FFO: ATFK – So Far

North-East accordion and drums duo ATFK (Amy Thatcher and Francesca Knowles) return with So Far, the first glimpse of upcoming album Repeat For Joy. Blending earthy accordion and percussion with layered synths and glistening keys, the track showcases their evolving sound — recorded and produced with Field Music’s David and Peter Brewis. It’s a slow-building, atmospheric piece that nods to their folk roots while embracing electronic textures and live energy.

Here, the band tries to encapsulate the single using three other tracks…

Horizontigo – Lau (from album ‘Arc Light’)

Lau were the rockstars of the folk festival circuit around the time of this album in 2009, when we were both young musicians attending or playing at a lot of them. They experimented with acoustic instruments in a way that we’d never witnessed before and it was fresh, exciting and highly progressive. This track epitomises the way they could deconstruct a tune and build it up using its smallest elements – the process of re-constructing becomes the music itself. It’s all atmosphere, tension and release, and deeply influential to the evolution of contemporary folk, especially for artists – like us – interested in experimental forms.

Cramm – Three Trapped Tigers (from album ‘Route One Or Die’)

Beautifully chaotic in one way, yet perfectly written, this track encompasses a tasteful amount of math rock, to our ears. The wonky groove, the intensity, the all-or-nothing nature of the sound, they somehow manage to achieve a kind of euphoria without diluting the complexity of the music. It inspires high levels of musicianship while still maintaining the fun: you hear the notes, not the ego. Someone once said of our own live show, ‘That’s a lot of music’ – and ‘Cramm’ probably sums up pretty accurately what we’re aiming for; sure, it’s a lot of music, but ultimately it’s about a feeling.

Symptom of Life – WILLOW (from album ‘Empathogen’)

Although this is the most commercial song of the three, it’s considered a wildcard for WILLOW, and this album is pretty left-field for a pop artist – an LP we’d recommend immersing yourself in from start to finish! The verse groove sits comfortably in 7, and the shifting space between the grooves creates a similar opening and closing feeling that we’ve considered in the making of our own album. It lands so well because there’s a perfect balance between musical interest and catchy hooks (that open hi-hat is so satisfying). She shares a similar capacity to us for pulling on many different musical threads and inspirations, avoiding being put into a genre-specific box.