Q&A with Alex Kapranos

As Franz Ferdinand celebrate 20 years in the business, frontman Alex Kapranos chats to Fiona Shepherd about the trauma of line-up changes, preparing for a huge homecoming gig, and his enduring love for The List

Congratulations on Franz Ferdinand’s 20th birthday. How does it feel to reach that milestone?

You mean how does it feel to be that ancient? It’s strange because I was in so many bands before this one. I guess I had in my head that bands were quite transient; you did it for a couple of years, you met another bunch of people, and you moved on and tried something else for a wee while and had a bit of fun with it. With this one, I feel that all of my ideas that I had been scrambling in the dark to collect in my twenties came together and it seemed almost unquestionable that it would continue. I guess I would only stop if it felt wrong or if I felt like I was standing on stage and something wasn’t ringing true.

You’re celebrating by releasing the compilation Hits To The Head; what is the appeal of a greatest hits collection?

There is something very levelling and inclusive about a greatest hits record. Most people don’t want to get into the minutiae of a band and every little album track and b-side that was ever released, but that double LP of the bangers is just what they need. Growing up, those greatest hits records were my introduction to so much good music. My mum and dad had an ABBA greatest hits record that they always had on the record player, and I was obsessed with the Bowie record, Changes. I remember distinctly as a five-year-old dancing to ‘John, I’m Only Dancing’ and it made me want to go out and find more of his music. I find it exciting that someone’s mum might go out and buy it and the kids might go on and discover something that excites them themselves.

Last year original drummer Paul Thomson left the band. How did that affect the group dynamic?

It’s always quite traumatic when something like that happens in a band but it’s natural as well. Paul basically wasn’t into it anymore, going away and being on tour and that being his life. I think lockdown had a lot to do with that for him. It was the first time in a long time he’d been able to be with his family continuously without going away or recording or being committed to this other huge presence in his life. Over lockdown, he got really into speed metal drumming. He was getting his bpm up faster and faster every week. We had a few rehearsals and the first day he came down with his double kickdrum pedal. Of course, it was an indicator of where he was. But ‘Curious’ [one of two new tracks recorded for Hits To The Head] is 115 bpm; that’s a good 60 bpm slower than what he wanted to play. He was frustrated, but once I talked to him I understood where his head was at.

You lost Paul but you gained Audrey Tait [Hector Bizerk/ Broken Chanter] . . .

We felt we should get somebody from Glasgow, and Audrey’s name came up straight away; she’s so good. ‘Curious’ was the first song we played together. There is just something very magical when you play with someone for the first time and it just works. So it was a very bittersweet moment: we’d had all that drama and emotion with Paul and literally within hours we were playing with Audrey and it felt very exciting. We recorded the next week and that’s what you hear on the record.

Are you looking forward to Franz Ferdinand’s Hydro debut?

I’ve never been in the Hydro. People tell me that the acoustics are amazing compared to the SEC so that’s got to be a good thing. I do love Barrowlands and I did love playing downstairs in the basement of the old 13th Note in Glassford Street; they are just different experiences. It’s the difference between going to the IMAX and GFT; they are both good experiences, just a little different from each other. This one’s going to feel different because it’s Glasgow, it’s a home crowd and the guest list is probably going to have about 500 people on it (and that’s just Audrey’s guest list).

Thanks for speaking to The List

The List was such a massive part of my life in those formative years of the 13th Note scene in the 90s so I have a great fondness for it. In fact, my mum and dad still have a poster on their wall of the first time we were on the cover of The List, so I’m happy it’s survived. I’ll let my mum know.

Franz Ferdinand play OVO Hydro, Glasgow, Thursday 10 November; Hits To The Head is out now on Domino Records.