Foals’ Yannis Philippakis on the “brutal” music he’s written for new play ‘The Confessions’

nme.com:

Foals frontman Yannis Philippakis has spoken to NME about making his theatrical debut by penning the music for new play The Confessions, as well as his long-mooted project with the late Tony Allen.Having opened at London’s National Theatre last week before a press showing last night (October 23), The Confessions is an emotional, gut-wrenching and powerful play written and directed Alexander Zeldin – telling the story of his mother’s life across eight “tumultuous” decades across two continents and a series of complex relationships.Philippakis and Zeldin have known each other since their days at school, when they would sneak away to smoke together on a nearby riverbank.

Speaking with NME, the artist explained how the director had “a reputation that preceded him a bit” as someone “ferociously intelligent, but with a naughty streak”.“We’ve just been in each other’s lives for a long time, but with differing orbits and different worlds,” Philippakis told NME. “Both of us have been circling towards working together over the years, and then the orbit got closer and we’ve finally been able to make something together.”Their creative partnership came into fruition during the pandemic, when the two would go for long walks together around London when they were allowed.“We had this great one around Blackheath and Greenwich when the weather was pretty blustery,” said Philippakis. “That’s when he just started talking about this idea of writing a piece of work to encapsulate his mother’s life.

It was really inspiring.”He continued: “I was shocked by the story, because I had met his mother a few times. My experience of her was that she was very permissive.