Franc Moody Unveil Psychedelic Pub-Rock Jam 'Space Between Us'
Listen to the final preview from their anticipated third studio album.
The soul-disco melding duo and kings of modern electronica, Franc Moody, headed by Ned Franc and Jon Moody, have unveiled “Space Between Us,” which premiered on Jack Saunders’ BBC Radio 1’s New Music Show. The track is the final preview from their anticipated third studio album Chewing The Fat via their new label Night Time Stories out March 7.
“‘Space Between Us’ feels like a funk fueled cavalry charge that draws on elements of psychedelia, pub rock and space exploration,” Franc Moody explains. “It’s become a rule of ours to have a shuffle beat on each album, a groove we’ve grown to love in the FM format.”
The duo admits that they “came back from a writing trip in LA with the beat and bass line thinking nothing of it really, only for it then to all come together very quickly back in the studio HQ in London one evening. We hope you enjoy!”
This track follows on from previously shared singles; infectious “Bloodlines,” furiously fun “Driving On The Wrong Side of The Road” and the new era’s introductory track, “Going Through The Motions
Franc Moody are set to embark on a slew of highly anticipated EU & UK tour dates later this year, including an in-store album tour and a show at London’s O2 Academy Brixton on 3rd April 2025. Full list of dates below. Click HERE to buy tickets and see below for all upcoming live dates.
Franc Moody Live:
Feb. 20 - Fox Theater, Boulder CO
Feb. 21 - Palm Tree Music Festival, Aspen CO
Apr. 3 - O2 Academy Brixton - London, UK
Apr. 9 - Tivoli - Utrecht, NL
Apr. 11 - Astra Kulturhaus - Berlin, DE
Apr. 12 - Poolen - Copenhagen, DK
Franc Moody steeped in the gravelly realism of 1950s blues, jump and swing, sure know their Wynonie Harris’s from their Dave Bartholomews. They formed bands. Many, many bands. They lived in a warehouse in Tottenham for a few years with musicians of differing temperaments. Their membership of numerous bands mirrors the travails of Spinal Tap, except for the paucity of exploding drummers (their current tour drummer Dan, remains, thankfully thus far unexploded). “It just became very apparent that me and Ned had a different approach and wanted to split off,” asserts Jon. “We were the people making it happen.” And make it happen they did.
After trying to be jazzers, bluesmen and various stripes of heritage Americana, thanks to Jon’s growing interest in the bottomless world of synthesizers, they decided to get contemporary. “We spent so long trying to desperately make a record that sounded like it was cut in 1952,” says Jon, “but I basically bought my first synthesizer, a Juno 60, and that led into a slightly more interesting path.”
That path, which went via Norway, included listening to Todd Terje and Lindstrøm – so their new MO was simple, says Ned, “It was all about grooves; the onus would be to make people dance.” Their poky, ramshackle studio wouldn’t fit a drummer, so it was drum machines all the way (these days, they add the spice of live percussion and hi-hats over the top, for that extra swing).
So this is a new album, a new label and, quite literally, a new start. After plowing the same furrow for the past eight years, they’d reached an impasse where it felt that things had to change. Ned sums it up beautifully. “Life is really like a series of changes and you can either embrace it and step into the unknown full of heart and bravery and plough fresh new pastures or you can carry on doing the same thing and live a safer life – but maybe not with the color and vivacity that you could have had you taken a bolder path.”
This new path was energized by a couple of inspiring veteran live performances that demonstrated that it’s not about age or experience, but attitude. Watching LCD Soundsystem play live in LA last year and Massive Attack in 2024, helped give them a renewed sense of purpose. “They showed that delivering something can be more direct, poignant, digestible but also offers a little bit of edge.”
They stripped back Franc Moody to its chassis, and rebuilt it up, with the aid of some wacky synthesizers courtesy of the Damon Albarn broom cupboard (the duo rent a studio space from the Blur maven). “We’ve got arguably one of the most interesting collection of synths in the world at our disposal and found that the tones and colors of – especially, weirdly – a lot of the Russian synthesizers that he’s got, the peculiar string machines and oddball little furry analog things that no one can understand what’s written on them actually became the basis of the sonic palette that we put together.” The result of this is Chewing The Fat, the latest album. A bit less disco, a bit more grunge and grit. The Franc Moody vehicle is maybe a bit more Hindustan Ambassador and a bit less Corvette.
“We needed to rethink sonically how we wanted to present the project,” explains Jon. “We wanted to take away a little bit of the disco sheen that kind of crept into the sonics and try and have a slightly more raw and guttural approach to the music.” They’ve done this without forsaking the core aesthetic of the group, its ability to produce those anthemic hooks, while delivering some truly lovely 10cc-style backing vocals and string-lines courtesy of those delightfully malfunctioning Russian synths. As they sing on “Going Through The Motions,” “Oh my Lord, I’m in the sweet spot.” No wonder their Spotify numbers are through the roof.
“What we’re trying to do is make music that will last – and sound great in 10 years,” offers Jon. “And I think it is important to a certain degree to present a place of escape for people, people to clock off and tap into something else for a bit and, you know, get rid of some baggage.” In a world that feels like it’s going to hell in a hand-cart, there are worse ambitions than to bring some joy into the lives of people, even if only for a few hours in a concert hall (or five minutes on a dancefloor).
Photo credit: Wilm Danby
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