Fontaines D.C. praise Slowthai’s “incendiary quality” in new interview

Fontaines D.C. have opened up about working with Slowthai in a new interview, praising his “incendiary quality.”

Speaking to NME for this week’s Big Read, the band were asked about working with the  Northampton rapper after a video emerged of Fontaines D.C. in the studio with Slowthai and his producer, Kwes Darko back in February.

While they didn’t discuss details of any future collaborations, the band say that a recording session with the rapper taught them how to make music deliberately sound like samples, a technique that they’d be open to experimenting with in the future.

They also went on to discuss their thoughts on Slowthai, saying he has “an incendiary quality.”

“It’s just so refreshing to work with somebody who has an incredibly open mind,” the band’s vocalist Grian Chatten said.

“His charisma reminds me of something that I read about Mick Jagger before, where those around him would be able to identify his distinctive voice in an instant. That’s what Slowthai is becoming.”

Elsewhere in the Big Read, the band also said they think they could do “a really good tune” with Lana Del Rey.

“I just want to write some tunes with her,” Chatten told NME. “Her music leans into an era of cinema that I love, and she writes in a way where people can find stories in her music. I honestly think we’d do a really good tune together.”

In a five-star review of their new album, NME said: “No matter how tormented this album gets, you can feel ‘Skinty Fia’’s wounded heart beating throughout. The fight for a better Ireland deserves songs that mirror the depth of the crisis, and in its endlessly captivating glory, ‘Skinty Fia’ rises triumphantly to the task.”

Last month, the group bagged the award for Best Band In The World at the BandLab NME Awards 2022, beating Amyl & The Sniffers, Ben&Ben, Bring Me The Horizon, CHVRCHES, Glass Animals, HAIM, Måneskin, Nova Twins and Wolf Alice to the gong.

Fontaines D.C. recently added further dates to their upcoming 2022 UK and Ireland tour, which kicks off at Hull Bonus Arena on November 7. You can buy tickets here.