Alexis Taylor
The next few months are set to be all Hot Chip, with the band joined by new drummer Sarah Jones. “It just makes a different atmosphere having a new person in the band,” reckons Alexis. “I guess we’re deliberately keeping things interesting for ourselves and hopefully that translates to other people.”
“I suppose I’m aware that whether or not we think it’s the best one, when you release it, people will make of it what they will,” rounds off Alexis when we ask him to reflect on what the record means as the culmination of their achievements so far. “I don’t really have this expectation that, ‘Now guys we’ve really done it’.”
SIDE
should have love and respect for everyone around you, and he’s just hammering home this message. He’s not trying to promote his new single, he’s just telling you to be good to each other. I think that kind of thing is important. I’m an atheist but I suppose being an aesthetic, you get those good feelings that people get from going to church. You end up sounding cheesy talking about this, but I sometimes get the feeling in a DJ set when someone plays exactly the right record and you get a kind of feeling of elevation on the dancefloor.” “That’s because god is looking down. He did that...,” jokes Alexis. “With his omnipotence,” riffs Joe. “I quite wish that I did believe in god, I just don’t.”
POWER OF POP What they do believe in is the transcendental power of pop, something borne out in its ability to turn even the most tragic of circumstances into timeless, almost celebratory anthems. It’s a term that they’ve chosen to associate their music with rather than, Joe explains, the more literal “garage r&b house disco music”. So what does it mean to them?
Joe Goddard
billers who might threaten to “break your legs, snap off your head... put you underground” (as on ‘The Warning’) but have a cerebral, curious nature that means they’re more likely to be found tweeting about ‘synth-porn mag’ Synapse, a ‘70s music publication, the finding of giant beetles on a remote rock in the ocean near Australia, or retweeting Sarah Brown, the ex- Prime Minister’s wife, and the Dalai Lama. It’s the latter who leads us into a conversation on what seems to be the shining, luminous vein of positivity in their music, something which makes them even more vital at a time when the country is mired in recession and experiencing an apparently ever-widening gulf between delusional politicians and public opinion. “There’s never been a better day,” soothes Alexis narcotically on ‘Flutes’, while ‘How Do You Do’ hints at an appreciation of life that has at least some sympathy with the root of religious fervour, with the incantation, “a church is not for praying, it’s for celebrating the life that bleeds through the pane.” “The Dalai Lama is a badman on Twitter!” exclaims Joe, animatedly. “He’s the best person on there in my opinion because everyday he talks about how you
“It’s a difficult thing to define, innit?” he muses. “Particularly at the moment when pop borrows so much from what you would call dance music. Those lines have always been blurred, but right now the records that are at the top of the charts sound like they could be old trance records. Maybe that’s what makes pop difficult to define, because pop is always about taking things from all over music and just nicking ideas and references.” “I was thinking about Nikki Minaj the other day,” he adds, when we consider the possible negative connotations of the term to more partisan fans. “She’s the new female hip-hop star who, when she came out, was considered quite cool. Then the second or third single was like a cover of The Buggles’ ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’ with the Black Eyed Peas. For her, being considered pop is not a problem. There’s no real line between hardcore hip-hop and pop anymore. If you look at her career, it doesn’t seem as if people care that much anymore.” “The only thing that might be a bit embarrassing is if we don’t have any commercial success,” counters Alex. “It starts to be less and less relevant. Failing pop.” “Unpopular pop?” ventures Joe. Somehow, given the pair’s experience, studio dedication and past track record, this seems unlikely, especially with such a brilliant record to tour, but you suspect that even if it proved true their passion wouldn’t be abated.
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ORDERS
Some of Hot Chip’s other projects
THE 2 BEARS Joe: “It’s not a million miles away from Hot Chip. The difference is that it’s a collaboration with Raf and the record is quite a lot to do with the things that he’s passionate about and interested in. So there’s a track about reggae band The Congos and his preoccupations come through quite a lot. The thing that we bonded over four or five years ago, when we started DJing together more, is ‘90s house music. I’ve known him for a long time, he used to come and DJ at our Greco-Roman parties years ago. I always just thought his sets were really good, combining crazy house music and dancehall, garage and techno.”
ABOUT GROUP Alexis: “It’s completely free, improvised music and was just a decision to make a record with the three other people in the group, Charles Haywood, John Coxon and Patt Thomas. Charles was on ‘One Life Stand’ and on this album. He’s a drummer. So it was just improv in the beginning, then we did some gigs and started to write some songs as well, but I would always just throw the songs in without telling anyone that they were going to be part of the set. Then we made a record that was all songs. Now we’re finishing another one which is a bit of a mixture of improvisation and songs.”
B & O Alexis: “B & O was originally called Bang & Olufson. I haven’t spoken to anyone at that company but I thought it might be best to pre- empt anything. We haven’t released any music, so I don’t think we’re a major threat! I do all these things if they’re enjoyable. Basically, for this group I wanted to work with Rob, who is also in Hot Chip, and we started off just doing cover versions of stuff we like with just a drum machine, guitar, keyboard and two voices. It’s very stripped back.”
NEW BUILD Alexis: “I guess it’s quite Eno and disco-influenced maybe, Prefab Sprout and Brian Eno. That’s the tone of the music. I’m not sure how they would like to be described. By its very nature, being able to make music with other people helps you to learn about making music and to be in a different situation. Also, it’s driven by whether or not you’ve got ideas. Maybe they’re at a time when you’re not in the middle of a Hot Chip record, or you’ve met someone else you want to collaborate with and that in itself is the driving force.”
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