Today, Foxes has shared details of her forthcoming new EP, Friends In The Corner, set for release April 1 via [PIAS] Recordings, alongside the release of her new single “Kathleen”, produced by Courage (Stormzy, MNEK, Ray BLK) and Charlie Hugall (Halsey, Florence and the Machine) and its accompanying video.
New single “Kathleen” acts as an ode to her grandmother, called Kathleen, poignantly released as the UK eases from lockdown and prepares to see their grandparents after a year of distance. Kathleen in the ’70s was a political activist, feminist, devoted environmentalist and English teacher, her values inspiring Foxes (Louisa Rose Allen) from her childhood as she encouraged her to read poetry, write, and get lost in novels, sowing the seeds for Louisa to grow to become Foxes. Their relationship is reflected in the video, directed by Florence Kosky, with two generations of ballerinas, the younger learning from the elder’s every move, and reminiscent doll-house scenes.
Discussing the single, Louisa says: “My grandma, Kathleen, has always given really good advice so on one visit I thought, ‘why am I not recording this?’. A couple of weeks later in the studio I happened to be going through my voice notes of random melodies and lyrics I’d saved and stumbled across her words of wisdom and within 20 minutes we’d written it with all her advice from the notes. I kept that exact recording of her talking at the end of the song. I don’t think I’d be a songwriter without her.”
“For me, Kathleen closes the chapter of the last year. Focusing on creativity during lockdown has been essential for me. It’s given me so much strength and positivity. Almost without realizing, I ended up writing a whole new album. The new songs have a really different energy and need to exist together as a record. But first I need to release Kathleen as it’s such a special song for me and just seems so right for now. It felt right to wrap these songs up together as an EP before the new album gets released later this year.”
