Can a busy family life work as a catalyst for creativity? The life at home with kids, meals to prepare and laundry to fold is mostly considered to be more of an output-killer. Well, in Greg Foat‘s case it’s not.
»My partner, Marina, and I have been together six years now and we have a three-and-a-half-year-old«, he says. »I’ve been more creative in this time than I have in my entire life. That’s reflected in my output, and my music.«
The pianist, composer, and producer has travelled the world as a musician, but admitted he became »so sick of it« and is »happy to be in a stable home environment for once in my life«. Despite dealing with the inevitable tiredness of looking after a young child, the new album »The Glass Frog« reflects how his settled family life has helped him for the first time to feel »really satisfied« with his music.
The Glass Frog
This is a significant considering how Foat approaches his music, with his sound hard to pin down into just one genre. »Who decides what the genre is?«, he replies candidly about his music. Growing up on the Isle of Wight on the English south coast, he started out in music sitting in with bands playing jazz standards.
He then developed a deep love for all kinds of music, including Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Bob Dylan, as well as Santana’s »Abraxas« and Jimi Hendrix’s »Electric Ladyland«, but he admired pianist Gordon Beck the most.
Foat may be a part of the UK jazz scene, but these early influences come across in the foundations Foat has built in all his music – he creates deep, lush, and expansive textures with whatever he releases.
»You can’t be an egomaniac. Once you open yourself up, so much more beautiful things happen musically.«
Greg Foat
»I’m not doing anything groundbreaking, but you cannot be impervious to new sounds«, he says. This attitude of constantly learning from new music has helped Foat to become one of the most prolific artists of recent times.
Initially though, he started out as a DJ and session player at the end of the 90s as he recorded for Universal Music in Sweden, played with Transvision Vamp’s Wendy James in New York, and DJ’ed in Paris and London.
But after doing this for the best part of a decade, he wanted to release his own album and eventually got his breakthrough with Jazzman Records – a place Foat used to work at – who put out his debut album »Dark Is The Sun« in 2011.
From sci-fi grooves to skiing holiday concept albums
Since then, he has released dozens of albums with those fingerprints of lush and expansive textures appearing in many different contexts. He goes for sci-fi grooves on his »Interstellar Fantasy« album with Kokoroko drummer Ayo Salawu, jazz-funk on »The Dreaming Jewels«, or exploring futuristic analogue cosmic synths on 2019’s »Photosynthesis«.
He collaborates with some underground music greats, such as ambient maestro Gigi Masin on »Dolphin« and »The Fish Factory Sessions« or with British saxophonist Art Themen on the skiing holiday concept album »Off-Piste«. He even released five albums with Warren Hampshire, a fellow Isle of Wight native who played with The Bees.
»If you think you’ve got it, always be striving to better yourself.«
Greg Foat
Collaboration is necessary for Foat to evolve with his music: »You can’t be an egomaniac. Once you open yourself up, more beautiful things happen musically. It’s greater than the sum of your parts.« He takes this a step further on new album The Glass Frog: »It’s a 10-piece band and such a full sound«, says Foat.
The new record combines spiritual jazz and new age ambient, with flavours of afrobeat and classical dripped in. He creates lunar moods on »Sea of Tranquility«, with the title track using Latin rhythms to transport you to a rainforest.
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Greg Foat & Ayo Salawu
Interstellar Fantasy
Greg Foat & Eero Koivistoinen
Feathers
Greg Foat & Gigi Masin
Dolphin
»Clusters« is a »nice tribute« to his idol Gordon Beck and paying homage to the family he has built with his partner Marina, »My Love Has Green Eyes« is a soft, purring song that uses the full weight of the Rhodes with a goosebump-inducing saxophone.
Even though he feels »really satisfied« with his new album, he’s already moving onto the next project as whilst we chat, he’s on his way to meet soul artist Eddie Chacon to discuss potential work together. »I don’t like to rest on my laurels«, Foat says. »You can’t get too complacent as a musician. If you think you’ve got it, always be striving to better yourself.«
