Fanfarlo are the first band featured in our weekly dose of 20 Questions that haven’t actually got a record deal. That’s not to say they aren’t any good. On the contrary. They’re bloody fantastic. Minature pop symphonies with more hooks (and instruments) than you can shake an indie-pop stick at. And, if the tracks streaming on their myspace page are anything to go by, these guys are set for big things in the coming months, having already picked up major press attention on the way. Their album has already been demoed and is sitting, waiting patiently to be recorded whilst they have a single ready and waiting in the wings which is due out at the end of this month. We caught up with vocalist Simon to pitch him our cunning questions, and, to our amazement he responded by giving the best stoat/goat answer we’ve ever had! I’m sure you’ll be as thrilled as we were.

1. Describe your sound in 3 words.
Disco folk orchestra
2. What was the first record you ever bought? And where did you buy it?
I think it was either Nevermind or a Beach Boys compilation. In some Swedish equivalent of HMV I suppose.
3. What’s the best cure for a hangover?
Tacos. In fact it is the best cure for everything. However Mark says it’s a fried egg sandwich and a can of ‘fat’ coke.
4. What’s on your rider?
Veggie food, fruit and wine.
5. How do you get ready for a live show?
We jump around and sing like crazies. For very special shows we also sacrifice small kittens, or other cute fluffy animals.
6. What’s your favourite song to play live?
You Are One Of The Few Outsiders Who Really Understands Us
7. What’s your guilty pleasure?
I don’t feel guilty about any of them.
8. Who would win in a fight, a stoat or a goat and why?
I think initially they would be good friends. Discover they share the same taste in books. Get close. Vacation in France. One thing leads to another. That sort of thing. But we all know the Mustela Ermina is back-stabbing fucker so in the end, of course, the goat would get it in its sleep and the stoat would cash in on the life insurance money.
9. What was the last album you bought?
Dirty Projectors - Rise Above.
10. If you could rid the world of one song - what would it be?
Kate Nash - Foundations
11. Who would play you in a film based upon your life?
Klaus Kinski, or Christopher Walken should play all of us. Christoper Walken can do anything. Apparently Christopher Walken shuns tomatoes on the vine in the supermarket because the green bits end up in nature where they suffocate otters.
12. Dead or alive. What 5 acts would you have play with you at a festival?
Olivia Tremor Control, Dirty Projectors, Godspeed You Black Emperor, Beirut and Of Montreal.
13. If push comes to shove, what is your all-time favourite album?
That’s a very very very hard question. But Either/Or (Elliot Smith) is one of the most solid albums ever made I think.
14. What’s your most memorable on the road story?
We were playing in a small village in the Italian alpes and the mayor came on stage and made a speech. In the middle of our set. (Later in the evening, during the clubnight that followed the gig, he proceeded to take his shirt off and - with his belly sucked in - dance to indie hits.)
15. If your life flashed before your eyes, what would be the highlights?
Our tour in Italy would definitely be one of them.
16. What’s the best piece of advice someone has ever given you and did you take notice?
Put the gun down and step away from the vehicle.
17. If you had to leave a body part to science, what would it be?
Is that before or after I die?
18. What’s the best book you’ve read and film you’ve seen in the last 6 months?
I picked up Bluebeard by Vonnegut at a jumble sale the other week and I’d say it’s one of his best novels. Also finally got round to watching The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover by Greenaway recently, which I’ve been meaning to for a few years!
19. What three things could you not live without?
Tacos. Three of them!
20. Tell us a fact about yourself we probably don’t already know.
I’m blind in both eyes.

Links
Fanfarlo [official site] [myspace]