Foals’ Yannis Philippakis has praised Kanye West for "taking risks" in the "stale and boring" music industry.
The ‘My Number’ vocalist thinks the world needs more artists like Kanye because musicians today are too focused on being "careerists" to make "bold" art.
He told NME magazine: "I like Kanye. From what I’ve heard of [his new album ‘The Life Of Pablo’], I really like it. I like Kanye’s presence in the world as much as any of the music. I think things have got so stale, so boring and polished, so careerist and pastiche that he’s one of the few people out there actually taking risks and making big, bold decisions. "Stuff has just gotten boring in music and I think that anyone who is the antithesis of that should be applauded. Whether he is a provocateur or not, I think there should be more of that. Stuff just needs to get heated up a bit."
The 29-year-old rocker’s comments come after the ‘All Day’ rapper’s recent controversial Twitter rants which have seen him diss Taylor Swift and most recently music producer Bob Ezrin.
Meanwhile, Foals – who were nominated for Best British Group the BRIT Awards – have called for a "resurgence of progressive guitar music" because there’s not enough "wild and unpredictable" bands out there.
Speaking at the BRITs, Yannis told DIY magazine: "It definitely feels like there’s been a bit of a brain drain … I think it’s time for a resurgence of progressive guitar music, because it doesn’t feel like it’s fresh. I feel like there’s a lot of dressing up in parents’ clothes and acting out relatively pastiche tropes that have happened before. I’d like to see a return of edgy, unpredictable, wild, passionate guitar music."
Yannis Philippakis: We need more artists like Kanye West
