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LIVE IT'S A DIFFERENT BEAST ENTIRELY, MORE RAMSHACKLE AND ROCKY
Warning shots
They may have keyboards, deadpan exteriors and pop songs but Hot Chip definitely aren’t the Pet Shop Boys, as Doug Johnstone discovers.
ou kind of expect major label electro-pop
outfits to be organised. don‘t you‘.’ You picture
the Pet Shop Boys' clinical approach to songwriting and performance m every note in place and a place for every note.
But then there's Hot (‘hip. The dance—pop duo. based around childhood chums Joe Goddard and Alexis 'l‘aylor. create a vibrant and visceral sound. as demonstrated on their fantastic forthcoming second album. The li’tu'iiiirg. but it's a long way from what you‘d call pristine pop music.
The band‘s oeuvre. exemplified by the insatiany driving single '()ver and Over“ and the magnificent glitchy title track (‘Hot (‘hip will break your legs. snap off your head‘ they whisper) are as catchy as anything in the charts. but there's also a homely. homemade feel to them. a slightly rough-around-the- edges vibe which makes them instantly appealing.
‘Writing and recording are very spontaneoUs acts.' says Goddard. ‘We try not to plan anything.‘
This process is made easier by the fact that the pair
have known each other since they were at school in Putney. where they bonded over a love of music.
‘We started off as music obsessives before we were in bands. listening to records and going to gigs together] says Goddard. 'These days we don‘t really talk much when we‘re making a song. we just sit and play keyboards together. It‘s an unspoken process but we seem to both have similar ideas of what the song’s going to be like in our heads. It‘s very intuitive.‘
Both The il’arning and the band‘s debut album Coming 0n Strung are relatively laid back affairs.
undeniably dancy but somehow relaxed at the same
time. due in part to Goddard and Taylor's
lackadaisical vocal styles. For live outings the band take an almost entirely opposite approach. however.
enlisting a handful of musician mates and very loosely re-interpreting the songs in ramshackle fashion.
‘I don’t think we could ever recreate the studio stuff. so we just get together with the other guys and take the bare bones of the songs and make it work in a different way. Me and Alexis don't lay down the law. it‘s a democracy. so it's got much more of everyone’s personality in it. It‘s a different beast entirely. a lot louder and more powerful. faster and more rocky. I
like the idea that the records sound quite mellow and
subtle. and then the live thing is a big loud rock show.' This variety of approach has seen Hot Chip hanging out in all sorts of disparate places performing very
different shows with a wide array of other bands to audiences that couldn't be more contrasting. A recent US tour took in everything from dance clubs to punk
venues. and while the outfit are good pals with Fife‘s Fence Collective and have played as backing band for
alt.folker Adem. they‘re also at this weekend’s Radio
l One Big Weekend alongside Bloc Party and Pink.
‘I'm terrified because that's going out live.’ laughs Goddard. ‘And I'm sure I'm going to swear or say
something stupid or play some bum notes. I'm quite prone to that sort of thing.‘
Radio One Big Weekend, Dundee, Sun 14 May; Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh, Wed 24 May; King Tut’s, Glasgow, Thu 25 May.
thought country stopped at Johnny Cash and Tammy Wynette, this is the festival to shatter your preconceptions. Featuring Sarah Harmer (pictured). See preview, page 60. Various venues, Glasgow, Tue 76-Sat 27 May (Rock 8 Pop)
:.‘< Jazz Glasgow’s Big Night Out A chance to catch up with some of the most promising young talents from the EU playing standards and new arrangements by conductor Barry Forgie and pianist Julian Joseph. City Halls. Glasgow. Sat 13 May. (Jaz)
)3 One Big Weekend Radio 1 bring a bill featuring everyone from this issues cover stars to Snow Patrol, Bloc Party to Gnarls Barkley and the Streets. Camperdown Park, Dundee, Sat 73 8 Sun 14 May. (Rock 8 Pop) :i: Lightning Bolt Two ingenious malcontents wielding bass, drums, impatience and aggression all the way from Hypermagic Mountain. See preview, page, 61. Grand Ole Opry, Glasgow, Sun, 74 May (Rock 8 Pop)
:i: The Yeah Yeah Yeahs Their second long player Show Your Bones proves their first was no fluke. See feature, page 22. Barrow/and, Glasgow, Fri 79 Jul. (Rock 8 Pop)
ti: Tommy Emmanuel The Australian guitar star counts Martin Taylor among his admirers, which should tell you something about the quality of his picking in a style that draws on jazz, rock, blues and country influences. City Halls, Glasgow, Sat 20 May. (Jazz)
* Hot Chip See preview, left. Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh, Wed 24 May; King Tut '3, Glasgow, Thu 25 May.
(Rock 8 Pop)
11—25 May 2006 THE LIST 59
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