FAULT Future: In The Valley Below
Fresh off their tour with the Cold War Kids and about to embark on a European tour as openers for White Lies, the electro-rock duo have been keeping busy. With their single ‘Stand Up’ out on November 11th and album, The Belt, set for release early next year, FAULT caught up with In The Valley Below to talk tours, albums and of course… music!
FAULT: For our readers who aren’t familiar with your music, how would you best describe your sound?
Jeffrey: It’s kind of dark, windy…music?
Angela: I would say we’re a dark modern spin on a power ballad duet.
You were in the UK earlier for Reading and Leeds Festival; how was that?
Jeffrey: Yeah it was fun.
Angela: We hadn’t played any [festivals] like that before – we’d only played smaller ones like ‘Dot to Dot’.
You just finished touring with the ‘Cold War Kids’ – what was it like on the road with them?
Angela: It was a great tour! They are really nice guys and they have great fans, who liked our music.
Jeffrey: It was a good pairing, they were a lot of fun and we had some good times with them. I don’t know if they would like us sharing any details really…
Angela: We were asked to leave a bar…or two!
You’re about to start a European tour opening for White Lies and it’s already beginning to sell out! You must be very excited.
Jeffrey: Yeah, we did some shows with them over in the States and they were really fun. We’re looking forward to these [gigs] because they are even bigger over here [in Europe].
Your new single, ‘Stand Up’ is out on November 11. Is it a good indication of the sort of sound people should expect from the rest of your upcoming album?
Jeffrey: I think so; although this is one of the more upbeat songs on the record. There are some nice dark moments there too but this is a good indication of the general sound.
Angela: It’s very dynamic, this song, so you get a little bit of everything.
Although you both met in LA and played in bands before this one, you both took very different journeys to get to LA. How daunting was it to just pack up and chase your dream across the country and across the world?
Angela: Daunting is not the word: I would say it was like jumping off everything you know and just following this dream. Where I’m from, it’s a very small town, and Los Angeles – Hollywood – wasn’t even a real place, but I had to go and see it for myself.
Jeffrey: I think at the time you just follow your instinct and most people just think you’re insane or dumb…
Angela: Maybe we are…
Jeffrey: …but I kind of just did it on a whim, just to see what would happen in LA and it took a few years but I stuck at it.
Which artists did you listen to when you were growing up that inspired the individual sound you have today?
Angela: I think, for me, when I was growing up it was just whatever was on the radio or whatever my parents listened to, like classic-rock. But I discovered artists like Sinead O’Connor and people like that who usually had something to say. I don’t think there is any one artist that inspires me. The way I write… I just think it comes in subconsciously from everyone.
Jeffrey: We listen to a lot of different music but we grew up on classic rock and just a bit of everything.
Your video for ‘Stand Up’ was released a few days ago, did you have much creative control/input in the production or creative direction of the video?
Angela: Yes, it was a collaboration with us and the director [Jon Danovic] . The director is someone who we really like so we let him have a lot of freedom with it. We basically just said “no” to the ideas we didn’t like.
You must have worked with some great producers on your new album. Who would you say was your favourite to work with?
Angela: Actually we produced the album ourselves and we worked with different mixers. We worked remotely with them, mostly. I think they all brought something interesting and it worked for us to work with different people to get what we wanted.
Jeffrey: Lasse Martin was really nice and easy to work with, and we loved the sounds that all the guys were able to get. John Congleton was really cool!
What is your FAULT?
Angela: I’m very impatient.
Jeffrey: Not enough cow bell! And too much whiskey