Foals are an English indie rock band from Oxford. They are currently signed to Transgressive Records Sub Pop in the US. They released their debut album Antidotes on 24 March 2008 in the UK, and 8 April 2008 in the US. The band's second album, Total Life Forever, was released on the 10 May 2010 and was nominated for the 2010 Mercury Prize. in the UK and
Spanish Sahara is the first song released from Foals' second album Total Life Forever. Although not an official single, it was the first song to be released from this album. It was premiered on 1 March 2010, on BBC's Radio 1. Later that night, a music video for the single was put up on the Foals' website. On 6 March, when the Total Life Forever site went up, Foals premiered instrument samplings of the tracks that would be on Total Life Forever in the track listing order. The fifth sample was a synthesizer sample of "Spanish Sahara".
The single was released on 17 April only as a 7", to celebrate Record Store Day. Only 1000 copies were printed and sold through independent record stores. The remix of the song by Mount Kimbie was later available as a free MP3 given to members of the Foals website.
"Spanish Sahara" peaked at number 148 on the UK Singles Chart. The song was number one in the NME top 50 songs of the year 2010. In February 2011 it won the award for 'Best Song' at the NME Awards. On 26 January 2011 the song was voted Number 98 on the Triple J Hottest 100, 2010.
Philippakis once stated that it was probably the first song to be completed of the album and that it has no reference to the real Spanish Sahara.
The song was used in a promotional trailer for Season 7 of the HBO TV show Entourage and in a Series 2 episode of Misfits.
