Foals guitarist Jimmy Smith has confirmed that he’s working on a solo album based on “a Russian cosmonaut lost in space”.

This month saw the band release their acclaimed fifth album ‘Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost: Part 1‘. In the run up to the album, frontman Yannis Philippakis was working on an upcoming EP with renowned Fela Kuti drummer Tony Allen, and it seems that Smith has his own project in the works too.

Speaking to NME as part of Foals’ recent Big Read cover feature, Smith said that his own music was inspired by the Russian space race.


“I like the imagery of the Soviet space race,” Smith told NME. “Something that really stuck with me is that during the space race in America, lots of monitoring stations picked up distress calls from Russian cosmonauts lost in space. They were just pleading in Russian, and that was the last anyone heard of them before they just disappeared out of the orbit. What must those people have felt like to not only be abandoned by your country, but the whole fucking planet?”

He added: “Imagine feeling something so horrible all whilst looking at something so beautiful.”

Foals will take their new album on the road later this year. Their upcoming UK and Ireland tour dates are below.

MAY

23 – Leeds, O2 Academy


JUNE

11 – Manchester, O2 Victoria Warehouse (SOLD OUT)

12 – Manchester, O2 Victoria Warehouse (SOLD OUT)

14 – Tunbridge Wells, Bedgebury Pinetum

15 – Birmingham, Digbeth Arena (SOLD OUT)

16 – Birmingham, Digbeth Arena

18 – Glasgow, SWG3 Yard (SOLD OUT)

20 – Thetford, Thetford Forest

21 – London, Alexandra Palace (SOLD OUT)

22 – London, Alexandra Palace (SOLD OUT)

26 – Bournemouth, International Centre

27 – Kingston, Pryz