A DSharpe Relm
Or something similar. Enjoy pictures from our Not So Silent Night dance party with Gossip and Passion Pit DJing, Mike Relm and DJ DSharpe from last night, and some air sex with chair for good measure.
Personal time in the bathroom with Beth Ditto
French love
Photo by Jenz
Parisians Kap Bambino were kind enough to stop their smokin’ and drinkin’ to have some words with us for the Causerie series. Be on the lookout for the interview next week.
Totally love how everyone re-Tweeted that little gem.
We’ve been slacking in pictures, it’s true, so here are some distractions for your power lunch hour:
– Our Halloween ball with Danger and Veil Veil Vanish here
– Dragonette set + the band dancing around under the disco ball here
– Another photo gallery for the Temper Trap show here from our friends at SF Station
Tonight is gonna be nuts, and details here. See you!
Still cannot believe what an incredible show that was. Some of your lovely faces can be found here, or if you got more to show, email blog.popscene@gmail.com.
So pretty
Spotted: Loquat‘s Kylee Swenson checking out The Temper Trap last night, chilling in the back. We were too scared to say hi.
You know you want some pretty pictures of yourself. Check out our Flickr group here (and add your own too to the pool!), and view our friends at SF Station’s albums from Moneypenny here and Steed Lord here.
La Roux plays Cafe du Nord Sunday, October 18 with DJ Omar
Interview first conducted April 2009 by Jenz; annotated version can be found here
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Brixton darlings La Roux stopped into popscene as apart of a five – yes, five! – date tour in the States last Thursday. Before frontwoman Elly Jackson and co took to the stage to deliver UK singles like “Quicksand” and “In For The Kill” for the audience to dance to, we were able to catch up with the red-headed on in her hotel room in SF for a chat: folk music, Lily Allen, and what the 80s revival even means. Oh, and some swearing too.
How much hair product do you think you use a month to get hair as awesome as yours?
Oh, wow, I don’t know. In a month, usually one can of mousse, intense mousse. You don’t need much wax but there’s that, and also very strong hairspray.
How well do you work with Ben (Langmaid, other half of the duo), and how much do you like working solo?
It’s kind of like Goldfrapp. That’s kind of how it works. We’ve been working together with no one else for four years and we’re usually together, playing and writing.
It doesn’t seem like you have been a band for very long. Is it blinding to see you shortlisted by various outlets without a debut album under your belt yet?
I get that question a lot and I feel bad about saying this, but I don’t think a lot about it at the end of the day. It’s kind of irrelevant if you’re number one in a way, you have to see how the record is received overall. Sometimes the number one albums are rubbish. But sometimes I do get a bit nervous, especially since you’ll be away from home and friends and relationships trying to prove something. But yeah, otherwise it’s great fun.
On your website and MySpace, there is lots of imagery that’s England-oriented. What was it like growing up in Brixton?
Quite normal, really. Brixton has a bad image for a lot of people, like the dodgy area of New York does as well, but I think it’s a nice friendly place. I had a normal childhood.
You’re an electronic powerhouse now, but you used to be more inclined to folk music when you first started out.
It wasn’t like we decided to electronic music out of the blue or anything. It just happened really naturally. My dad taught me guitar from the age of 6 and I was introduced to all music: rock and blues, folk. As a kid I liked Joni Mitchell a lot. I guess it was just kind of natual to write in that style. I wrote songs from the age of 12 and that’s where I pulled inspiration from. If you think about it, Paul Simon is pretty synthy – and you can quote me on that – people like Stevie Wonder also can fall into this. When I met Ben I’d written a lot of songs in a folk kind of area, and the more we wrote together, it just became a bit passé to us and we took it out of the tracks to start to go more dance.
You’ve shamelessly declared you are obsessed with the 80s and are trying to create music that reflects the stuff you listened to and loved. What else from the 80s would you bring back? Cock rock? Spandex pants?
It’s not like I want to bring back the 80s really; it’s just there’s a lot of stuff that is missing from pop modern music. Take for example Eurythmics; the lyrics are meaningful, classic. Depeche Mode is a classic influence to me too, but just because you use a synthesizer doesn’t make it sound like Depeche Mode. I think great backing synth tracks make it cool, it makes it unbeatable for me. All men sung in the 80s too, but bands like Human League, Kate Bush, Blondie – they stood out and a lot of it was because of the female vocals.
For you, where is the line between creating original content and paying tribute?
I think there is a bit of both in what we do. It’s kind of annoyed me when people have taken the 50s or the 60s [to incorporate into their music], and people don’t bat an eyelid, but when you put the 80s in, people go, “What the fuck is wrong with you?” I mean, you weren’t there in the 50s, and then the counter is “But don’t you like rock and roll?” It’s like the 80s have this tainted thing on it. There is a lot of the revival of the leggings and spandex and American Apparel going on, but there was a classy cool romantic appeal that we’re appealing to, not the neon part. More Tears For Fears side.
While I was doing research I found there’s actually a band called LeRoux, which describes themselves as “Southern Rock/New Orleans Funk/Classic Rock/Power Ballad band with excellent harmonies, tight musicianship.” How do you differ?
Sounds like a big jerk off to me. What a bunch of assholes. Who says that about themselves?!
They do! On their own website, even.
That’s so contradictive as well, all the descriptions. Why do you need to write it down when it’s…ah, never mind (laughs).
Did you get to keep those sweet shades from the video for “In For The Kill?”
I went to the costume designer’s [from the video] to borrow some clothes later on and I asked for the sunglasses [to keep], but I got a ‘Maybe.’ Then I found out he was saying “I dressed La Roux!” all over his site. You can’t put me all over your website and not give me anything. I would quite like it to have those.
Since you guys just got off a UK tour with her, is Lily Allen as horrible as she’s made out to be? She’s played our club before.
Do people think she is horrible? (laughs) To say what we think…like, when everyone else does that in their friend group, they’re not seen as bad. But when it’s written down and the facial expression is done, then it gets taken out of context. If one of your friends said it, you wouldn’t even remember if it sounds horrible or botchy. She’s really not like that at all. But you have to know it to understand it. Someone went on my Myspace and left a comment that said “You’re such a bitch!” And that really hurts, because really, really really really I’m not a bitch, but now I can’t change your mind because you think I’m a cunt.
In early February marked your fifth live performance. How much has changed since then?
A lot of changed, live-wise obviously. My confidence and my performance has changed a great deal. With the single being received so well, it’s a bit mad. It’s hard to remember what’s happened, but then months have passed and you can’t remember. It’s weird to be out here [in American] and now, it’s so soon.
Is America what you expected?
I don’t think I had any expectations, but the language is more or less the same. That’s nice.
Where does La Roux end and Elly begin?
There is not a massive difference but I can’t wear pointy shoes and have massive hair and wear designer clothes all the time, can I? (laughs) But when I do, I like to really fucking chill out. I like to watch Family Guy and sit in my pajamas.
Is this some Sasha Fierce/Beyonce action happening?
Well, hopefully when you see me on stage you’ll get it. I just couldn’t possibly be La Roux all the time.
Filmed by Ally Roarty @ popscene, April 2009
Mark, from this one band you may have heard of
Photo by Ally Roarty
Yep…the bass player from none other than The Killers was out on the dance floor. Also seen is the back of Aaron’s head. Snacky.
Backup dancers, check. Laser lights, check. Short shorts, double check. Playing tomorrow, we think anything involving actual choreography is worth checking out.
More on the girls, the origins of Chicago house music, and lipstick can also be found here.
It’s only available via iTunes currently; there are no official videos for any of the singles; and, they played the Dallas tour market over San Francisco two weeks ago.
BUT – we are still very much hardxcore supporters of the trio of Britons known as Muse, who released The Resistance last month. A lot of people have mentioned that this new single sounds a lot like Goldfrapp, which we’re into and always will be. Let’s be serious.
Here’s hoping for a tour through the West Coast soon…
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