Yesterday morning, I chatted with him via phone. Here’s the full interview:
1. You’ve been compared to all of the following artists: Morrissey, The Streets, Beck & Blur. Fair or unfair?
Lyrically, I think that the Blur comparison is right, as I’m very conscious about what I’m writing yet not necessarily making any grand statements. Also, Blur is from the same place that I grew up so there are definitely similarities in our sound for that reason. The Streets are great. Mike Skinner is watching & observing, taking stuff in. I feel that I do the same to some degree.
2. You’re being grouped together with La Roux, Little Boots & Frankmusik in the ‘New British Electro’ scene. Do you feel any kinship to the aforementioned acts?
Well, many scenes are from a particular place or city. This is not so much a scene in that sense, but we’ve all got the same awarenesses. We all want to write really good pop songs. We’re proving that pop songs don’t have to be boring any longer. They can be interesting & fresh!
Read the remainder of this Q&A AFTER THE JUMP…
3. One of my fave lyrics is in ‘I Love You’, when you claim that ‘love is no excuse for bad art’. Can you explain this line further?
Ha! I think that a lot of people think that because they’re passionate about things, that what they create is genius, but this isn’t necessarily the case. ‘I Love You’ is one of the first songs that I wrote and I wanted to be able to distance from myself from my songs. In a way, it’s a self reference.
4. Do you have a favorite song on Braveface? If so, which & why?
Every time you play these tunes live, there is a new life brought into them. Sometimes when touring, reception from the audience keeps everything interesting. For ourselves, we try to play with the setlist so that the songs sound differently from night to night. A while back, we would host an old school garage night, messed around and did a lot of cover tunes, it was fun.
5. How does it feel to be in NYC playing your first-ever gig here?
Very very very excited! We’re rehearsing all day today. It’s great that there’s so much interest so quickly.
6. How was your SXSW 2009 experience?
Really fun! I loved my time in Austin.
7. What are your plans for the rest of the year?
Well, we’re gonna go back to the UK for some summer festivals. Once those are done, we will come back to the States for a bit longer. That is, depending if people are nice & want us to return!
8. What’s the biggest misconception that you’d like to clear up?
Hmmm. People have the right to write whatever they want. I understand that I’m a new artist and journalists want to compare me to a lot of people. That’s how things are. I’m not gonna complain. However, I do hope at some point, when the second or third album comes out, those comparisons will disappear.
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