Into The Ether is out now!
Image: Supplied.
London-based dance act, Franc Moody have unveiled their sophomore album, Into The Ether. To celebrate the release, Ned Franc and Jon Moody have shared with MILKY five films that inspired the creative vision of the record.
“Writing Into The Ether began literally the week after we released our debut album, Dream in Colour, when instead of touring the record we were forced to descend to our make shift bedroom studio set ups as a result of the pandemic. It was during those months our longing to be out on the road with the band playing live shows developed into a delirious, dreamlike state, conjuring up imagery of us and the band travelling through the desert on a journey to find whatever it was that we were craving. A surreal, craggy, tin can tourbus, deserted petrol station version of The Odyssey if you like." the duo share.
"This imagery of expansive desert landscapes was hugely inspired by films directed by the likes of Sergio Leonne, and the grand thematic scores of composers such as Ennio Moriconne. We’ve tried to create our own little funk fuelled version of that expansiveness and longing, using a large string ensemble, group vocals and layered synths and guitars to create western style motifs, and galloping guitars to emulate riding through the desert on horse back. We hope you find a place to escape to when listening through this record, as we did whilst writing it.”
THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY - SERGIO LEONE, 1966
When we first started coming up with concepts for our next album we immediately settled on this idea of placing the sonics within a desert setting. Whether subconsciously or not the never ending expanse and desolation of the desert seemed to be a perfect metaphor for the experiences and adventures we’d had on the road in the years previous to the pandemic and a perfect place to set a mythologised version of ourselves touring whilst writing the album.
Our go to references were the spaghetti westerns of Sergio Leone and indeed the incredible scoring by Ennio Morricone. The combination seems to convey the lawless grandeur of the desert expanse like no other. It seemed the perfect backdrop for a disparate posse (the seven of us).
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA - DAVID LEAN, 1962
The scale of this film was so inspiring to us in that we wanted to create a record that was bigger in scope than Dream In Colour. Bigger orchestration, ambition and imagination. The cinematography by Freddie Young is almost unparalleled, you really feel like you are there during the scenes of Wadi Rum.
Wadi Rum was actually a big reference for us in terms of the imagery we channeled when finding a place to envisage our clapped out tour van steaming along at full tilt, a world away from a life of petrol stations, boiled eggs and 1 euro hot dogs.
PARIS, TEXAS - WIM WENDERS, 1984
This is such a beautiful movie on so many levels not least it’s amazing soundtrack provided by the amazing Ry Cooder which takes you into an ethereal realm where time appears to stand still.
THE HARDER THEY COME - PERRY HENZELL, 1972
This is a movie that is synonymous with its soundtrack provided by Jimmy Cliff, Desmond Decker and The Maytals amongst others. Jimmy Cliff’s character Ivan is actually inspired by Spaghetti Westerns after watching “Django”. In Into The Ether we wanted to mythologise the band as a kind of posse of 7 outlaws, albeit 7 actually quite nice ones
Into The Ether is out now!