Faris Badwan is lead singer of the Horrors and one half of pop duo Cat’s Eyes, alongside Canadian soprano and composer Rachel Zeffira. Badwan grew up in Warwickshire before moving to London to study illustration at Central Saint Martins. The Horrors have released four studio albums between 2007 and 2014, and Cat’s Eyes released their self-titled debut in 2011. Cat’s Eyes provide the soundtrack to Peter Strickland’s new film The Duke of Burgundy, which is released on 20 February. The soundtrack is out on 16 February on RAF/Caroline Records.
Book: The Devil in the Flesh by Raymond Radiguet
I always think it’s amazing when anyone who died very young – Radiguet died at the age of 20 – manages to be brilliant enough to avoid [early death] becoming their defining feature. He only wrote two novels and this reads like someone who is mastering their craft, rather than a kid, which is what he was. It’s about a teenager who falls in love with a woman who is married to a soldier – it’s a similar subject to his other book as well.
Art: Sensitive Worm by Jacob Blandy, Store, London N4
As an artist you get passionate about the way people describe your work, but when it comes to describing other people’s it isn’t that easy, you feel like you’ll probably dumb it down even more than other people do. But I’ll try. This show is a warped world full of bizarre creatures where everything is kind of exaggerated. I suppose it’s sort of semi-autobiographical, but it’s more alien than that. It’s not really cartoon-like, but definitely surreal – a much overused word. Blandy extracts people’s characteristics and turns them into psychedelic drawings.
Website: 419eater.com
You know when you get those emails, often from west Africa, that inform you that you’ve won $10,000,000 from an offshore inheritance, like someone has died in an car crash and left you some money? In Nigeria, a 419 scam is code for fraud and this website is dedicated to baiting the people who send those emails. So they’ll reply to one of these emails in character, like: “Oh hello Stephen, very nice to hear from you, and great news about the money.” It’s very funny. The best examples for this are when they manage to get the original scammer to send them things. For example they’ll say: “I’ll give you the bank account details, but first I need something from you to prove this is real. I need you to make me a wood carving of Wallace & Gromit.” And what’s unbelievable, on this website, is that people actually do it and they get all this insane stuff sent back to them from undisclosed locations. I waste a lot of time on it.
Shop: Penhaligon’s
This is a perfume shop in Covent Garden known as the Queen’s perfumer. She’s supposedly used the same fragrance since childhood and its identity is a closely guarded secret. I went with my girlfriend Rachel [Zeffira, the other half of Cat’s Eyes] and we were told by the manager that they weren’t under any circumstances allowed to reveal the details of which perfume. And then Rachel, who has a gift for mindreading, guessed the correct one on her first attempt. The manager’s face just sort of dropped. What does the Queen’s perfume smell like? We can go for floral, that probably covers about half of the perfumes in there. Floral and fresh.
Fashion: Breaks London
This is a clothing company I like: this Japanese guy Ryo [Yamazaki] started it not long ago. They make really good leather jackets and I wear them when I’m performing and when I’m not. With most labels there’s probably one or two things you’ll like, but with Breaks a lot of it’s really good. He uses a lot of leather, which is good for me because I like leather in all its forms. And zips as well. Nothing wrong with a good zip.
Music: Sophie
For people who are aware of the kind of music I make, this is probably the exact polar opposite. Sophie makes electronic dance music that sounds completely deranged and a bit like a child’s nightmare. It drives people insane. I appreciate it’s extremely divisive, and I think there’s value to be found in everything that polarises opinion. Basically, if you put it on it will catch the attention of the entire room: many people will be trying to pour water over the laptop and some will be sat in a state of bliss. He’s allegedly a transsexual from Scotland, but no one knows his true identity.
