The holy terrors of Fabulous Sheep perform always as if it was their last show, singing about the disappointment of their youth, while still holding on to their ideals.
Originally from Béziers, a small city in the south of France, the band have clearly been inspired by their upbringings, in a city which was not shy of tensions, in many senses of the word. It is this that has influenced the themes we see oozing out of their songs, a mix of positive energy, yet cloaked with a cold anger.
Infectious choruses and 3 chord pop melodies, the Fabulous Sheep produce a sound, one would say of a sold out stadium, which has in fact been recorded in their band members garage. In 2016, their 1st EP " Kids are Back "was released, which instantly highlighted their unique style, very rarely seen in France. Following this, they went on to release a self recorded studio produced album in 2019, titled "Fabulous Sheep", which received positive recognition from the French press, (Télérama, Rolling Stones and Guitare Part Magazine). Having to date already performed at more than 300 concerts, their stage presence gives off a mix of sensitivity and burning passion, giving them a lasting reputation as performers, from their more intimate venues, to some world-renowned festivals (Transmusicales, The Is Not A Love Song, F.I.M.U, Les Déferlantes.)
For this much awaited second album "SOCIAL VIOLENCE", the band worked on two tracks alongside American producer Jim Diamond, who has previously worked with The White Stripes and The Sonics. A rock manifesto consisting of around 10 songs, the album is self-described as a collection of phonographic photos depicting their take on the current state of affairs.
Thank you for taking this interview! How has the New Year been for you so far as an artist? Great ! We were able to resume touring and release our second album « Social Violence », so it has been really busy so far. It is very fulfilling to be able to meet the public again. Can you tell us how you've transformed from the beginning to now as an artist? We began playing music together in highschool so we have changed a lot since then, as you can imagine. We all grew up with Fabulous Sheep. Going on tour led us to meet all sorts of people giving us a good grasp of our society. Living paycheck to paycheck for years also strengthened our beliefs and our message. How did you come up with your latest project? For years now, we have been witnessing a huge fracture slowly growing through French society, leading to the émergence of a strong far right movement. A phenomenon that grew even stronger since Macron became president in 2017. And we asked ourselves why ? And the answer is simple: for a decade the rich got even richer, the poor poorer, and the different presidents and governments we’ve had since the beginning of the years 2000 only made the fracture wider. Hence the title « Social Violence ». Where are you from originally? All five of us were born in Béziers (Southern France). Where do you live now? Three of us still live there but the drummer and I live in Montpellier now. Do you think where you live impacts how your music is made? Béziers is one of the poorest cities in France and elected a fascist mayor in 2014 who is still in office, so yes it is a huge source of inspiration for our songs. It is also kind of a small laboratory showing how our society is changing. What was the inspiration to make music your career? All of us realised very early that it was our calling. For some itw as the resurgence of Rock n Roll in the early 2000 with "The Strokes" or "The Libertines" or for others simply the fact that they grew up with music. How do you want to shape your career? We have always advanced step by step and our next goal is to develop internationally first in the EU (Germany, Belgium, Italy, Swiss…) then the UK (we managed to find a booking agent there) and then maybe one day the US if the opportunity presents itself. We want to keep our independence that is why we still do a lot of work by ourselves and were in full DIY when we started. Do you work on a tight timeline always or do you go with the flow when it comes to your music? We mostly work on a tight timeline however it often requires adjustments. We do a lot of video calls with our manager, booking agents, label administratives in order to define and adjust the plan and we share an agenda. However we are constantly engaged in creative work. How did your latest title of your music come to be? We are already working on the third album and are soon to record demos so I can’t yet talk to you about those sounds, but I can tell you how we run the creative part of Fabulous Sheep. We work on democratic bases, if someone writes a song he will be the lead singer on it, then we work on the music together. Is it hard to let go of the music when it is done? Absolutely not ! As I said we are constantly creating so we are already working on another album. To be truthful we even want things to go faster when it comes to the release of our records. Do you feel an emotional attachment with your music? Of course otherwise it would be impossible to perform the same songs over and over on tour ! How would you describe your music in one word to someone who hasn't listened to it yet? Well, that’s a tough one haha. I will simply say : « Punk Rock » Where do they go to listen NOW? Spotify, Youtube, Deezer etc What has been the best fan reaction to your music? I honestly don't know, however we often see people following us on tour even if the gig isn't close to their place. That gives us strength. Is there anything exciting coming up for you? Yes, we have great festivals this summer in France and expect a tour in Germany and in the UK next year. Are you performing the song anywhere LIVE? Yes we pride ourselves in saying that we are a live band, this is our strength. And the more we perform on stage the happier we are. Give us all your socials and links so fans can link up with you! Thank you for this interview! 1st CLIP : SATELLITE 2nd CLIP : PARASITE 3rd CLIP : RUN
LIVE 1 : ROCKSTORE (Montpellier) LIVE 2 : SUICIDE