Features

Stone Cold Fox: On Repeat

The Band Shares Ten Tracks That Have Influenced Them

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Stone Cold Fox. Remember that name– you’ll be hearing it often. The Brooklyn based foursome recently released their new EP, Tunnel Vision, a jangling, jittery, infectious mixture of rock and distorted dance synths that’s garnering the band comparisons to big-time rock outfits like the Strokes and Phoenix. The band– comprised of Kevin (vocals/guitar), Graham (synths/guitar), Justin (synths/bass) and drummer, Aaron– released their first EP, The Young, in 2012, followed by their full length debut, Memory Palace in 2014, and in between they’ve carved out a place for themselves in the cutthroat NYC scene, opening for bands such as Mikky Ekko, HelloGoodbye and Echosmith.

With Tunnel Vision, the guys set out to take their listeners on an audible journey, and from the first note you feel that rush of movement, rooted in the swirl of influences drawn from all over the musical spectrum. Elmore caught up with Kevin and Aaron, and asked them to help us break down the musical stew by taking us through some tracks that have influenced their lives and musical styling throughout the years.

Let’s find out what ten tracks Stone Cold Fox keeps on repeat…

Foals, “London Thunder” Aaron says… Foals have always been a source of inspiration for me and this song is just so powerful. I love the classic Rhodes intro and how it transcends into a pulsing, electro-infused triumph!

Arcade Fire, “Neighborhood #2 (Laika)”Kevin says… I remember listening to this when I was in middle school. My brother picked me up from soccer practice and was blasting Funeral. It sparked this urgency and emotion that I didn’t know could co-exsist in such an honest way (I had been listening to Slipknot for all of 7th grade mind you), I remember him smiling like “see, this is pretty good right?” and then “Wake Up” came on, and I just lost my shit!

Radiohead, “I Might Be Wrong”Kevin says… And then my brother showed me Radiohead. He burned five CDs and gave them to me to listen on repeat. Amnesiac really altered my life musically, It made me realize how you can have so many interconnecting lines working together to just flow through a song.

TV On The Radio, “Quartz”Aaron says… This song flipped everything on its head for me musically. I love the cadence of this track and how effective the layering is.

The National, “Bloodbuzz Ohio”Kevin says… This song just hits in you in the gut when the vocals come in. It’s such a great example of how much impact just stating the words can have. He does such a great job at containment. He presents the emotion with the melody line and almost speaks it out, which I love because it gives the listeners the space to jack it up in their car and sing as loud as you can.

The Walkmen, “The Rat”Kevin says… I stumbled into the Walkmen while thinking of band names, I was pissed off they already took the Walkmen, so I figured I’d at least check out the bastards. And then to my surprise they became my favorite band. This song is just pure emotional heartbreak and so real and heavy, it blew me away.

Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac, “Black Magic Woman” (The Original)Kevin says… One of the first songs my dad ever showed me, Peter Green’s guitar playing was what inspired me to be a guitarist and still does everyday, I stand by that this is still the best version of “Black Magic Woman.”

Richie Havens: “Freedom”Kevin says… I saw this for the first time watching The Woodstock Documentary. It changed everything I thought about rhythm guitar, and taught me how to play with your gut and sing from your soul. As cheesy as that sounds, it’s just true. Every time I listen to this song it gives me chills. I’ve based a lot of my guitar style from him as well and he’s been a huge inspiration.

St. Vincent: “The Strangers”Kevin says… Annie Clark has been a huge influence for me as a songwriter. When I first listened to this song I was so enamored, because it felt like it had no boundaries and just kept building lines upon lines and then scrap what’s behind it to come back to it again. It made me feel like you really could go anywhere with a song that you wanted to, something I don’t remind myself of enough.

James Blake: “Retrograde”Aaron says… James Blake has a way of cutting straight to my heart, and this song came out at a time when life was low for me. It was fitting, because everything was in weird motion at the time and this seemed to keep me grounded.

 

Stream Stone Cold Fox’s Tunnel Vision below, and buy yourself a copy here.

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