The Scottish group returns to its rock roots for its sixth album, “The Human Fear”. Meeting with Bob Hardy and Alex Kapranos, the two founders.
Monday October 28. Under the palm trees in the garden of the Eldorado hotel, in the heart of Batignolles, Alex Kapranos and Bob Hardy warm their jasmine herbal tea in the cool of autumn. Dressed in leather and jeans, the singer and bassist of the Scottish group Franz Ferdinand patiently attends the essential meetings with the press to present “The Human Fear”, their sixth studio album. On their feet, they wear red socks. Anything but a coincidence. Kapranos admits: “We agreed to wear them when we are in interviews! »
The rest after this ad
Seven years have passed since the writing and mixing sessions for their last album, “Always Ascending”. Seven years during which members left the ship, making way for new faces, notably Audrey Tait on drums. The release in 2022 of a best-of and the hundred concert dates that followed reconciled the group with its postpunk roots. The electronic sounds of “Always Ascending” are only a distant memory. With “The Human Fear”, Franz Ferdinand rediscovers the essence of his beginnings, twenty years ago. Kapranos traces the genesis of this creation: “When you are in a project like this and for so many years, two things become essential. The first is identity. The second, risk-taking. » “We are both passionate about writing,” adds his accomplice. We didn’t want superficial texts to fill the void. The groups that I like have a universe where all the components of their identity mix. That’s what we wanted: to create a world. »
Alex Kapranos on his relationship with Clara Luciani: “Working in the same field allows you to better understand the issues. »
The title of the disc makes no big secret of the theme addressed by the eleven tracks. “The album is about the fear of abandoning an institution, of losing one’s identity, of leaving a relationship… explains Hardy. Every individual has already experienced one of these situations and I like this idea of universality. » Produced by Mark Ralph, the sound engineer behind the group’s highly successful fourth album, “Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action”, “The Human Fear” has everything to achieve the same success. This turnaround in favor of rock serves the thesis of the return of the genre in the face of pop, which is losing momentum. Kapranos agrees: “Ten years ago, there were too many indie bands in pop, it was saturated. Only a few good bands have managed to find a place. Chappell Roan is one of them, it’s brilliant and it’s pure pop. But on the other hand, everything looks the same. People don’t want that anymore, they feel like there’s no personality behind it. »
-Impatient at the idea of getting back on the “tour bus”, Alex Kapranos confesses to a new apprehension since the birth of his son, in 2023: “Facetime allows us to keep in touch, but it remains difficult. » The couple he forms with the singer Clara Luciani takes advantage of the situation: “Working in the same field allows you to better understand the issues. » For his part, their son is slowly taking ownership of his heritage: “He loves music and is obsessed with the record player. When we are in Paris, we go to flea markets to choose 45s together. He’s a snob for a little over a year, a real purist! »
Franz Ferdinand in concert on February 27 in Paris (La Cigale).
« The Human Fear », Franz Ferdinand (Domino).
© DR
