FFS

Description

The product of a unique collaboration between Franz Ferdinand and Sparks, FFS was produced by Grammy Award winner John Congleton (St Vincent, David Byrne, Anna Calvi) and recorded at Londons RAK Studios.

The seed of FFS was sown around the time of Franzs debut album when word got back to the Maels that the band were big Sparks fans. We thought Take Me Out was very cool, and wouldnt it be nice to say hello when they came to Los Angeles? recalls Russell Mael. We met and decided then it would be great to do something together. We put forward a couple demos, one was Piss Off. But they got swept up by everything, and it didnt happen at that time.

Fast-forward to 2013 when both Sparks and Franz Ferdinand appeared at Coachella. On the day of Sparks warm-up show in San Francisco, Kapranos was in the city trying to locate a dentist when he heard a voice behind him: Alex, is that you? It was Ron and Russell. They invited us down to see them play that night. We said hello after, and everyone agreed that the 10-year gestation period for this idea was long enough we should try and make it happen now.

FFS was recorded during an intense 15-day period in late 2014. We approached it the way bands do with their first record, says Kapranos. We had the songs first, rehearsed them and then recorded it all together, in a room. So no hanging around or fannying about.

Very much a new project, FFS doesnt truly sound like either band but a striking and fascinating mutation. The real motivation was to make something new, not Franz featuring Russell Mael, or Sparks with Franz Ferdinand backing them, says Alex Kapranos. You cant chart what is Sparks and what is Franz Ferdinand, suggests Ron Mael. I think each band unconsciously relinquished a little of who they were in order to enter new territory.

Deluxe card wallet 2CD and double LP editions feature bonus tracks So Many Bridges, King Of The Song, Look At Me and A Violent Death.

Heavyweight double vinyl formats include download code.

Deluxe special edition 2LP features red coloured vinyl and is available exclusively to independent retailers.