The Fods and Night Wolf

In this interview, The Fods and Night Wolf discuss reimagining “Kickback,” blending genres, embracing a laid-back vibe, and how a chance meeting sparked a creative collaboration with future potential.

1. “Kickback” reimagines an original track—what inspired you both to rebuild it from the ground up rather than create a traditional remix?
The Fods : (Rob) We gave Night Wolf free reign. We sent him stems and left him alone. There was no expectation on our part, and we loved what came out

N.W: The Fods sent me a few different tracks they were interested in having a remix done after meeting on XRP Radio, as I was listening over the stems the vocal parts to Kickback instantly drew me in and I could hear the song building around them, after a quick rearrangement and processing on the vocals I then decided the mood that was building would call for a remake rather than remixing the original song stems and I believe the vibe now would of not allowed for certain elements to remain sadly.

2. This release brings a lighter, more laid-back vibe compared to previous work—how did you both shape this shift in tone and atmosphere?
The Fods : (Rob) It’s certainly more laid back than most of our other work, but that’s what we signed up to do when entrusting this to Night Wolf. We will be back to full on guitars in no time at all!

N.W: Yes, I am very happy with being able to just work on something a little more minimal and laid back from my other works as It is I guess a little rare to have more uplifting stuff come out of me, this was just the vibe from the vocal work, I do enjoy to make darker more storytelling music with a hip hop influence or trip hop and this song just works well as the lyrics are not all happy either, there is still a contrast and slight hints of sadness throughout the lyrics but the offset with lighter vibe is a nice contrast , I think!

3. The track blends trip hop, indie pop, and alt-pop influences. How did you collaborate to balance these styles into one cohesive sound?
The Fods : (Rob) We let Night Wolf do whatever he wanted. The collaboration on our part was merely making the original tune.

N.W: Yes this was not a case of back and forth between us for this track where some songs do work that way when working remotely with others, but this was very much left to me which direction I wanted to take it, I had first thought of making it a bit darker electronic but the cello just works so well with his voice in this song , it came together very easily and just was the vibe I felt as working on it, I never really set out or rarely set out with a style or genre in mind, it just ends up being what It becomes! His voice works extremely well I think on this kind of downtempo style.

4. With the original vocals remaining, how did that foundation influence your creative decisions when developing the new arrangement together?

The Fods : (Rob) The original vocal is fabulous, so we understand why that formed the basis of the remix, but it really could have been any of the other parts. It was purely Night Wolf’s decision on what he wanted to use.

N.W: The original vocal sections were certainly the foundation of this collaboration and end result is based and worked around the rearrangement of those vocals. I knew pretty quickly that I would most likely like to build up around them and not use the rest of the track from the original, I am sure to the disappointment of the musicians in the band :/ But I think they understand that using any of the other elements would have most likely not worked on this genre of remake. All the hard work and effort put into that original track for me to come along and throw it all away is somewhat wrong, but… I think they still like me!

5. “Kickback” has a cinematic, carefree feel. Did you both have sync opportunities like film, TV, or adverts in mind during its creation?
The Fods : (Rob) Not at all, but if that were to happen, it would be very nice.

N.W: I say I never purposely sit and try to make something that would do well in synch opportunities, but I guess I always do have this in the back of my mind when I am creating, as I know my works previously do fit well in these projects. However , before I had a publisher and placed 9 albums worth of my music with them for exactly this purpose, now I am the founder of EscaVolt Records and am pushing the music on this label to music libraries and synch agents/music supervisors for the same purposes, you can now even lease directly from me new works released via my website for specific uses, you can also contact me for a quote – www.nightwolfuk.com .
I will be certainly pushing it for use in this area and urge anyone looking for bespoke or premade songs that I think have their own uniqueness in the sea of music , to contact me or browse my back catalog for something different.

6. After meeting through a radio station, how did your collaboration naturally evolve, and are there plans to continue working together in the future?
The Fods : (Rob) We talk most days because of this track. We have a bond and we will always be supportive of each other. That will, in all likelihood lead to another collaboration, but we haven’t formally discussed anything or thought about which track it will be. Lets see but from my perspective, I would be disappointed not to do this again.

N.W: I think they are fantastic people in general and really do think they as a band and their own collaborations, are fantastic and talented musicians and artists, this relationship is I think not only as fellow music makers but also as the start of a collaborative business relationship. We are working hard and I am as the label owner to push the artists released on it, I know from being on other labels and with publishers, what I would want to happen for me with a release realistically and what was missing to make me feel like anyone actually even really cared about the music outside of just trying to sell it. I am still learning a lot myself so this is a ride we are all taking together. The same as other artists I have worked with in the past and recently including The Fods + Lois Powell, we will most definitely work on new music together in the future. I look forward to get back into full creative mode again, firstly we are completing our music videos for the songs released so far.

Thank you for the interview and check us out on socials and links below, we would really appreciate the support and to find our people out there to follow along the ride. Thank you for listening and reading!

Night Wolf : @NightWolfUK
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The Fods : @TheFodsBand
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