Biography
Foxygen serves as the experimental pop outlet rooted in classic rock for multi-instrumentalists Sam France and Jonathan Rado, whose bold performance style frequently recalls the presence of Jagger, Bowie, and Reed in equal measure to the character of their material. The project first appeared in 2012 via the lively Take the Kids Off Broadway, then achieved wider notice when We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic reached the Billboard 200 in 2013 and earned widespread praise from indie outlets. Eschewing repetition, the pair stretched their format across the expansive ...And Star Power in 2014 before enlisting a 40-plus-piece orchestra for the more measured, stage-oriented Hang in 2016.
Both musicians spent their formative years in the Los Angeles suburb of Westlake Village and launched the band in 2005 while still freshmen. Beyond a shared appetite for landmark recordings by the Ramones through Led Zeppelin, they connected after viewing the documentary Dig! and absorbing how Anton Newcombe, creative force behind the Brian Jonestown Massacre, performed on as many as 75 instruments; the discovery prompted the teenagers to pursue proficiency on a comparable range of tools. During high school they completed roughly ten privately recorded and self-released projects, then went separate ways for college, with France traveling to Olympia and Rado to New York, each joining other groups that ultimately left them unfulfilled.
France’s 2011 journey eastward produced the erratic, Stones-infused Take the Kids Off Broadway, which Jagjaguwar issued in summer 2012. A more cohesive follow-up arrived in early 2013 as the Richard Swift-produced We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic; the album climbed to number 76 on the Billboard 200 and launched nonstop international touring during which France earned notice for confrontational, at times volatile stage behavior. Late 2014 brought the overstuffed double album ...And Star Power, after which Hang appeared in 2016, bolstered by contributions from the Lemon Twigs and the Flaming Lips’ Steve Drozd plus full orchestral accompaniment. Returning to the classic rock templates that defined Foxygen’s initial work, the fifth album Seeing Other People was announced alongside an indefinite touring hiatus.
Both musicians spent their formative years in the Los Angeles suburb of Westlake Village and launched the band in 2005 while still freshmen. Beyond a shared appetite for landmark recordings by the Ramones through Led Zeppelin, they connected after viewing the documentary Dig! and absorbing how Anton Newcombe, creative force behind the Brian Jonestown Massacre, performed on as many as 75 instruments; the discovery prompted the teenagers to pursue proficiency on a comparable range of tools. During high school they completed roughly ten privately recorded and self-released projects, then went separate ways for college, with France traveling to Olympia and Rado to New York, each joining other groups that ultimately left them unfulfilled.
France’s 2011 journey eastward produced the erratic, Stones-infused Take the Kids Off Broadway, which Jagjaguwar issued in summer 2012. A more cohesive follow-up arrived in early 2013 as the Richard Swift-produced We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic; the album climbed to number 76 on the Billboard 200 and launched nonstop international touring during which France earned notice for confrontational, at times volatile stage behavior. Late 2014 brought the overstuffed double album ...And Star Power, after which Hang appeared in 2016, bolstered by contributions from the Lemon Twigs and the Flaming Lips’ Steve Drozd plus full orchestral accompaniment. Returning to the classic rock templates that defined Foxygen’s initial work, the fifth album Seeing Other People was announced alongside an indefinite touring hiatus.
Albums
Seeing Other People
2019
Hang (Deluxe)
2017
Hang
2017
…And Star Power
2014
We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic
2013
Take The Kids Off Broadway
2012
Singles
