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Brighton-based alt-rockers Bela Fool have recently released their debut EP, Fool Me Once; get to know the hard-hitting trio below:
What are the origins of the band, and how long have you been playing together?
It all started with a kick in the face. Or it might as well have! We all met in a martial arts gym in Brighton, UK, doing mixed martial arts. From training partners, we became friends first and eventually started talking about our musical interests. It still took a while from there, but eventually Jordan (vocals/rhythm guitar) and Sye (lead guitar) played an open mic together. Shortly after, Jonas (bass) joined, and it wasn’t long until BELA FOOL was outlined. That was 2025—the rest is unwritten history.
What should people expect when they check the band out? How would you describe Bela Fool?
They should expect to want to turn the volume way up! There’s a lot to unfold in the songs, and you don’t want to miss anything.
Imagine a grunge-rock base with rawness and energy delivered straight to your face. Then add a bit of punk attitude—something The Clash could look at and say, “Noice.” When it comes to solo time, the guitars scream—sometimes expressive, sometimes fast, like a Gilmouresque Van Halen. Then season all of that with a proper, thick accent. Well, all of that is kind of what BELA FOOL sounds like.
How did you feel performing your first gig as a band, and how was it?
It was great! It’s funny because our first gig as a full band was basically an open mic with a backline, just to see what we needed to work on for a proper live performance.
Then Jordan shows up wearing welder’s glasses and a feather scarf, Sye starts soloing while walking through the crowd, and Jonas starts throwing mad, mesmerizing looks—probably helped by a 38-degree fever! Lots of our friends showed up, but most importantly, all the heads that weren’t ours turned when we started playing and started moving, too. It was a great night and made us realize something magical was there.
What are you working on at the minute that people can check out?
Our debut EP, Fool Me Once, came out on October 2nd, with the lead single “Up To Me” the week before. Check our YouTube channel for a couple of live videos—they’re really early recordings, but they’ll warm you right up for the EP.
Also, we’re going on tour! Check out our socials if you live near Brighton, London, Bristol, Hastings, Kent, Cork, or Dublin. And stay tuned if you’re up north—the second leg will happen in the first half of next year.
Regarding a similar audience, which band at the minute do you feel you would be best suited to open for?
So many bands we wish we could open for! Of the current touring ones, I think we’d be a great fit and really enjoy opening for IDLES, Snuff, Kid Kapichi, Grandma’s House, and Dea Matrona.
Excluding yourself, which new band would you like to see break out and become a success?
Oh, so many bands to put ourselves out of business! On the heavier side, we really like Until9, Pryma, and Molly Karloff — they’re all moving forward with their careers, but they’re great people and deserve a main stage at Download.
There’s also Sunlifter and SNM from Brighton, who definitely deserve a big shot. Big up to the guys in Juramento in London as well, Skullmaiden and Frank in Southampton, and CHUB from Eastbourne. I’m pretty sure the more we carry on playing and meeting people, the longer this list will grow!
What frustrates you about the music business?
Social media. Pretending to have a life that you don’t have so that people who can’t have that life can live it through you. It’s so far-fetched, it’s so fake.
We’re not the kind of people who go to a landmark, spend an hour having photos taken in staged poses, and then leave without even looking at the landmark while pretending we had a great time. And we don’t care to pretend a half-empty gig was a sold-out Madison Square Garden just because we always need to appear “on the up” or lose aura.
We’re actually the exact opposite: live the moment first, and then think about displaying it later—maybe. Unfortunately, that doesn’t work well with the current industry. Sometimes we don’t even remember the camera during the best moments. In an environment that cares about follower counts and likes before checking if the music is actually good, social media is definitely the most annoying part.
What are your first musical memories? And what lightbulb moment made you say, “I want to do that”?
We all have different first memories and lightbulb moments. Personally, I had a Police greatest hits CD when I was a kid and loved pretending to perform it in my bedroom—I must have done that a thousand times!
Somehow over time, I decided I wanted to be an acrobatic stunt pilot. About halfway through an aeronautical-focused high school, I found out I’d have to cut my hair short to join the Air Force, and that was an absolute dealbreaker! Music was the natural consequence.
Now I’ll let you guess who’s talking—just look at the band photo!
What was the last gig that you attended as a fan?
Rancore, live in Rome in May 2026. I don’t expect many people outside Italy to know about Italian hip-hop, but the lyrical content this guy pulls off is on a whole other level. Some songs are entire short stories or full-length poems rich in meaning, packed into just a few minutes of music. Grab Google Translate and go listen now!
What current social issues are you particularly passionate about?
Again, this is a personal matter, so I can’t speak on behalf of the whole band. But I’m growing more and more frustrated at the worldwide lack of care from the political class to listen and attend to the populations they’re supposed to represent.
Buying a house for someone my age feels impossible, whether you’re in Italy, the UK, or the US. Prices keep rising while salaries don’t match, and becoming increasingly miserable is becoming socially accepted—enough to turn into a new standard. A minimum-wage, 40-hour-a-week job barely pays rent and bills, and that’s it. A cappuccino in Brighton costs 30 minutes of work. Offering dinner to your date costs a day’s work if you’re lucky. A bottled drink is suddenly 400ml instead of 500ml, and next month it costs 40p more.
All of this while the wife of an ex-Prime Minister evades tens of millions with no repercussions, Reform accepts millions in donations, and Starbucks pays virtually no tax. But the reason there’s no affordable housing or aid for veterans is, according to politicians, the immigrants—because they’re easy to spot on the street. That’s why getting out of the EU was such a “clever” choice, and it definitely didn’t cause an economic crisis that made the UK weaker and less relevant! And people do nothing about it, except maybe complain.
And then there’s the issue of British police arresting harmless protesters for holding signs speaking out against the genocide in Palestine, while protecting illegal sales of occupied land happening on British soil. But hey, maybe everything is fine, and I’m just ranting…
What is an album in your collection or Spotify playlist that would surprise most people?
Metal Machine Music by Lou Reed. The chaos is somewhat soothing! But I also love to challenge people and see how long they can endure listening to it before going crazy.
Everybody is a fan of something. Who or what are you a fan of?
We all like good music—whether it’s rock, metal, or rap, as long as it’s good. Martial arts, a nice meal out with the people we love, a good laugh, and messing around. We love seeing new places and being outdoors when it’s warm and sunny. And, of course, we’re massive fans of a nice, cold, sweaty pint!
What new music have you enjoyed so far this year?
Tricky question! Kid you not, but since doing music full-time, I don’t listen to a lot of music just for fun anymore. I find myself obsessing over the modes they use or the production techniques rather than just enjoying what I’m listening to. In my free moments, silence is nice!
The last artist I discovered (so I guess it’s new to me) is Luke Combs. I gotta say, I really like him! A perfect meeting point of rock and pop—it’s great music to open a can of beer to.
Connect with Bela Fool HERE
