Catch this video of Fanfarlo from Monday night. They made their American network television debut, performing ‘Harold T. Wilkins or How to Wait a Very Long Time’ on the Late Show with David Letterman. Oh, how is it possible that it’s been 2 months since I’ve seen them live? Oh, the memories!

FYI, David Letterman is one of the harder nuts to crack on late night American tv, so him joking, “hey everybody, it’s Fanfarlo!” is a good sign that he liked them.

Fanfarlo’s debut album ‘Reservoir’ is out now. The band will be playing with Mumford and Sons on the first eight dates of their UK tour in early March. Following the UK tour, Fanfarlo will return to America to play South by Southwest in Austin before embarking on another major tour of North America.

I had the privilege of chatting with Cathy Lucas (vocals / mandolin / violin / many other instruments) and Amos Memon (drums / percussion / vocals), two members of London-based folk pop band Fanfarlo shortly before they played a sold-out show at Arlington, Virginia’s Iota Club and Cafe on 11 December. They tell me about how the band got together, the recording of ‘Reservoir’, their surprising (to me) earlier love of metal music, and loads more. Have a listen. A transcription of the interview is available below as well.

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Editor’s note: apologies in advance regarding the loud ice machine in the background during the first quarter of the interview – Cathy even comments on the noise! – because we did the interview in the basement of Iota, which was essentially the storage area of the kitchen. It was a bit surreal to say the least doing an interview next to shelves of tinned tomatoes, massive bottles of mayonnaise, and large jars of olives.

So thank you to Amos and Cathy of Fanfarlo for sitting down with me. We’re here in Arlington, Virginia, and you’re playing a sold-out show tonight.
Amos: It sold out?
Yeah.
Cathy: That’s good news!
Yeah, there’s actually a big crowd outside trying to get in, and they’re being refused entry because it’s sold out.
Amos: That’s ‘cos it’s a small venue.
Yeah, yeah, but it’s a nice venue to play in the D.C. area.

So tell me how you guys found each other and decided to start making music together.
Amos: It’s pretty much just playing shows in London or going to shows in London…I kept seeing Fanfarlo in a very early incarnation and it just got to the point where I liked the songs enough to ask if they needed a drummer.
Cathy: I think ‘cos it was just Simon and one other person or two other people initially, and everything else was on an iPod. And Amos has played in about 10 bands in London previously. I played in a couple as well.
Amos: A lot of those bands actually ended up playing with Fanfarlo, so I got to see Fanfarlo whilst I was playing in other bands.
Cathy: Yeah, you just get to know each other in London if you play music.

Now are you both originally from London, or…?
Amos: I am. I was born in London, but not necessarily raised in London but in the Middle East.
Cathy: I grew up in Belgium.
Oh wow.
Cathy: …and Simon, the singer, is from Sweden. Everyone else is British.

Before you became a part of Fanfarlo, did you have an idea of the kind of music you wanted to play? Who did you listen to when you were growing up? Did that have an effect on the kind of music you play now?
Amos: I think at the time…I mean, I went through years of wishing I had an instrument to play and not being allowed any instruments, and it took me a while for me to actually purchase a drum kit and hide it away from my parents.
Cathy: But then, Amos has, like, probably racks and racks and racks of John Peel tapes.
Oh yeah? Very good taste!
Cathy: Tell the story about calling up the radio in Abu Dhabi!

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What’s up with all the gigs I’ve been attending lately? They’re all selling out! Obviously, this is wonderful for the acts themselves, especially for those from the UK or Europe who have traveled to play venues here in America and wondered how they’d be received. But the average punter like me ends up feeling claustrophobic, and the whole experience is a little too intimate for my liking. (If you get my drift!) All this was repeated last night for Fanfarlo’s set at tiny Iota, a venue/cafe combo in Arlington, Virginia, just across the river from Washington D.C.

The opening act was Brooklyn-based Freelance Whales, who I’m very sorry to say I missed because 1) the traffic into Arlington and trying to find parking were both ridiculous, 2) the door policy was confusing so I got into the sold-out venue late, and 3) I was interviewing Cathy Lucas and Amos Memon of Fanfarlo next to canned tomatoes and olives in the basement of Iota during their set (interview coming soon on TGTF). But the London-based folk/pop band’s performance was sweeter than sugar.

The first song they played was ‘Drowning Men’, with just three of their six members – Simon Balthazar (lead vocals / guitar), Lucas (backing vocals / mandolin / violin / and a bunch others), and Memon (drums). I decided this was a nice, smooth introduction to the throng who was made up of people who had read about this gig in the Washington Post and had never heard a lick of Fanfarlo prior to this night. Next, with all of their members, was ‘I’m a Pilot’, the opening track on their debut album ‘Reservoir’ and my absolute favourite of the 11 tracks on it, came in sounding just as it does when you push play on the album, with the stomping, scraping, and piano chords. But the majesty of the song live can’t be compared to the recording. Simon Balthazar and Cathy Lucas’s perfectly harmonising vocals have to be heard live to be believed, especially in the chorus of ‘but kid I’m a pilot / it’s all I believe in‘. Sigh.

What a nice early Christmas present we received: they played us two new songs, ‘Atlas’ and ‘Waiting in the Wings’, which both had the Fanfarlo magic we know and love. On the latter, Balthazar swapped his acoustic guitar for an electric, making the song a bit more rockier than we’re used to on Fanfarlo tracks. ‘Luna’ was another highlight of the set, with Balthazar ditching the guitar altogether for a single drum and later his clarinet on which he serenaded the club with. Simply brilliant.

There isn’t much space to hide in Iota (it’s really that small), so after ‘Luna’ the band tried to disappear into a corner of the club and looked like they were discussing whether to return for an encore. To our happiness, they bounded back on stage to play one final number that which Balthazar prefaced with some jokey banter about there possibly being ghosts in the place. His winsome smile before his band launched into ‘Ghosts’ was quite appropriate for the night: everyone who had been packed into the small Iota venue space left with grins on their faces and the knowledge that they had been treated to something really special in Arlington that night. I have good news for you Brits: they are set to tour early next year with Mumford and Sons. Talk about a dream line-up.

After the jump: set list and photos. Apologies in advance for the darkness of the photos; the venue asked that no flash be used, so I followed their rules. After the gig, Simon expressed his appreciation for not blinding him and his band and was happy to pose for this photo for us. Thanks Simon!

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Fanfarlo is yet another exceptional band to come out of the London folk scene. I’m sure by now you have heard their excellent single, ‘The Walls Are Coming Down’. This song, ‘Luna’, is another standout from their debut album, ‘Reservoir’.

MP3: Fanfarlo – Luna

And here’s an added treat: an acoustic version of ‘Luna’. Filmed in a mate’s verdant back garden, it’s a treat to see this tight quintet of musicians so effortlessly meld their musical strengths together and make a beautiful sound. Brilliant. They’re heading out on an extensive tour of North America starting next week, and I couldn’t be more excited to see them live.

‘Reservoir’, Fanfarlo’s self-released debut album, was released early this year and is available now.

TGTF interviewed London band Fanfarlo in July. ‘The Walls Are Falling Down’ is Fanfarlo’s latest single from their awesome album ‘Reservoir’ – have a look at the video they’ve made to go along with it, directed by London artistes Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard. It ’stars’ Roslyn Walker, one of the few living professional escape artists, trying to make a quick escape out of a straightjacket before the song ends.

We’ve mentioned those lovely Fanfarlo guys before, and ahead of a busy summer (which sees them playing the ace Truck Festival this weekend, and a number of smaller ones over the next few months) we haven’t had time so far to do a decent “Bands to Watch” piece on them, so instead Simon from the band sat down and took the time to introduce themselves to us.

Hello Fanfarlo. What are you up to today?

Writing new songs mostly. Went to London fields today to play ping pong on the concrete table they’ve got but it was taken by some very intimidating players so I went and bought a bagel on Broadway Market instead. London fields is an odd place for all its quaintness. Last time I went there people were having picnics at seven in the morning, and the time before that there was a stabbing.

How did you all meet?
Like blood cells, we coagulated around a foreign object in the form of a Swedish recording project, introduced in the body of the London scene by Simon Balthazar a few years ago.

Your name’s a bit of a strange one. Where did you get it from?
I was reading a lot of French symbolists at the time and happened upon a novella by Baudelaire called La Fanfarlo – the name sort of stuck. We like how it is sort of language-ambiguous and sounds like ‘fanfare’.

Where abouts are you all from?

We all live in London, but I’m from Sweden and Cathy comes from Belgium via Italy.

What are your influences?
Coming from odd post punk and pop like Talking Heads, Television and Orange Juice, via American indie and folk like Neutral Milk Hotel, Olivia Tremor Control and early Modest Mouse, but also coloured by more recent orchestrated folk like Beirut and Sufjan Stevens.

Other music we love includes old country and rockabilly like Jacques Dutronc and Townes Van Zandt – and anything that has saw and clarinet in it or sounds like it is coming from an attic; ‘Delicatessen’ and the soundtrack of ‘The Kill Off’ come to mind, as does Stina Nordenstam.

We are also pretty big on books, philosophy and vegetarian cooking.

What are you guys listening to at the moment?

Today Roy Orbison, Lykke Li and Riceboy Sleeps. And the Beck reissue of One Foot in the Grave. Finding myself not as excited by the new Dirty Projectors album as I thought I would be. But maybe it’ll grow on me. And the new video is incredible. We’re making a video soon, I hope it will be as good. Llamas!?

A lot of people in the press are getting excited about the festivals at the moment. Are you big festival fans? Any amusing festival tales to share from previous experiences?

Justin fell into a fire at Glastonbury last year but emerged unscathed, albeit covered in ashes. Mind you this was even BEFORE the weed came out. We’re not massive festival fans – festivals don’t tend to be that much about the music but more about getting wasted in a muddy field and paying lots of money for it. Generally speaking there are many better places/ways to get wasted. However there are exceptions like ATP and Primavera which are both excellent.

You guys certainly seem a lot more intelligent and interesting than the Lady Gagas of this world. What do you think are the biggest issues facing the music world today?

Probably mainly that people don’t want to pay for records any longer. It of course has the positive side that it’s bringing about the slow downfall of the major labels, however in general it’s a bad thing and musicians are suffering directly from it. But I suppose there’s no point in moaning about it. It bugs me sometimes how very hype driven things are.

Finally, you mentioned that you’re pretty big on vegetarian cooking… care to share a favourite recipe with us? Are you all vegetarian, or just a few?

Approximately half of the band, it varies. Yesterday I made an aubergine and olive omelette with parmesan and nutmeg, that was wicked. We’ve started bringing a small blender with us on tour and requesting fruit and soya milk on our rider, so that we can make smoothies when we’re waiting around. Soya milk + banana + peanut butter = bliss.

MP3: Fanfarlo – Finish Line
MP3: Fanfarlo – Pilot

I’ve mentioned Fanfarlo twice before (with an MP3 and a Video of the day). Now we’ve got a brand new track for you to download, quite possibly their most complete sounding effort yet. Jangly, cheerful and positive (“he’s not afraid to try”), it’s possibly 2009’s version of Noah and the Whale’s summery folksy pop.

Download below and enjoy:

MP3: Fanfarlo – Finish Line

Similar idea to the Black Cab Sessions, Bandstand Busking’s latest band to grace a bandstand is Fanfarlo. Watch and enjoy their unplugged version of Comets at Northampton Square bandstand.

MP3: Fanfarlo Finishline

London’s very own Fanfarlo have been on my radar for a while, so when we stumbled across a free MP3 I just had to spread the love.

Take a listen, and let us know what you think in the comments.

MP3: Fanfarlo – Pilot

Fanfarlo have just returned from a big string of dates in the USA at the SXSW festival in Austin and is now taking their strangely-strange-yet-oddly-hook-laden pop out on the road for a string of UK dates in support of their debut album Reservoir over the coming months.

Catch them at:

Thursday 30th April 2009 – Glasgow Hinterland Festival
Thursday 14th May 2009 – Brighton Great Escape
Sunday 17th May 2009 – Colchester Arts Centre
Monday 18th May 2009 – Sheffield Plug
Tuesday 19th May 2009 – Edinburgh Sneaky Pete’s
Wednesday 20th May 2009 – Newcastle Head of Steam
Thursday 21st May 2009 – Leeds Brudenell Club
Tuesday 26th May 2009 – Oxford O2 Academy 2
Wednesday 27th May 2009 – Birmingham Flapper
Thursday 28th May 2009 – Bath Moles
Friday 29th May 2009 – Southampton Hamptons
Monday 1st June 2009 – Norwich Arts Centre
Tuesday 2nd June 2009 – London ICA

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