Spotlight: The Foliants

Edward Burnett talks to Oxfordshire based indie-rock four piece band The Foliants about their backstory and what's coming up next.


RnRR: So, Foliants, why don’t you introduce the band to our readers and who each member is and what they play?

FOLIANTS: Hi we’re The Foliants, a four piece indie rock band from wantage Oxfordshire. We have Josh Legge on the drums, Aidan langrish on the bass, Ben Ireson plays lead guitar and Nick Wiltshire who is lead vocals and rhythm guitarist.

RnRR: Nice to meet you all, first of all, what’s behind the name? Any reason for “Foliants”?

FOLIANTS: The name has allot of meaning. Foliant drive in wantage was where Nick got his first guitar from. The man he bought it from  got loads of these cheap guitars thinking they would go up In value (they didn’t) and it all started from there.

RnRR: Ah, an interesting back story then! So now to the obvious question, what inspired you to try and make it as a band? Inspirations?

FOLIANTS: Inspiration occurs all the time. We love our fans and the support they show inspires us to keep working harder. To see them enjoy listening to songs we have made, there is no better feeling. Bens massively inspired by artist such as  Jack White, George Harrison, Clapton and Nicks takes huge inspiration from Catfish and the Bottlemen, The Vaccines and The Smiths. But we all are inspired by energy and love for live performances.

RnRR: So would you say the band as a whole prefers to perform live rather than record/practice in the studio?

FOLIANTS: 100% don’t get me wrong we love the studio and practice but none of thats worth it if you don’t love playing live and love creating a memorable night for people who come to watch you.

RnRR: Exactly, that’s the true spirit of being in a band. So, as a band, what was you favourite live performance you’ve done, and why?

FOLIANTS: Headlining the Bullingdon was special but I think our first ever time play the Oxford O2 Academy was amazing the crowd were eclectic and we really started to find our style and stage presence.

RnRR: Of course, the Oxford O2 is a great venue. So where’s next for the band? Any particular aims you guys would like to achieve by the end of 2019?

FOLIANTS: Aims are to just keep gigging and having fun. We would love to be voted on the to play truck festival this year with it being a local festival for us and we been going for years and always been a dream to play.

RnRR: Sensible aims and a good plan, indeed. One final question- what is your favourite song that you’ve written, lyrically and which is your favourite to perform live?

FOLIANTS: Both Nick and Ben write music for the group, Nicks favourite has to be "Made For You" This is a special song for Nick as lyrically it means alot to him and people could listen and interpret the lyrics to relate to them. Bens favourite is "Unpredictable" this is because it talks about relationships that might not work and people could relate to the lyrics. Our best live song though would have to be “We'll Wait”, the crowd goes electric when we play that and they sing along!

RnRR: Relatability is always good for a hit. We’ll Wait is a very interesting song with a long guitar solo for its intro, for readers new to Foliants. It could be said to have a very strong Nirvana vibe with the guitar distortion, would you agree?

FOLIANTS: That’s the first time we have heard that. We write our music with no influence or real goal, they all come from us playing together and seeing what works and what we like the sound of. But Nirvana were awesome and to be compared to them is a real honour.

RnRR: Best to go about music your own way. Well thanks guys for taking time to talk to the page, all the best for the future. We’ll be sure to update the page with any key news.

You can find out more about The Foliants via their social media outlets: The Foliants (Facebook) @thefoliants (Twitter) and @thefoliantsband (Instagram)