A Foreign Affair - Sound In The Signals Interview

Sacramento five piece A Foreign Affair are set to release their upcoming EP later this year. With backgrounds ranging from post-hardcore to pop and electronic the members of the band came together to create their own sound.They were kind enough to tell us more about the meaning behind "Awake", share what you can expect while waiting for the EP including a "Cold Water" cover, and they invite you to a show featuring Hands like Houses, Our Last Night, and The Color Morale in December.

You released your debut single "I'm Your Ghost" earlier this year and recently released another single with the news of an upcoming EP. Tell us more about your background and music for those who may be unfamiliar.

All the members of the band have previously had post-hardcore, pop, and electronic backgrounds. We eventually all came together to create our new sound.



You plan to release an EP later this year. It was mastered by Kris Crummet (Rise, Epitaph, Fearless). What did Crummet bring to the EP?

Actually Crummet had only mastered the track, Josh Benton produced our Ep and was the most influential. We went to Crummet for mastering because we trusted his sound and are also fans of his work.

The band recently released a video for your single "Awake" which front man Alex Strobaugh said "is a song that encompasses the feeling of being haunted by someone's memory. It’s about coming to terms with living without someone who has been lost". That's a very relatable issue. Tell us more about this song.

The song Awake is about being in love with the idea of someone rather than the person that they have become. The inspiration was a collection of ideas between singer Alex Strobaugh and guitarist Jared Cambridge. They collaborated on the thought of waking up without someone who you used to be close with.

 

You recently shared a photo of your pre-show huddle on Instagram. Do you have certain routines you do before performing? What about after the show?

Before the show we all like to get together and do vocal warm ups, Alex particularly enjoys warming up to R&B. After the show we like grab a few beers and talk to our fans at the merch table.

Can you tease anything about the upcoming EP and what's next for the band as you prepare to release it?

We have three more songs that have yet to be released. currently we are doing covers as we finish up the EP.

You've released covers of Bring Me the Horizon's "Drown", The Story So Far's "Clairvoyant", Adele's "Hello", and recently Twenty One Pilots's "Heathens". How do you decide which songs to cover and how do you work out a way to put your own spin on the songs? Any songs you'd like to cover in the future?

We choose our songs based on their relevancy in pop culture and if we as a band personally enjoy them. We like incorporating our own musical sound into the covers we do.

We already have two more covers we plan on releasing one of them being "Cold Water" by Major Lazer.

Thanks for the interview. Do you have anything else you would like to add?

We are playing a show at The Boardwalk in Sacramento, CA on December 13th with Hands like Houses, Our Last Night, and The Color Morale and would love to see you there!


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-L.Burden