Hello everyone it’s your host Daniel from Dulaxi, and today I have with me the exceptional collaboration project, Night Wolf & The Fods from England, Bedford. And Night Wolf & The Fods are here to discuss their recent sovereign single “Kickback” which was released on April 26th, 2026. So, welcome, Night Wolf & The Fods!. But before we begin our interview, to our audience; here is what you need to know about this artist.
Night Wolf is a UK producer, sound designer and engineer whose work has earned screen credits across Netflix, Channel 4, Sky, MLB and NFL, alongside catalogue releases through labels such as Flipper Music, Deneb Records and Barry Music. Hailing from Luton, Night Wolf has been publishing music since 2018 and is widely recognised for blending Trip Hop, Hip Hop, Dark Ambient, Classical/Cinematic, Pop and Minimalist influences into immersive sonic experiences. As the founder of EscaVolt Records and No Paw Audio, Night Wolf continues to push creative boundaries through collaborations, film scores, sound design and experimental production. His music has appeared across numerous global productions, while his passion for authenticity and innovation has positioned him as a forward-thinking creative voice within modern independent music.
The Fods are a transatlantic writing and recording partnership built around a rotating cast of long-time co-writers and collaborators. Rooted in indie punk and driven by guitars, the group crafts eclectic, high-energy songs that cross genres while maintaining strong melodies, memorable hooks and expressive vocal performances. Their sessions unite writers, performers and technicians from around the world, giving each release its own distinctive character and emotional identity. The members of The Fods include Neil “Birch” Birchall on vocals, Alan Winn on backing vocals, Chris “EZ” Ranson on guitar, Paul “Ol” Collins on multi-instrumentation, and Rob Critchley as lyricist and writer. Their latest single, “Kickback,” is an official remake of a previous The Fods track, completely rebuilt from the ground up by producer Night Wolf. Retaining only the original vocal sections, the song introduces an entirely fresh atmosphere inspired by chilled Sunday energy, laid-back grooves and Trip Hop textures. Elevated by marimba, lush strings and indie-pop sensibilities, the track delivers a hopeful and uplifting lyrical core while marking a clear departure from Night Wolf’s darker sonic palette. “Kickback” also stands as the first official collaboration between Night Wolf and The Fods after initially connecting through XRP Radio, with the chemistry between both acts opening the door for future collaborative works.
Having this brief Introduction about Night Wolf & The Fods, I’m sure new and current fans must be excited about our Interview today.
INTERVIEW SESSION
Daniel: From your perspective as The Fods, how did it feel handing over a previously existing track to Night Wolf for a full rebuild while still keeping only the original vocal sections intact?
The Fods: It was a leap into the unknown – in a good way – we didn’t provide any direction to NW about what we wanted out of it – it was just the donation of the original track and then a whole load of intrigue and anticipation as to what would come out of it, we didn’t dictate which bits stayed or went, we just wanted to judge the result entirely on NW’s own efforts!
Daniel: Night Wolf, what was your first instinct when you received the original project files from The Fods, and what direction immediately stood out to you for the remake approach?
Night Wolf: The backing vocals really stood out to me and was the first element I worked with looping a section and processing, I then built the track around that and the main vocal shortly after. It gave me a sense of calm and made me visualise being in a desert or long highway with no one around, rolling up to a small shack and sitting on the porch. I really just enjoy making music with how I feel at the time rather than planning what I am doing, just see what comes out, so the vocals in the original Kickback song were certainly what made this song what it is. I wanted to add a little punch to the drums so although they are minimal they stick out.
Daniel: The Fods, what does “Kickback” represent for you as a band in terms of your evolution in sound and collaboration with external producers?
The Fods: It’s the first thing we’ve submitted for remixing, so it’s definitely a new type of collaboration for us, but in one sense the easiest one because we just delivered the stems and sat and waited. The rework was NW’s own vision for the track without any demands from us
Daniel: Night Wolf, what was the core emotional or sonic direction you aimed to establish while rebuilding “Kickback” into a chilled, Sunday-inspired, trip-hop influenced piece?
Night Wolf: It was really just how the vocals made me feel, I just followed the flow, I think Hanz Zimmer said before “music is a question and answer” , this was simply an answer to the lyrics and melody of the backing vocal. I knew pretty quickly where I wanted to go with it once I had the section I liked. I am a very visual person I guess and I enjoy to try to bring to life what I am seeing in my head but in music. This was a fun project to work on.
Daniel: The Fods, are there specific lyrical lines or vocal moments in “Kickback” that you feel carry the strongest emotional weight in this new version?
The Fods: (Rob) Having written these lyrics in the early 90’s, then pretty much forgotten about them until the early 20’s when we thought about revisiting that musical time, I was pleased how well they have stood up to the test of time. I do think the first verse is pretty powerful, and it certainly sets a scene and paints a mental picture for people, which ever way they want to see it.
Daniel: Night Wolf, which production element in “Kickback” (marimba, strings, or overall arrangement) do you feel most defines the identity of your reinterpretation?
Night Wolf: I think we gotta say the marimba haha, no its the vocals for sure for me, I love working with orchestral elements and believe the cello work is really good on this track and brings me back to like some classic british pop bands in the early 2000s, It is a rougher alt pop take with trip hop elements. It was meant to be a bit more uplifting and relaxed compared to my doom and dread approach to most songs.
Daniel: The Fods, how did it feel hearing your original vocal work placed within a completely new instrumental world shaped by Night Wolf’s production style?
The Fods: I got to learn what a marimba sounds like 🙂 I also found it fascinating from a musical point of view how we originally wrote one bassline or chord sequence, and to hear the vocal melody over an entirely different bassline, and different instrumentation – it’s like “how on Earth have you done that?!?” – it’s a skill we don’t have “in-house” – to be able to produce these new sounds, so there’s a degree of just simply being impressed by someone else’s sound palette really.
Daniel: Night Wolf, how did you approach preserving the emotional intent of the original vocals while shifting the entire sonic landscape around them?
Night Wolf: Honestly I did not have to do too much , I basically looped a section of the backing vocals and processed then moved straight onto using a cello, then added in the vocals and cut out 4 bars in between each section of the original track, lined it up and processed and then I built everything else that stands now. Some projects just flow easily and this is yet again another that did. The original vocals are great as they are. I just blended them into my world a little.
Daniel: The Fods, what role did collaboration and external interpretation play in reshaping your understanding of how your music can exist in different genres?
The Fods: Well I definitely never thought we’d get Alt-Pop or Trip-Hop on our CV, and now we also know we probably wouldn’t have the skills or sounds available to us to be able to hit those genres ourselves – that’s part of what I like about how it’s turned out – it’s gone somewhere we could never take it ourselves.
Daniel: Night Wolf, how did working with indie-punk-rooted material from The Fods challenge or expand your usual production instincts, especially given your darker tonal background?
Night Wolf: I am always down to collaborate with different genres and styles of music and I really enjoy pushing myself into not being comfortable and staying in the same lane too long. I really enjoy trying new things and seeing what happens and I had no idea what I would do with it until I sat and listened to the vocals. I do make some not so dark stuff as well, and this is a little reminder that not everything is all doom and gloom with me! But mostly… 😉
Daniel: The Fods, can you describe the creative chemistry or communication process between you and Night Wolf during the rebuilding of “Kickback”?
The Fods: Pre remix it was a case of “There you go mate, good luck”, and that was it. The most part of our communication and chemistry is happening on the promotional effort really, and we’re working really well together on that.
Daniel: Night Wolf, what structural decisions did you make early in the production that defined the “laid-back but with kick” identity of the track?
Night Wolf: I heard the original track and was like , right, throw all that away and start again.. No, I just knew that I wanted to make a new take on the original and not just flip some stems so I just knew it was right to keep the structure of the fantastic vocal work on that song somewhat intact. I knew it did not need to be over complicated or dramatic for the sake of it, I just felt it needed to breathe with the vocals and allow you to soak in the vocals and atmosphere. The vocals really lead the way for the vibe of this song.
Daniel: The Fods, in what ways has this collaboration influenced your broader artistic direction moving forward as a transatlantic writing partnership?
The Fods: Interesting question, I think it has reinforced our respect for the collaborator’s freedom. With our collaborative vocalists, there’s usually a loose guide provided but they have as much artistic license as they want or need. And in the same way here we didn’t want to constrain what NW did at all. So yeah we’ll keep doing that I think, it works for vocals and it works for remixing – just let them do their thing – it will probably be great and probably something we wouldn’t have thought of ourselves.
Daniel: Night Wolf, how does “Kickback” reflect your current evolution as a producer after stepping into more collaborative and label-driven independence with EscaVolt Records?
Night Wolf: I have always enjoyed collaborating with other artists, but there are times where I like to fade into my own world again and just make an album by myself out of old habit. EscaVolt Records is just for that though, it will be a huge push and platform for me to be able to release and promote artists that I work with and move forward into my own way of learning how to promote my music and the works I collaborate on. Everything is going right now and I only have two hands so right now im focusing on catching up on some back office stuff for the label and for my sound effect start up No Paw Audio and also focusing on music videos. But once I am caught up shortly, the music will be back in full swing and collaborations are open again.
Daniel: The Fods, what has been the most surprising audience or fan reaction to hearing your work reimagined in this more cinematic, commercial-ready format?
The Fods: ol – I don’t know actually, I think because the track is so different, there’s a bit of me wondering whether fans of the remix will hate the original and vice versa, we have no idea if we’ll have a cross-over. But then again, I love The Sex Pistols and I also love Portishead so I just can’t call it – it’s really interesting to find out, to be honest.
Daniel: Night Wolf, how has audience feedback influenced your confidence in exploring more melodic, uplifting, and commercially adaptable soundscapes like this one?
Night Wolf: It really never does if i am completely honest, I made this song as I enjoyed to do it and liked how it made me feel, if others like it too, that is just a bonus and very welcome. I am doing what I enjoy in music and I do like some minimal pop and more commercially sounding tracks , I just wanted to go with the flow and this is how it came out with the remake of Kickback. I am always open to making more uplifting or commercially acceptable songs, but I just am mostly in my own world with music production when I am in a creative surge, a lot of my previous works with other artists is them writing to the finished instrumental which is then reworked after vocal again so I do enjoy to be able to create in real time to a vocal track pre done before me working on it and welcome more 🙂
Daniel: The Fods, does “Kickback” signal a shift in how open you are to reworks and reinterpretations of your existing material in future projects?
The Fods: We were open to it, and it’s nice to get one away – and we’re open to more too, but this one has set the bar. We’re not actively thinking of a remixer when we’re writing new material for ourselves, but sometimes we’ve heard stuff in our music that we know might work really well if had a (for example) EDM remix, or something like Chemical Brothers or Prodigy feel to it, just because of the tempo and energy. But we’ve also learned to NOT pre-conceive what a remixer might do!
Daniel: Night Wolf, how do you see this collaboration shaping your future direction with artists who come from different genre backgrounds and creative philosophies?
Night Wolf: I am learning a lot in how to promote and get the music heard in certain areas , I am still a few projects away from what i fully have to offer in terms of pushing the music released recently on EscaVolt Records including the work with The Fods + Lois Powell, so there is much more to come. I am now not only an artist/producer but I am the record label for the artists that I work with on releases too so now have to provide results. I also love seeing my music being used in productions like tv/film etc and am pushing for this to end up in that final destination also. You can lease this song or contact me directly via my website, you can also browse my back catalog here too – www.nightwolfuk.com
I will never stop learning and learning from others, I will also continue to push myself out of my comfort zone.
Daniel: The Fods, what future creative directions or collaborations do you feel this project has unlocked for your band?
The Fods: Well now we have actually got Marimba and trip-hop on our CV, courtesy of NW, it has definitely provided some insight into how far away from the original sound a remix can get, and that’s exciting. And that’s the point, a remix in this sense deliberately makes it different – more of a re-interpretation from the ground up. I think if someone else did a remix of one of our tunes and was just the same sound but the order of verses and choruses changed, then we wouldn’t get too excited by that.
Daniel: Night Wolf, what future collaborations or experimental directions are you most interested in exploring after the success and direction of “Kickback”?
Night Wolf: Working on new music with these guys and with Lois Powell and some old familiar faces from previous collaborations such as Elsadie, I am also now working on the music videos for our releases on EscaVolt Records. I am preparing the first sound packs for launching my sound effect company called No Paw Audio and preparing a series of mini videos to promote my back catalog and start making more of a social media presence. All whilst still pushing hard to get this music placed in synch opportunities in film/tv/game etc.
Having Had A Close Listen To This Reflective And Uplifting Piece Of Art, Here’s My Thought.
“Kickback” by Night Wolf and The Fods feels, from my perspective, like a carefully rebuilt emotional space where nostalgia, calm reflection, and quiet optimism all coexist without forcing attention. As a full remake built from the ground up by Night Wolf, the track transforms into a smooth, trip-hop inspired soundscape shaped by “Sunday energy” and a laid-back emotional tone that feels almost restorative. The vocals carry a gentle sense of resilience and personal reflection, and the lyrics stand out most for their message of perseverance, growth, and self-belief, especially in lines like “fight the world put it to right, till you reach your greatest height,” which, to me, captures the emotional reality of pushing through struggle without losing direction. The song’s deeper meaning revolves around transformation and arriving at clarity after hardship, reinforced by moments like “When u hear what u wanna hear, you’ll hear the sound you hold so dear,” which speaks to emotional alignment and finally feeling at peace with one’s journey. Instrumentally, I find the blend of marimba accents, sweeping strings, deep basslines, and airy synth pads particularly effective in creating a spacious, cinematic atmosphere that never overwhelms the message but instead supports it with subtle elegance. Night Wolf’s production leans into clarity and openness, giving every element room to breathe while maintaining a steady midtempo groove that feels both grounding and weightless. What stands out most is how the track avoids excess emotion or dramatic tension, instead building its impact through restraint, texture, and atmosphere, resulting in a sound that feels both modern and nostalgic. For me, “Kickback” succeeds as a reflective listening experience that gently encourages emotional release, making it the kind of track that settles quietly in the background of thought while still leaving a lasting sense of calm uplift.
~ Daniel (Dulaxi Team).
Finally to our audience, I urge to listen to “Kickback”, add it to your playlist and be inspired by it and on behalf of Dulaxi I like to appreciate you all by saying thank you everyone, See you on our next interview.
Thank you for the interview and check us out on socials and links below, we would really appreciate the support and to find our people out there to follow along the ride. Thank you for listening and reading!
Night Wolf : @NightWolfUK
The Fods : @TheFodsBand
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