Fat White Family

“There was never any plan or scheme when we first got together,” Saoudi says.

Even the band’s live performances – which have seen Saoudi strip naked and taunt the audience – are simply natural, organic events. “The idea of doing pre-meditated confrontation is something I find strange,” Adamczewski says.

“I think we’re antagonistic by default,” Saoudi adds.

But scratch the surface, and there’s more to Fat White Family than meets the eye: the band is avowedly politically motivated, though more in the sense of countering the apathy it perceives in the world around it. “One of the most important things that was important to us when we formed the group was how apathetic everyone else was,” Saoudi says. “As human beings, we feel like we believe in the right sort of human beings – it’s not pretentious, it’s just a natural human instinct. It shouldn’t even be a talking point – if everyone is politically apathetic and we stand out because we’re not, then something must be wrong.”

And the medium of rock’n’roll is, Adamczewski and Saoudi contend, an intrinsically political medium within which to operate. “Rock’n’roll can be used by proxy as anti-capitalist, or other ways,” says Adamczewski. “It’s probably been used in every political sphere over the years.”

Formed in 2011 in South London, where the original six band members were living together and playing in other groups, Fat White Family came to broader prominence with the release of Champagne Holocaust in 2013. Taking musical cues from The Cramps, The Gun Club, The Fall and The Birthday Party – and with lyrical content ranging from the sensual pleasures of oral sex, to perverted carnal pleasures, to the mysteries of the JFK assassination – Champagne Holocaust saw Fat White Family portrayed as the new enfants terrible of the rock’n’roll scene. One reviewer dismissed the album as ‘tasteless’; Pitchfork described the band as “diseased, drug-addled and utterly corrupt”.

Scroll forward a couple of years, and Fat White Family are gradually gaining respect from the music media and industry that once derided them – not that they want it, mind you.

“The reaction we got for a long time was very hostile,” says Adamczewski, “but I think that’s gradually changing, because people are starting to see that there’s a buck to be made, or some sort of kudos to be usurped. As we’ve progressed, more and more creeps accept us.”

“We haven’t been given a seat at the table yet – but I don’t think we really want one,” chimes Saoudi. “Fuck the tables!”

Fat White Family’s latest record, Songs For Our Mothers, is a departure from the sound and lyrical content of Champagne Holocaust: gone are the jagged blues-punk and Fall-esque post-punk riffs of the band’s first album; in their place a mixture of glam rock licks and a darker, more contemplative atmosphere. Initially, Saoudi and Adamczewski deny that there was any preconceived plan: what appears on the record was simply what came out of the creative and recording process.

“We didn’t want anything different on this record – the way that we are, and the way that we organise ourselves, we don’t really sit down and come up with a fundamental plan,” Adamczewski says.

“You’ve just got to make this stuff up – you don’t really think about it,” adds Saoudi.

But the clue to the album lies in the darkness of tracks such as ‘Lebensraum’, ‘Duce’, ‘Love Is The Crack’ and ‘We Must Learn To Rise’. With the band’s internal relationships buckling under the weight of touring, substance abuse and fractious personalities, the writing and recording of Songs For Our Mothers became – subconsciously at least – a cathartic event, allowing the band members to explore those feelings they were unable to express outwardly.

“One of the interesting parts of making an album is that the meaning behind songs becomes more clear when you look back on it,” says Adamczewski.

“That’s one of the most rewarding aspects, actually,” Saoudi agrees.

Indeed, the promotional blurb accompanying Songs For Our Mothers says the album is “an invitation to dance to the beat of human hatred”. While Adamczewski suggests the album is, on face value, “music that’s there for people to live, and also a reflection on the sour times in which we live,” it is more about the hatred festering away within Fat White Family itself.

“There was a breakdown in the relationships within the band, there was a lot of substance abuse going on, things were generally dark,” Adamczewski explains. (Late last year, he withdrew from a European tour, and it was rumoured he’d leave the band – his presence in today’s interview suggests his imminent departure has been greatly exaggerated.)

“We didn’t expect to end up at that place – it all actually went quite dark,” Saoudi says, his voice faltering ever so slightly as he remembers the situation the band found itself in. “What came out is just what we were feeling at the time. Hopefully the next record will be more jolly – a barrel of laughs!”

Finally, with an album titled Songs For Our Mothers, the obvious question must be asked: what do the band’s mothers think of the album? “My mother’s only heard a few of the songs when we’ve played live,” Saoudi says. “And she was shocked and appalled,” he laughs.