Family Fodder sounds like a secret transmission from a 1980s London art squat that somehow intercepted a Caribbean radio signal. It is music that feels handmade and lived-in, characterized by warm analog synths, jagged guitar scratches, and deep, cavernous dub echoes that pull the rhythm section into unexpected dimensions. The vocals, often shared between Alig Fodder and Dominique Levillain, drift between English and French with a deadpan, almost conversational cool that never feels like it is trying too hard.
What truly sets them apart is their fearless sense of play. They treat the recording studio as a laboratory, mixing nursery-rhyme simplicity with sophisticated avant-garde textures. One moment you are listening to a catchy, new wave pop hook, and the next, the track dissolves into a psychedelic soundscape of tape loops and found percussion. It is art-rock that refuses to be pretentious, opting instead for a whimsical, slightly chaotic charm that rewards repeat listens.
If you are new to their world, start with the album Monkey Banana Kitchen. It captures the band at their most inventive peak, blending their post-punk energy with the dub-heavy experimentation that became their signature. It is the perfect entry point for anyone who loves the DIY spirit of the early 80s but wants something with a bit more color and groove than the typical gloom of the era.
Family Fodder is an English post-punk group revolving around songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer/producer, and guitarist/keyboard player Alig Fodder. Formed in London in the 1970s, it has had a sporadic existence ever since, disbanding in the 1980s then reforming. NME described their song "Dinosaur Sex" as a "forgotten post-punk classic". The first Family Fodder single, "Playing Golf (With My Flesh Crawling)", a joint release between Parole Records and Fresh Records, was released in 1979. In the same year a 12" single was released on Small Wonder Records by the same musicians as Frank Sumatra And The Mob. A series of Family Fodder singles and 12" EPs followed on Fresh together with the album Monkey Banana Kitchen, often featuring French singer Dominique Levillain. The best-known singles were the indie chart entries "Debbie Harry", "Savoir Faire" and "Film Music". Also released were the mini-albums Sunday Girls and Schizophrenia Party on Fresh, and later the All Styles double-LP on Jungle Records, which Trouser Press hailed as "consistently enjoyable and infused with invention, cleverness, talent and a totally open outlook" Alig Fodder continued to record and perform as Family Fodder over the years with evolving line-ups as well as under various alter-egos such as DJ Katface, Johnny Human, Vox Humana and The Lo Yo Yo. Following the release of compilation Savoir Faire: The Best Of on US label Dark Beloved Cloud, in 2000 an early Family Fodder line-up including Levillain reformed to record the album Water Shed for that label. Allmusic called it "one of the better reunion albums of the post-punk generation." In 2010 Family Fodder released Classical Music, featuring the singing of Darlini, daughter of original vocalist Dominique Levillain. It was followed in 2013 by Variety. In 2014 German label Staubgold started a series of vinyl and CD reissues, the first being Family Fodder's debut album, 'Monkey Banana Kitchen', followed by 'Schizophrenia Party' and 'Sunday Girls', most featuring bonus tracks. To coincide, original members of the band reformed with a new singer Bee Ororo, and played live dates in Germany, France and Switzerland. In 2016 an EP titled 'Sex Works' was announced by Jungle Records, followed by a 'lost' album, 'Foreverandever'. In 2018 a brand new album 'Easy Listening (Not)' with new singer Mae Karthauser was issued on CD on Furniture Records. In 2020 the 'Savoir Faire - the best of' album, first issued in the USA by Dark Beloved Cloud in 1998, was reissued as a revamped and remastered vinyl 'Director's Cut' LP for Record Store Day. Family Fodder songs have been covered by Zion Train, Unrest, and YACHT, amongst others. Family Fodder appeared with Kommissar Hjuler on several projects for the series FLUXUS +/-, on the German label Psych.KG. He has also collaborated with Psapp, and the artist David Shrigley alongside David Byrne, Hot Chip, Franz Ferdinand and others on Shrigley's album 'Worried Noodles'
Shares post-punk, art rock, new wave (subgenres); basement show, urban night, rainy day (atmosphere)
Shares post-punk, art rock, dub (subgenres); lo fi, noise textured, analog warmth (production style)
Shares playful, rebellious, mysterious (moods); post-punk, art rock, new wave (subgenres)
Shares post-punk, art rock, new wave (subgenres); lo fi, bedroom production, analog warmth (production style)
Shares lo fi, bedroom production, noise textured (production style); playful, wistful, rebellious (moods)
Shares post-punk, new wave, art rock (subgenres); lo fi, noise textured, analog warmth (production style)
Shares playful, mysterious, wistful (moods); urban night, basement show, library (atmosphere)
Shares lo fi, bedroom production, noise textured (production style); deadpan, breathy, harmonized (vocal style)
Shares androgynous, new wave, post-punk, art rock (vocal style)
Cassette uses generative AI to enrich its catalog. How we use AI →