Interview with Fomies
Fomies live at Rocking Chair, Vevey - 18.04.2025 (photo copyright: Patrick Principe)
It didn’t take long to discover Fomies after starting Reverb Dream. Near the beginning, I was going through their discography on a regular basis being drawn in by the whirlwind of fuzz, garage rock and psychedelic sounds switching from the catchy riffs to trance-like instrumental sections. And it seemed that they all had a great sense of humour throughout their videos. Over the past few years, the band from Vevey, have had a prolific and impressive output. Each album feels different whilst keeping a certain signature sound.
I first got in contact with the band during my summer holidays last year to find out more about their hometown in Tell us about the music scene in… Vevey, in which Fomies’ bassist, Jacob Atkinson, gave me a whole range of excellent recommendations. A year later, I finally got to meet and see the band live at Alles Post- MusikFest! at Dynamo/Werk21 and it was an experience. The band provided the perfect finale to 2025 with their mind-blowing performance at the Mauz in Einsiedeln, with the great Hook, Line and Sinker as the opening act.
Although, I hadn’t listened to their latest album, Liminality, as much as I hoped to before Alles Post- MusikFest!, it definitely was a big part of my soundtrack during the summer holiday in 2025. There is a very “bleak futuristic feeling” to the album, especially at the beginning, including the two singles, Onion Man and Colossus II. Liminality does get lighter for the second half but the closer, Upheaval, gives the impression that the doom and gloom is going to return, making the album go full circle. It made me wonder if there was an overall theme to the album.
I would like to thank Jacob (and Fomies) for their replies to my questions.
History
First of all, what is a Fomie? Where did the band name come from?
The name Fomies comes from the beginner surfboards you use when you start out. It can also be a mix of fake and homies but it’s all up to interpretation of course ;)
Tell us a bit about the band's history.
The band started officially in 2017 with a classic two guitars, drum and bass setup. A couple of albums and DIY shows later we took on a keyboardist and started experimenting more with proggier and more psychedelic sounds while still keeping the heavy fuzz. A couple of albums later I (Jacob) joined the band and here we are now, working on the 7th.
For those who have yet to go through Fomies back catalogue, which five songs would you recommend to new listeners to get into the band?
Probably some songs we still play live from time to time: Reversal, Suffocating Jaunt, Sudden Lag, Somersault and Motion Sequence.
Is there a specific method which you have to compose the music? Is there a lot of exploration with effects and pedals during the creation process?
It usually kicks off with us just jamming and eventually a cool riff will come about that we try to build on to eventually get a song. Sometimes one of the members will come with a pre-written riff or part of the song as well. The pedals and other effects usually come afterwards when we try building on the initial riff.
How do you write the lyrics? Is it a team effort? Or does someone bring in an idea? Has Jacob's (as an English native speaker) arrival assisted the writing process? Was it always intentional to write the lyrics in English
Fadil usually writes the lyrics and sometimes the whole band will chip in. I (Jacob) will always proof read and correct any mistakes as well as try to make them a bit richer when possible. As to singing in English, it was always the way we wanted to do things, it just seems to work better with the style of music. French is very difficult to work with when writing rock music. We do kind of have a song in German but it was more just for a laugh than any real effort to write in a different language.
Liminality
How did you approach the writing and recording of the album?
The same as we usually do, the only difference was that I was part of the writing process but other than that not much had changed. We had all grown in our musical tastes and wanted to do something a bit more proggy and interesting but it all came very naturally, even unconsciously.
Going into the writing of your sixth album - are there any specific ways that you have to keep the ideas and music fresh? Are there things which you did differently this time round?
As said above, it really seems to come quite naturally. The more we write the more we get a picture of the album to come and try to stay in that style. Liminality has a bunch of different influences but it still seems to stick together somehow.
Where did you record the album?
We recorded the album up in Leysin at Ritmo Studio.
How did it feel to work with Benoit "Gerard" Erard for the third collaboration together? What does he bring to Fomies' sound in your opinion?
Working with Gerard is great, and I think since it was the third time working with him we feel more safe and confident. We know that he works well and will always speak his mind even when it may go against the initial plans for the songs.
Where did the idea of the Colossus trilogy come from?
The Colossus trilogy wasn’t planned in the beginning and came about after the writing of Colossus II, we felt like it needed some sort of buildup, so we worked on Colossus I almost as an introduction and then colossus III felt like a natural progression to Colossus II.
Would you say that there is a theme to the album?
I’d say there is but it only really came about after most of the writing was over. I think the name says a lot about the album in the sense that there we a few changes in the band at the time. The concept of change and an inbetweeness seemed to stick pretty well. It also seems to echo the different styles we ended up using in the album.
For most of the first half of the album there is a dark, apocalyptic feel to it before a much "lighter" second half. The closer, Upheaval, also hints back at a return to the darker side of the album. Was this intentional?
I don’t think it was that intentional but it just seemed to work better in that order. It made sense to start strong and almost loop back with closer.
Tell us about the artwork to the album
We discovered Carlos work because he had worked with Frankie and the witch fingers and thought it would be a good match for our album. So we decided to ask him if he was up for it and he gladly accepted it. We didn’t really give him any direction, we just sent him the songs and he came up with a crazy work of art. We couldn’t be happier.
It's also your second release on Taxi Gauche Records, how does it feel to work with the label?
We’re super happy to work with Taxi Gauche, definitely can’t complain, Piet is a sweetheart and we all love him and respect him for all the work he does.
Live/future
What are your memories of the record release party at the Rocking Chair in Vevey on 18th April?
It was amazing, we couldn’t be happier to play at home and in front of friends and family. I think we were a bit anxious but in a good way. We also played a cover for the first time in a loooong time which is always a blast.
You followed up the release party with a tour in Spring across Europe - how did that go? What were the highlights?
The tour was great, it was a great introduction to Germany especially, the fans/public are really great. Definitely one of the highlights was getting to do three concerts with Minivan. They’re really some great guys to hang out with as well as being a superb band.
How has the festival season been going? Which festival has been the most surprising/your favourite one so far?
The summer festival have been super fun, FestiNeuch being the biggest, which was very fun despite the heat. But the highlight was definitely Hautes Fréquences in Leysin because it’s a festival that we have all been to many times and it was cool to finally get to play there. The crowd was crazy. We loved it.
With quite a range of songs - how are setlists decided? Is there much chopping and changing during the tours?
The setlists don’t change too much, we obviously want to play a bunch of the songs from the last album while still keeping the big hits of the previous ones. Most of the time we decide a couple of hours before the concert depending on the length of time we’re given. If we’re feeling a bit adventurous we’ll add an old one or try something new but it’s quite rare.
How does it feel to reach a million streams for Reflections?
It’s absolutely insane and nobody expected it to happen, we’re absolutely over the moon about it. The only thing now is that we have the added pressure to get even more on the next album. In any case we’re super happy that it has happened even though it feels pretty random and that we got lucky in a way.
What do you have planned for the near future?
Well, after having toured the album a bit the next step is to write another that’s bigger and better. We’re already working on it and I think we’re all happy with the direction we’re going in. We also want to tour more around Europe as well as start looking into playing in the US and Canada. But we’ll see how that goes.
And lastly, what are your thoughts on the music scene in Switzerland?
We really love the music scene in Switzerland, there are so many amazing bands to listen to no matter the genre. The dark side to is that it’s very difficult for bands to not only make a living but also be supported by the institutions in place. Not to say there aren’t any and that they don’t do great things. But I often ask myself « who are the international Swiss music stars? » and there really aren’t many which is a bit sad. It would be great to see a revival of Swiss music like we’ve recently seen happen in Ireland. In any case, we’re happy to be part of it and want to work to put Swiss artists on the map.
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