Bandstocks Artist Profile: Mr. Fogg

Until now, most people's will have come in to contact with Mr Fogg having heard his outstanding future-pop single, "Seciov". After receiving airplay everywhere from Radio 1 through to MTV, rapturously received at the Reading and Leeds festival and featuring as a pre-loaded track on Creative Zen mp3 players across the world, his forthcoming record via Bandstocks promises to provide more of the same captivating electronica.

After self-releasing his debut EP, Mr Fogg has built a sound that takes cues from such luminaries as Radiohead, Jeff Buckley and Sigur Ros. After recently completing the recording of his debut album in Iceland with former Bonnie "Prince" Billie and Bjork producer Valgeir Sigurðsson we are now all set for the record's release later this year. Yet still little is known of this enigmatic songwriter.

We spoke to Mr Fogg, a certain Phil Barry, to discuss being locked away in Iceland, first hearing "Karma Police" and releasing the record through Bandstocks.

What was the most appealing aspect of releasing your records via Bandstocks?

Now that the album is finished, it definitely has to be the level of creative freedom. Everybody who is interested in your music will have an opinion on how it should be done and it's very easy to waste time and creative energy trying to please everyone, even if some of those opinions are valid. I knew it was time to make the album, I knew what I wanted it to sound like, and I knew who I wanted to record it with so Bandstocks was the perfect solution.

How was recording the album out in Iceland?

If I had been left to my own devices I would still be fiddling with kick drum EQ 6 months from now, so going away somewhere with a return flight set in stone definitely helped focus my mind on getting the record finished, and helped me commit to ideas.

It was also great working in a studio at the centre of such an exciting community of musicians. It's hard not to be creative with weird and wonderful sounds coming out of every room - you never know if you're going to hear a wall of digital distortion, a concerto for prepared piano or even a scent opera.

And how did the climate effect the recording?

I can't pretend that the climate or surroundings had a big influence on the album, because 12-hour days meant I only left the studio twice! But to somebody from the UK, where everything is compartmentalised into sub-genres and sub-sub-genres, it's inspiring to be able to go to a gig and see a punk band go on stage ten minutes after a contemporary classical composer and the same audience equally into both acts.

What are your first memories of engaging with music? What were the songs you loved growing up?

The first instrument I learned to play was the piano, but even aged 7 or 8 I had no interest in playing other people's music and so I never really enjoyed lessons on any instrument. 95% of my musical development occurred in the spare bedroom, writing melodies on the "electric piano 1" sound on the keyboard and, later, recording songs on a 4-track. Even now, I can play less than five songs on the piano that I didn't write myself.

At home the music policy was classical music or Radio 2. I'm sure some of it was good, but none of it made much impression on me at the time. The first thing I can remember liking was a tape of 50s rock and roll hits by people like Eddie Cochrane, which was on the car stereo for at least a decade and is still kicking around I'm sure. My "eureka" moment, was when I heard the finale of "Karma Police" by Radiohead on the school bus - that was the first time I felt compelled to search something out and buy it.

How would you go about describing your music?

Whatever the instrumentation, the focus of my music has always been the songs, and that's where 90% of the creative energy goes. So it's electronica, but with songwriting at its heart.

What's the most surreal thing that's happened to you as a musician?

Writing on your own is quite an isolated thing and it's difficult to have any idea of how people are going to react to your work. I received an email from one of my all-time musical heros last week describing themselves as a fan of Mr Fogg, which was a strange experience to say the least.

"Seciov" was used as a preloaded track on Zens. Did it seem odd having your music innocently being listened to by millions?

The strange thing about it is that I have never released a record or toured outside of the UK, but because of "Seciov" being on Zens across europe, most of the messages I get on Myspace and my website are from places like Poland and Germany. The track has been on there for a year now, so it's been a great way of spreading the word.

Get involved and invest in Mr Fogg's record buy clicking HERE. There'll be more from Mr Fogg in forthcoming week.