Introduction

I am Konno, a member of the management team at OKUDAYA CONNECT.
Last time, as the fifth music album I was obsessed with back then, I mentioned “Hi-Fi Shinsho” (Sotaisei Riron).

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This time, I would like to introduce the album that I was most intensely hooked on.

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Come to think of it, back then…

Recently, by some chance, I had the opportunity to watch live performance videos from my student days. I was watching them while thinking things like “I was thinner compared to now…” but as I watched a few videos of when I was in a cover band, I noticed a difference in the level of enthusiasm…

Among the cover bands captured on video, the one where I was rocking out the hardest was “Foals”.

Those were… fun times… (says the old man)

It seems they are still active even now, but when I first heard them, they had only released their debut album.

I didn’t… go to a CD rental shop; if I recall correctly, I have a memory of getting someone to 〇〇〇〇 a CD for me.

I got ridiculously hooked on this.

Album Name:Antidotes
Artist Name:Foals

Even though they are a rock band and not dance music, you can groove to it. You can dance to it. It has a completely different feel from the kind of “danceable” music you hear in clubs, but it has a groove that just makes your body move naturally.

Also, when you just listen to the performance phrases (strictly talking about the bass here), they repeat rather simple phrases monotonously while layering them with other parts…
I remember thinking, “It’s so amazing even though they are just playing this phrase!”

…You might not really understand what I am saying, but if you listen to the first track, “The French Open”, you might kind of get the idea…?

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This album was apparently released in 2008, and it feels like this kind of band was quite popular in the UK rock scene back then. (Like Arctic Monkeys, Bloc Party, and Klaxons, whose album I introduced in the past.)

This is a memorable album because Foals’ ‘Antidotes’ really broadened my musical horizons in various ways.
(* I haven’t really listened to their second album or anything after that, though…)

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It might not have been all that popular in Japan, but if you’re interested, definitely give it a listen.

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Contribution Date September 2026
Written by
Okudaya Giken
Development Strategy Department
Daiki Konno