When funky grooves and pop melodies blend as one, the result is nothing short of sonic bliss for the listeners, and this is precisely how the latest EP by Khaki Fever, Les Francais, makes you feel. Tracing its origin to the year 2020 during the pandemic, Khaki Fever is a pop-funk duo that is the brainchild of prolific musicians Sam Fever and Gio Norburn, who are currently based out of Manchester, the United Kingdom. The entire idea of this duo setup is to spread positivity through their feel-good, groovy compositions that are undeniably catchy, attractive, and uplifting for the listeners.
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The latest EP by Khaki Fever, Les Francais, consists of four wonderful tracks that stand tall upon the specific foundation of the pop-funk and the underlying genre, but at the same time, all the songs are distinctly different from each other, yet keeping the idea of blending groove and melody alive throughout.
Let us find out what Khaki Fever’s Les Francais has to offer and what the listeners can expect from the songs of this EP!
The EP starts with the title track, Les Francais, and it is a song that hooks you to its punchy groove that you get pretty much from the bass that keeps the whole composition together in a firm and steady grip along with the beats, on top of which the melody section shines bright with all the synth and guitar elements giving a smooth pathway for the vocals to cut through wonderfully. Move is the track that follows, and this one has more of a retro disco vibe with all the funky guitar sections and an underlying synth line that repeats on a loop as the melody acts as a foundation for the song. Besides the overall composition, don’t forget to check out the vocals and the guitar lines with a touch of sonic drive on certain sections of the song.
The next song, known as Only Man, is a simple track with some fun musical elements that add a modern touch to its disco-funk soundscape, and as a whole, it is quite an enjoyable one with a catchy melody that you can or perhaps will hum along with once this song comes up. The final song of the EP, Just The Way, is the best of them all because its sonic elements are so catchy that you will be compelled to play this track on a loop. Besides its overall structure and composition, the most attractive and captivating parts of the song are the beats, the spacey synth loops that come about in every cycle of the track, and the vocals that add more drive and beauty to the track, making it one of the most beautiful pop-funk compositions that you will hear.
We were lucky to get a chance to speak to Khaki Fever, and they were kind enough to share some details about the EP, Les Francais. So, let’s dig deeper into it!
1) Greetings! So, first of all, Les Francais is an excellent EP, and it’s something that makes you want to play it in a loop. Before we talk about the EP, can you give us some information about Khaki Fever, its origin, and things you would like us all to know?
Thank you! Yes, so the two of us, Sam and Gio, met in a recording studio in London and quickly became friends. We then started Khaki Fever during the pandemic to give us a sense of purpose over that dark time. We then started living together and the more our friendship grew, the more we started writing music for others – to help them forget about the stresses of life. Fast forward a few years and we still carry the same ethos – forget about the stresses of life and feel good about yourself!
Over the last few years we’ve grown our team, bringing a 9 piece band to the stage as well as videographers and producers to help make Khaki Fever come to life! Seeing all 9 70s style silk pink shirts on stage really is a sight to behold.
I’d say our music really is an embodiment of us as people – we’re fairly care-free, enjoy having a laugh and value the simple moments in life. We don’t take ourselves too seriously… just our music.
The musical influences that impact Khaki Fever’s artistry!
2) Can you please name some bands or artists that inspire you in writing and composing music or have a significant impact on making this particular EP?
Parcels were a big inspiration for this EP. They do an amazing job of creating something that feels honest, like you’re actually listening to them play live. We tried to re-create that feeling in Les Francais. We also sampled some of the nature surrounding the studio and laid it under the track to build the imagery as well as that honest feeling. Whether that comes across or we just hid in a French hedgerow for no reason is up to the listener I guess.
Jessie Ware’s album “That! Feels Good!” was another great inspiration, particularly for the brass arrangements and recordings. It’s a great example of a funk/pop album with really authentic sounding instrumentation and of course, she got that groove!
And the list goes on….
We also used Silk Sonic’s album as a reference, in particular the playfulness of their lyrics as well as their pocket. When you listen to their album, you can’t help but smile, laugh and feel good about yourself. That’s something we both would love Khaki Fever to be for other people. Although Sam’s two-step isn’t as good as Bruno Mars, you’ll definitely get a chuckle out of watching him attempt it.
The dirtier, more gritty elements of the EP were actually inspired by more rocky artists like The Black Keys and Foals. Sprinkling these sorts of guitar tones throughout the EP really adds that sense of edge we were looking for!
3) So, would you like to share any details or facts behind naming the EP Les Francais?
We didn’t come up with the name for the EP or the name of the song Les Francais until we were halfway through writing the whole record. I remember we sat outside drinking wine in the town Confolons where we recorded the EP after a long day of writing. We talked about how amazing the whole experience was, escaping our busy lives in London to set our minds on something purely creative for a week. We wanted to use the feeling we had at that moment to title the EP and paint a picture of sunset skies and warmth. Every time we hear the words “Les Francais” it takes us back to those sessions in France, escaping our lives and feeling free.
An in-depth look at the making of Les Francais!
4) Can you take us through the writing and recording sessions of this EP?
So Gio and I (Sam) had written demos for all four songs before working with our producer Joe. These demos were fairly bare bones but provided a good starting point. Then the main bulk of the writing and recording was over two separate week-long sessions across two summers with Producer Joe Woolf at Studio Alouette in Confolons.
We tend to go all in when we’re doing anything Khaki Fever. Most of the days were at least 12 hours of recording and writing. Although if we’re really honest, we spent a large amount of time eating cheese, drinking wine and playing cards too in the evening. We try to keep the core rock n roll values here at Khaki Fever.
One of the key things we value and help the process is to spend as much time laughing in the studio as you do recording takes. Not only does it help maintain sanity on long, intense days but you can hear the laughter and joy come through with every performance on this EP. Good vibes in the studio is really what brought this record to life!
Let us take a look into the writing process of this EP!
When it came to writing lyrics, we already had the themes we wanted to talk about ahead of heading overseas. The writing environment in rural France really helped put us in the mindset of writing lyrics that we could then flesh out and capture the essence of freedom and personal liberation that’s common across the whole record. We wanted to write lyrics that meant a lot to us but at the same time, could be interpreted and relevant for a number of situations – we want our listeners to be able to apply our songs to their own lives.
As with any big project like this, there were some ‘smooth sailing’ parts of the process and some ‘pull your hair out’ moments too. I remember our first draft of the song “Les Francais” – we were really proud of what we had written when we finished our session late at night under the starlit French sky. We had a listen in the morning, looked at each other and at the same time just said “nope” haha! We then spent a day basically rewriting and re-recording most of the track. That’s the process though! Write something you like, review it and ask if you still like it, if yes then move on and if no then go back. Is it really that simple? No haha.
What’s next for Khaki Fever?
5) So tell us, what does the future look like for Khaki Fever? A tour full of gigs or getting started on working for the next album?
In 2025 we’re going to be looking at collaborating with more artists on some singles! We have a couple already in production and are looking for new artists to collaborate with so if you’re reading this and have some suggestions, we’d love to hear them!
We’ll also be looking at making more live performance content next year to really showcase our music and show off some of the amazing musicians we now have on board!
It’s been an absolute journey getting this EP finalised and released and we can’t wait for the next chapter!
To stay up-to-date with Khaki Fever’s musical journey, follow them on Instagram.
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So now that you know what you can expect from Khaki Fever’s EP, Les Francais when it is out for release, it is time for you to take a sneak peek at what awaits you by checking out the title track of the EP. You can listen to the track here:
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