Hard Times Furious Dancing

Formed in East London in 2011, Snapped Ankles honed their craft at DIY nights and warehouse parties, where they would improvise amid chopped-up 1960s film projections and primitive synth experiments, performing anonymously in shaggy ghillie suits backed with an explosive blend of jagged post-punk and electronic noise, defying convention from the outset. Camouflaged in leaves, antlers, and moss, thrashing on homemade log synths, there has always been a sharp edge beneath the theatrics, grappling with themes of rampant property development and urban gentrification, dressing like woodland spirits and still skewering real-world issues with wit and ire.

Where many bands address environmental anxiety and social unrest, Snapped Ankles stand out by wrapping those messages in mischief and mythology rather than dour sermonising, inviting audiences to dance and chant along while pondering the bands jabs at consumer culture and ecological destruction. They are far more than a novelty act. They’re agitators in disguise, using the absurd to shine a light on the all-too-real.

All of these elements coalesce powerfully on the band’s newest studio album, Hard Times Furious Dancing. The title is a mission statement, and the album channels the turmoil of our present political chaos and economic hardship into a pagan dance party for the end of the world. Guitars take a backseat to buzzing analog synth lines and motorik rhythms, whilst howling about profiteering energy companies and economic injustice, hitting with the direct force of folk slogans or punk chants, delivered over irresistibly pulsating music that transforms anger into sweaty communal joy.

Hard Times Furious Dancing is an invitation to vent our frustrations on the dance floor, and to find hope and release in collective motion. Their concerts feel like immersive rituals with band members leaping into the crowd, homemade instruments, and audiences whipped into a manic, frenzied, ecstatic state.

We caught up with the band to find out more:

Can you tell us about those early days playing in warehouses and how that shaped the band’s identity?

Outside of tired labels like ‘post-punk’ and ‘krautrock’, what are some key influences on your performance style?

Can you talk about the phrase ‘Hard Times Furious Dancing’ and where it came from?

The new album leans more into dance and electronic elements than your previous records. What inspired this move?

What do you hope to achieve at a Snapped Ankles show?

How does it feel to bring the show to such bigger festival crowds after coming up in the underground circuit?

Do you see crowds reacting to the political commentary, or are they mostly there for a mad dance?

What does the songwriting process look like? Do you jam grooves, or start with concepts, or build around sounds from your unusual instruments?

Why is fun such an important ingredient when talking about such serious issues?

What is the ultimate goal of Snapped Ankles?