement…

It’s like our Canadian prime minister doing everything to be in the picture between the UK and US governments high representatives. That’s pure politic whoring designed to sell cheap conceptualized image and some worthless type of plastic. That’s nothing to feed our soul with. That everlasting whoring strategy is shadowing the sincere involvement of artists I highly respect and ridicules the commitment of incredible people who dedicate their lives for others to be able to dream. I believe it’s important to focus on the people who inspired you to be socially concerned and genuinely involved. It doesn’t have anything to do with the high profile organizations you are rah, rah, rahing about, nor does it have anything to do with the so-called cool people you want to be seen with.

And if you’re seeing me between Bono and Brandon Flower next February, it won’t have anything to do with our new amazingly socially aware album being released around that time in the UK or our STOP POVERTY DISCRIMINATION NO WAR LEGALIZE CRIMINALIZE FOR OR AGAINST tour… but if you are interested, I’m financing my beliefs by selling my soul on a crowdfunding kick-starter special campaign. Just so you know. Just in case you are actually selling your soul on any website, it’s irony. You don’t have to fear any competition, the money’s all yours…

You have toured extensively since forming in 2006, which countries are your favourites to visit and why?

We’ve been really privileged to tour in so many countries, to witness so many incredible things and to immerse ourselves in so many cultures. We have stories for every country we visited. I mean, every street corner has a different story depending on the communion we shared with the people. We all have very special moments associated to very specific places. For me, Japan, France, China and UK have been really defining over the years.

Japan has always been very singular for me, ever since I first had the honor of visiting it. It’s hard to describe such an emotional bond, but let’s say it feels exactly like what “home” should truly be like. Welcoming, inspiring, uplifting and caring. It always offered me a profound sensation of peace and rest in my deepest time of needs. I go there several times a year regardless of the band’s business.

France is a soulful place for me to lose myself… as a writer, but most of all as a literature and art junkie. Paris has always been really special for me. I fell in love with its people as well. It’s a high place for passionate conversations. And since the people embraced the Beat Generation Poets as much as noise rock, I guess that it’s enough for me to call it my second home. Jeff (the band rhythm guitar player) would have probably mentioned the entry, the main course, the deserts, the little bouché, the cheese, the cake and the the sweets… and the wine. But most of all, because they created a meal between breakfast and brunch based on a whole lot of pastry, cheese and wine… yeah, Jeff is a really passionate person…

As for China, it’s been the most incredible human experience we have ever had while touring. We spent 6 weeks touring all over the country, were the first band – wait, the first foreigners – to visit some cities, met incredibly welcoming, curious, generous and passionate people. Regardless of the generation, province, or city, the people are discovering the transforming power of dreams. The young people are amazingly on fire. As for the music scene… let’s say it’s New York or London between ’72 and ’76, but multiplied by a 1000 times if not more. It’s insane, so much that it redefined our whole approach on stage and off-stage as well. Young Eddie Vedder stage dive and other insane jumps would look like minor events beside what we have witnessed during some of our gigs. It was like “is it some suicide attempt or simply a mad incarnation of what letting go is all about?” type of insane.

But all that said, the UK remains the most romantic of all places for us. Not only were most of our favourite bands, growing up and still today, from the UK, but everything started in London for us, a couple of years ago. In fact, the very first people to ever be into Your Favorite Enemies’ noises were from the UK. The very first radio who ever played YFE was based in London. First interview was for a UK paper. And the very first place we played after leaving the crappy basement we were piled in was at the Rock City in Nottingham. But most of all, the very first time we felt welcomed to “be”, regardless of the “trend” and regardless of what should be cool, was in Manchester when 2 guys stopped trowing punches at each other because they flipped on Sef’s beard (who was passing by to pack the gear into the bus after our gig). Total epiphany! I can still see the guys’ facial expression: “Mate, you’ve got a F… big beard… let’s cheers to that”! Priceless! I told you… romantic!

Is there a particularly healthy rock scene in Canada at the moment?

A healthy rock scene, in my point of view, no. A buzzed hyped scene, yes. And it’s most definitely happening in our own town, Montreal. I mean, there are so many artists from all over the country coming here, it’s really impressive… and scary! But it’s truly what gives Montreal a unique vibe, even if some nights feel like a cheap version of what the Brooklyn scene could offer you in terms of bad and worst. On those particular nights, the streets are filled with an army of people wearing shoes* made from Norwegian wood, wearing perfumes of some “obscure” Costa Rican patchouly sandwich flavour flagrance* and wearing some ultra cool pumpkin seed one piece uniform*… but you know, it’s alright, every little bit of Montreal is now featured somewhere on instagram so at the end of the day, it’s good for everyone! No, it’s not that crazy. We don’t have enough Urban Outfitters to sustain the fever anyway, so it should be something else next week. Who knows, I’ll send you a lomography picture of the city as soon as I can develop my very special peruvian film*…

But more seriously, there are really interesting and relevant bands emerging from Montreal right now and it’s refreshing, because you can find a very special band on every given night in every given crappy club right now. And for a city where everybody is a DJ according to their Facebook profile, it’s SO SO SO refreshing! And that’s what makes Montreal so vividly interesting right now…

*all sold seperatly at your favorite Urban Outfitters

Who are your favourite bands of the moment and what do you look for in an artist?

Savages caught me off guard ever since they released their first EP. They’re really passionate and really focused on the moment, which we love. We always had a real soft spot for Kasabian’s driven and in your face kind of personality, nobody gave them a break, so they totally earned and deserve every single thing they’ve created, nobody can take that away from them. Nick Cave is an all time favorite. We were with him in the UK earlier this year… what a true, genuine, original and relevant artist… a real gentlemen as well. Foals certainly come to mind as well, great guys, great musicians and real mofo performers, it’s wow factors every night. I also fell in love with the latest Phosphorescent, Kurt Vile, Ben Howard and Daughter. And Lee Ranaldo is still one of my all time favorites…

It’s most definitely bands and artists we would like to tour with, as genuine, substantial, relevant and assumed remains what we are truly looking for in an artist.

Is there anything else you’d like to say?

First of all thank you for having us on Gigslutz. It’s always a privilege for us to share about our passion for music. Changes from all the usual questions regarding what we may think about illegal downloads or about what we envision for Guns And Roses’ follow up to “Chinese Democracy” due for 2031. So good job… even if you kinda missed the point by not asking THE ultimate question. But let me answer anyway. Yes, we are really happy that Royal Baby is in good health, we totally understand the whole nation is proud, as we felt exactly the same when Celine Dion gave birth to any of her Royal Babies, even if the father is some anonymous “test tubes”. It was a real uplifting moment for the whole Canadian nation… So congrats to you all!!!

And see you soon in a good cause near you… yep, YFE’s second single is about to be released in the UK… time to whore up a little 😉

Thanks for the time!

Sam Turner