YOUR FAVORITE ENEMIES
Pssssh, keep quiet! These noise-rockers are Canada’s best-kept secret…

What are this lot being so secretive about, then?
Well, up until now, Your Favorite Enemies have been deliberately keeping themselves out of the spotlight. After forming in Montreal in 2006, the group immediately ignited a burst of North American interest. They were plastered all over industry magazines and courted by a host of labels. “It was a crazy train we were on, and at first it was a lot of fun,” explains frontman Alex Foster (the one in the tea cosy). “Then we realised we were losing ourselves to other people’s ambitions. We made a decision to define what we wanted to do and how we wanted to do it. We wanted to take control of our own destiny.”

So they’re DIY enthusiasts?
Indeed they are. Inspired by the legacy of hardcore legends such as Black Flag, they started their own label, Hopeful Tragedy, and sold 40,000 copies of their debut EP off their own bats. They also bought an old catholic church and converted it into a recording studio. “When you’re doing interviews, it’s sexy to hold up that punk DIY ethic, but it’s actually a lot of work,” guitarist Jeff Beaulieu says. “It’s not just about making it in your local scene. You have to be organised and committed.”

Have they been over to the UK yet?
They’ve just played a brace of London shows and will be back in the spring when their debut full-length, Between Illness And Migration, gets a UK release. They’ve also played crazy shows in China and Japan. For a band with strong sociopolitical leanings (Alex is a former spokesperson for Amnesty International) the former threw up some challenges. “I had to consider what I said, but we thought it was better to talk about dreams and sow seeds than to be more confrontational, get our 15 minutes of fame, and have the concert stopped,” Alex says. “In Japan, we played a Buddhist temple in the mountains and had monks rocking out with fists in the air. It was unreal.”

That sounds pretty amazing, but what do they actually sound like?
Alex describes Your Favorite Enemies as “noise-rock with soul”, but they’ve effortlessly surfed moods and genres in their recorded output so far. From sinuous Queens Of The Stone Age grooves, to jarring Sonic Youth spills of noise, to lilting acoustics, they can do it all. Check out A View From Within on Kerrang.com to hear your new favorite friends.

MEET THE BAND
Now you know Alex, say hello to the rest of his secretive bandmates…

Jeff Beaulieu (Guitar)
“Jeff is the spark in the band. He’s always positive and brings a lot of ideas to the table. He’s the glue that holds the band together”

Sef (Guitar)
“He’s the craziest mad scientist ever. You should see his pedalboard, it’s full of lights, and like a Pink Floyd show!”

Ben Lemelin (Bass)
“Ben’s very passionate, and he brings both heaviness and amazing melodies to the band.”

Miss Isabel (Keyboard/Vocals)
“She isn’t afraid to look one of us in the eye and challenge us. She brings clarity when we’re heading different directions”

Charles “Moose” Allicy (Drums)
“Moose is like a quiet spirit of the forest. He keeps a low profile but, when it’s time to speaks, everyone stops to listen”

Canada’s Your Favorite Enemies are pretty emo, they once wrote a theme song for the Final Fantasy video game franchise and now they’ve made us a mixtape featuring Pearl Jam, Nick Cave, Savages and The Cure. Here’s exactly what they cherry picked and why…

1. Ramones – Beat on the Brat
Being a kid who knows exactly what it’s like to have people waiting for me after elementary school, I’ll always remember the first time I heard that song! Parents, gotta love your children!!

2. Foo Fighters – All My Life
I was in the band for a few moments when I heard that song. I was with Alex, the band’s lead singer, and we were riding on the highway. We finally cancelled our very important appointment to quickly go to a record store and bought the record so we could listen to this song over and over!

3. Wilco – I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
I first heard this song during the summer time… I immediately fell in love and wanted to get in a studio with my band in order to record 100 songs in a row… So inspiring!

4. Pearl Jam – Do The Evolution
Yes, a little bit of mad philanthropy is always a great medicine! I especially love the video for this song. It’s time for music to go back to being a social revolution! I’m tired of those ear-pleasing songs I hear everywhere I go every day! That’s evolution, baby!!

5. Dead Kennedys – Holiday in Cambodia
Well you’ll work harder

With a gun in your back

For a bowl of rice a day

Slave for soldiers

Till you starve

Then your head is skewered on a stake

6. The Clash – Straight to Hell
I received a t-shirt from this Clash song from my best friend one day, as I got out of a drug addiction, as a symbol of spreading hope, faith and love around me now that I was out of the streets. I still have it, and to this day, this song always changes my life!

7. Nick Cave – Stagger Lee
Nick Cave has always been an inspiring and genuine artist to all of us in the band, but when he came up with that song, our fanship toward him just went to another level! Wait until you meet him… You’ll definitely flip!!

8. The Cure – Pictures of You
I’ve never been a fan of love songs, but this band, The Cure, have a way of sharing and singing about love and hope in such a dark and hopeful way, it hypnotizes me every time, and I just want to fall in love again…!

9. Savages – Shut Up
We’re always having a hard time finding real genuine and inspiring bands in this day and age… But the first time I heard this song, I really fell in love! It was so artistically, lyrically, and musically inspiring! Thanks to this band for giving me hope again in today’s rock music!

10. Ben Harper – Both Sides of the Gun
Ben Harper is my favorite artist. I could’ve made a 10-song playlist only from him! I’ll always remember when I first listened to that song in my apartment. I had friends over for diner, and poor them, my head was only with Ben, listening to him screaming his soul out! Sorry, mates! Next time, we’ll put the radio on, you’ll have my full attention!!

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At 8:15pm on the 21st of October, Your Favorite Enemies performed at The Water Rats in Kings Cross, London. The show started with originality when Jeff, the guitarist kicked it off by using a violin bow to play his guitar, you knew then that this band was unique. Alex was then seen to stand on the equipment and on the drums whilst singing away, this was a man who didn’t fall short of enthusiasm and passion for his music.
 
The closely knitted band performed fantastically with their rock and roll sound, you wouldn’t think that back in 2006 when they all met, they were in completely different bands but it was music that fused them together. Even though, the band members have their own musical influences; Jeff’s being Nirvana and Alex’s being Minor Threat, everyone shared an interest and aspired Sonic Youth. Alex said that Sonic Youth had “The coolest vibe” which has helped them to gel as a band.
 
Despite the band’s performance undoubtedly showing their rock style, from Alex’s musical shouting and vocals plus the work of the guitarists, there were also elements of electronic sounds from Miss Isabel on the keyboard. The gig didn’t fall short of catchy vocals, fast guitar riffs (melodic sounding ones too) and the epic guitar solos, Alex found it difficult to underpin what genre the band fits into.  He described the band to be an infusion of punk, rock, noise, rock and soul. This was clearly evident in their performance at The Water Rats, showing a reckless image, connoting the punk genre and fast drumming plus the guitar riffs for rock and noise rock.
 
Despite the band receiving the best reception from performing Open Your Eyes, with the audience jumping up and down and head banging too, showing their support and enjoyment for their music, this song wasn’t actually their favourite song to play. Alex and Jeff both claimed that their favourite song to play was From The City To The Ocean. This song is usually played for 12 minutes but for special shows it will be played for 25 minutes. From The City To The Ocean is such a lengthy piece as it allows the band to go completely wild and feel the music whilst being able to capture the moment, It isn’t surprising then, that they left this song to be the final piece of their performance at The Water Rats. so they could fully interact with the audience and leave them with a long lasting impression.
 
Your Favorite Enemies are so impressive that they are the first rock band to be able to perform in a Japanese temple, resulting in it being their favourite venue to play, it was a crazy and unique experience for them; “even the monk was jumping”- Alex Foster.
 
Their passion for music has even meant getting recognised by Kerrang Magazine and even having a photo shoot. This led to one of the band members having to go topless, rip his shirt making a headband and crosses across his chest with it and having tape across his mouth. “It was very crazy and cool” said Alex. This also reinforced the unity, togetherness and family feeling within the band. The family feeling and unity within the band is also shown when they perform through how supportive they are on stage, which is particularly evident when Alex puts his arm around Jeff  and starts swaying along with the music on stage with him.
 
Your Favorite Enemies are also bringing out their new album Between Illness And Migration in February 2014 (already released in the USA and Japan) and are following the new release with a UK performance in March 2014. Alex and Jeff have said that their album is all about capturing the moment of making music together, having fun and getting back to what they started, whilst rehearsing their material in their own church studio.
 
For anyone wanting to start their own band, here is some advice from Alex: Remain who you are since you started, stay committed to music and each other, allow mistakes to happen, take chances and appreciate other bands, Also remember that it’s all about the art and sharing who you are through music. This is everything that Your Favorite Enemies stand for.

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55tv caught up with Canadian band Your Favorite Enemies before they played at The Old Blue Last in East London on their UK tour. We talked touring, recording and shooting videos among many other things!

What was the inspiration behind the cover?

It’s New York in January. As much as it could have been Tokyo, Paris, London, Shanghai, Sao Polo or Cairo. We were in the final stage of the mixing process of our album and I was walking on what used to be an unusually freezing night. As the cold was trying to get its grip on me, that scene (that ultimately became the “Youthful Dreams Of An Old Empire” EP cover) really struck me. It felt like the city, more than the cold itself, was trying to get a firm grip on me, in a strange static kind of motion, neon lights and other fake colors trying to simulate life in a globally acknowledged way, obscene surrender to a collective soul. We’re all faceless and identical in regard of what we used to dream of and of what ultimately owns us now, as if we had lost ourselves somewhere in the process of our everlasting desire to emancipate our souls rather than being transformed. We became the building’s reflection, perfectly aligned and organized to create the illusion of creative chaos, sad irony of our make-believes and other attempts to drain our untameable nature out of its vivid and imperfect embodiment for any kind of self-preservation type of false security.

As if life, the most defining incarnation of what art is truly about, became the plastic personification of who we are, the collective mirage of what used to lead us to define and redefine the colors of the invisible, of what our now tame nature considers the colors of a defying way to envision a proscribed dream.

The very dominant nature of every empire remains its resilience to impose itself to our intrinsic desire for freedom and its opposition to our willingness to take a chance at living beyond boundaries. When we let go of our fundamental fears of failing, we all start dreaming again, dreaming it all over again. And new morning shades arise before our very own eyes. We might have been blinded by neon lights, but every empire falls down, for we do not need to open our eyes to see. That’s what I saw. And the time I took to contemplate that scenery, musing about the illusions of holding on and about the let go necessary in order to take a chance at living, explains the major frost bites I had when I was back in the studio that night. The guys are still convinced I stopped by the apartment of a very good friend of mine on the way to the studio… well, everyone feeds the nature of his illusions and make-believes, right 😉

Read the original interview here