Format: MP3, 192 kbps CBR
Track listing:
1. Discotraxx
2. Holiday 601
3. Another Breakfast With You
4. Commodore Rock
5. This Is Our Sound
6. Playgirl
7. Skools Out...
Download
04 April 2011
03 April 2011
Ladytron - HiFi Bar, Melbourne, 2009
Content: Black Cat / Runaway / Ghosts / High Rise / I'm Not Scared / True Mathematics / Season of Illusions / Soft Power / Discotraxx / International Dateline / Fighting in Built Up Areas / Tomorrow / Seventeen / Versus / Destroy Everything You Touch
we7 interview (2011)
Formed back in 1999 in Liverpool, Ladytron are an electropop band comprised of Helen Marnie, Mira Aroyo, Reuben Wu and Daniel Hunt. Since starting out the band have released four albums and numerous EPs, building up a cult following of fans and have toured extensively around the world.
Having just put out their latest EP, Ace of Hz, Ladytron are set to release their fifth album later this year as well as their greatest hits album Best of 00-10, and are also set to tour after the release of album number five.
We caught up with Ladytron's vocalist and synth player Mira to find out more about what we can expect from their new releases.
You started out in 1999, how did you all get together?
Well Danny and Reuben knew each other from Liverpool, from the music scene there. Helen went to university in Liverpool, and I met Danny through a German friend of mine. We kind of all got together and didn't really know whether anything would work out or where it was going to go so we just started working on a few songs and started releasing singles little by little. Nearly every single that we released ended up being single of the week in NME at the time, so the first time it happened we thought oh great let's release another one it's probably a one off, and then it happened again and again, so we decided to put an album together.
We recorded the first album – bits of it were done in Liverpool and bits of it were done in Wales, and put it out as a mini LP on a Japanese label, so it was released only in Japan and over here on import. It ended up getting picked up by a record label called Emperor Norton in the US through this guy called Steve Pross, who kind of obsessively collects and I think was really into Japanese pop music at the time, which was something that we were into a little bit as well.
Was Japanese pop one of your main influences as a band?
There were a few compilations that came out of there in the late 90s, and German record label Bungalow released a couple of Japanese pop compilations at the time, and it wasn't so much that they were influential, it's just they were doing something that didn't seem to be done in Europe at the time.
When we got together we came from slightly different influences. I was into krautrock, Helen was more into pop, Danny and Reuben were into French electronic music, and we were all into 60s disco music. So there were a lot similarities as well but we just wanted to make something that wasn't around at the time, and also three of us were DJing and so kind of knew what music we wanted to play and at the time it wasn't being done so we almost ended up making music to just satisfying our needs to begin with.
How do you go about creating a track, do you usually have a typical process that you tend to follow?
We rarely get together as a band and just sit there with nothing to work on and think let's jam. Usually someone has worked on an idea and maybe it's like a riff, a sound or a beat, or maybe it's much more complete and it's an instrumental track and it needs lyrics. So every track is completely different, you might have had a melody in your head for ages and then suddenly you sit down and start building it up. Or other times you are messing about at home and you find a sound that you like.
You've done quite a few remixes over the years – are there any that really stand out as remixes you particularly enjoyed doing?
I enjoyed working on the Nine Inch Nails mix, just because I really respect them production wise so it was really nice to be asked to do something like that. Blondie as well was great to work on as I'm a massive fan – it's just amazing to hear how it was made and to hear it in parts, I would never had imagined that we'd actually do anything like that. It's something I listened to as a kid so I never imagined I would be able to do that.
You've opened for some great bands, what was your best experience?
Nine Inch Nails was a really amazing tour that brought us a few new fans, it was just good to go out with an established band rather than a band that's kind of hyped at the time, and also a band who's work you really respect. And it was nice that they asked us, I think Trent really liked our music so that was good to know.
You've been around for over ten years as a band, how do you feel about the changes in the music industry?
There are a lot of things we don't think about, but I think the main thing we focus on is to primarily satisfy us and stick by our guns and never try to second guess what an audience or a record label is going to do. We've been on so many labels that have folded, and if it wasn't for us sticking through it then we wouldn't have survived.
Obviously we live in a much more globalized world these days, it has its downside as people don't pay for your music a lot of the time, but on the plus side people in Columbia can hear your record when it's not even out and you can go and play in front of 3000 people there.
What is the inspiration for the album, and how does it compare or differ to your previous releases?
I feel that they've all differed and a couple of times there's been a bigger jump from previous releases than other times. With Velocifero I don't think that was a huge departure from Witching Hour, it was more of a progression. Whereas now I feel with this album there's another big jump, and in a way releasing the Best Of almost wipes the slate clean. It's a lot more of an atmospheric record than previous ones, more mature without being boring.
We caught up with Ladytron's vocalist and synth player Mira to find out more about what we can expect from their new releases.
You started out in 1999, how did you all get together?
Well Danny and Reuben knew each other from Liverpool, from the music scene there. Helen went to university in Liverpool, and I met Danny through a German friend of mine. We kind of all got together and didn't really know whether anything would work out or where it was going to go so we just started working on a few songs and started releasing singles little by little. Nearly every single that we released ended up being single of the week in NME at the time, so the first time it happened we thought oh great let's release another one it's probably a one off, and then it happened again and again, so we decided to put an album together.
We recorded the first album – bits of it were done in Liverpool and bits of it were done in Wales, and put it out as a mini LP on a Japanese label, so it was released only in Japan and over here on import. It ended up getting picked up by a record label called Emperor Norton in the US through this guy called Steve Pross, who kind of obsessively collects and I think was really into Japanese pop music at the time, which was something that we were into a little bit as well.
Was Japanese pop one of your main influences as a band?
There were a few compilations that came out of there in the late 90s, and German record label Bungalow released a couple of Japanese pop compilations at the time, and it wasn't so much that they were influential, it's just they were doing something that didn't seem to be done in Europe at the time.
How do you go about creating a track, do you usually have a typical process that you tend to follow?
We rarely get together as a band and just sit there with nothing to work on and think let's jam. Usually someone has worked on an idea and maybe it's like a riff, a sound or a beat, or maybe it's much more complete and it's an instrumental track and it needs lyrics. So every track is completely different, you might have had a melody in your head for ages and then suddenly you sit down and start building it up. Or other times you are messing about at home and you find a sound that you like.
You've done quite a few remixes over the years – are there any that really stand out as remixes you particularly enjoyed doing?
I enjoyed working on the Nine Inch Nails mix, just because I really respect them production wise so it was really nice to be asked to do something like that. Blondie as well was great to work on as I'm a massive fan – it's just amazing to hear how it was made and to hear it in parts, I would never had imagined that we'd actually do anything like that. It's something I listened to as a kid so I never imagined I would be able to do that.
You've opened for some great bands, what was your best experience?
Nine Inch Nails was a really amazing tour that brought us a few new fans, it was just good to go out with an established band rather than a band that's kind of hyped at the time, and also a band who's work you really respect. And it was nice that they asked us, I think Trent really liked our music so that was good to know.
You've been around for over ten years as a band, how do you feel about the changes in the music industry?
Obviously we live in a much more globalized world these days, it has its downside as people don't pay for your music a lot of the time, but on the plus side people in Columbia can hear your record when it's not even out and you can go and play in front of 3000 people there.
What is the inspiration for the album, and how does it compare or differ to your previous releases?
I feel that they've all differed and a couple of times there's been a bigger jump from previous releases than other times. With Velocifero I don't think that was a huge departure from Witching Hour, it was more of a progression. Whereas now I feel with this album there's another big jump, and in a way releasing the Best Of almost wipes the slate clean. It's a lot more of an atmospheric record than previous ones, more mature without being boring.
NME interview (2011)
The Ladytron singer doesn't care about her lack of UK hits — and she can rustle up a mean tart
- Ladytron have a Best Of album out
- Mira is keen to explain that Ladytron are NOT splitting up as a result
- One wonders if, in the event of Ladytron eventually splitting, Buckingham Palace will fly the flag at half mast? Probably not, to be honest
Hello, Mira. What have I interrupted you doing?
Cooking for tonight.
Is tonight a "big night"?
No, we just have some friends we owe a big meal to. I'm cooking an onion tart. It's kind of like a big fat pizza.
When you said "an onion tart" it sounded like "Narnian tart" and I was wondering what the CS Lewis angle was.
I don't live in a snow-covered work, unfortunately. And I just don't have a magical wardrobe.
Will you be serenading your guests tonight like they do on Come Dine With Me?
No, although my husband has been known to get out the acoustic guitar.
That certainly doesn't sound 'on message' for a Ladytron husband.
Yeah, he likes to try and jam. At least he only does it when he's drunk.
We are here to discuss Ladytron's glittering career. It has been going for 12 years. Interestingly, not a Top 40 hit in that time.
No. We've grazed close and we've had hits in other countries. It's never really been very England-centric. Luckily we arrived at the age of globalisation.
Do you not think, sometimes, "We've been making music for a long time, why won't somebody buy our bloody records"?
We kind of gave up on that early on and we've spent the last six years trying to persuade record companies to not think that way either.
If Ladytron were a condiment what would you be on the supermarket shelf?
Probably Tabasco sauce.
Is that a proper condiment though? Is it?
Well, you put it on oysters and things and it cheers them up.
Do Ladytron really cheer people up? Your music's good but you're not exactly a party band...
Sometimes people do dance and kind of bop along to our music.
But not in the same way people dance to, for example, "I Gotta Feeling" by The Black Eyed Peas. People go apeshit for that. They don't do that for The Hits of Ladytron, do they?
A friend of mine said that for years he stacked shelves in a record shop and he said that "Destroy Everything You Touch" made his job easier. But you're right, we're not cheerful in the way Spanish or Japanese bands can be.
It's good to be wary of people who are too cheerful.
I guess we make people smile internally so they're not going around being a danger to themselves and an annoyance to other people.
What annoys you?
People not holding doors for you.
Does that upset you because you are A Lady or because you are a human being who simply deserves to be respected?
Because I'm a human being. I do have a lot of annoyances. People annoy me when they are not logical.
How's the onion tart?
It's been put on hold.
What goes into Ladytron's tart?
I don't want to be remembered as the Delia Smith of electronic music!
It'll good to be remembered for something.
I'd rather be the Heston Blumenthal but my tart isn't very experimental. Although the secret ingredient that goes into the base is cinnamon.
Steady on!
Yes. And anchovies. And olives.
I think on that bombshell it is time to end the interview.
OK. Thank you.
Source (magazine scan)
- Ladytron have a Best Of album out
- Mira is keen to explain that Ladytron are NOT splitting up as a result
- One wonders if, in the event of Ladytron eventually splitting, Buckingham Palace will fly the flag at half mast? Probably not, to be honest
Cooking for tonight.
Is tonight a "big night"?
No, we just have some friends we owe a big meal to. I'm cooking an onion tart. It's kind of like a big fat pizza.
When you said "an onion tart" it sounded like "Narnian tart" and I was wondering what the CS Lewis angle was.
I don't live in a snow-covered work, unfortunately. And I just don't have a magical wardrobe.
Will you be serenading your guests tonight like they do on Come Dine With Me?
No, although my husband has been known to get out the acoustic guitar.
That certainly doesn't sound 'on message' for a Ladytron husband.
Yeah, he likes to try and jam. At least he only does it when he's drunk.
We are here to discuss Ladytron's glittering career. It has been going for 12 years. Interestingly, not a Top 40 hit in that time.
No. We've grazed close and we've had hits in other countries. It's never really been very England-centric. Luckily we arrived at the age of globalisation.
Do you not think, sometimes, "We've been making music for a long time, why won't somebody buy our bloody records"?
We kind of gave up on that early on and we've spent the last six years trying to persuade record companies to not think that way either.
If Ladytron were a condiment what would you be on the supermarket shelf?
Probably Tabasco sauce.
Is that a proper condiment though? Is it?
Well, you put it on oysters and things and it cheers them up.
Do Ladytron really cheer people up? Your music's good but you're not exactly a party band...
Sometimes people do dance and kind of bop along to our music.
But not in the same way people dance to, for example, "I Gotta Feeling" by The Black Eyed Peas. People go apeshit for that. They don't do that for The Hits of Ladytron, do they?
A friend of mine said that for years he stacked shelves in a record shop and he said that "Destroy Everything You Touch" made his job easier. But you're right, we're not cheerful in the way Spanish or Japanese bands can be.
It's good to be wary of people who are too cheerful.
I guess we make people smile internally so they're not going around being a danger to themselves and an annoyance to other people.
What annoys you?
People not holding doors for you.
Does that upset you because you are A Lady or because you are a human being who simply deserves to be respected?
Because I'm a human being. I do have a lot of annoyances. People annoy me when they are not logical.
How's the onion tart?
It's been put on hold.
What goes into Ladytron's tart?
I don't want to be remembered as the Delia Smith of electronic music!
It'll good to be remembered for something.
I'd rather be the Heston Blumenthal but my tart isn't very experimental. Although the secret ingredient that goes into the base is cinnamon.
Steady on!
Yes. And anchovies. And olives.
I think on that bombshell it is time to end the interview.
OK. Thank you.
Source (magazine scan)
Ladytron's new album "Gravity the Seducer"
On 13 September 2011 in the US and a day earlier in the UK, Ladytron will release their new album Gravity the Seducer, the follow-up to 2008's Velocifero, via Nettwerk. The group recorded the album in the English countryside, with Arctic Monkeys/Editors collaborator Barny Barnicott co-producing.
In a press release, Daniel Hunt said: "Gravity the Seducer is more of a jump than the last album was, more ethereal and melodic, a touch more abstract in places than we've gone before, baroque 'n' roll. It was a pleasure to make, took us right through last summer. It's our best record, in my opinion".
Over the next few months, the group has a few shows planned in Europe and Asia. Mira Aroyo will also do a few North American DJ dates.
Touring schedule:
08 Apr: Phoenix, AZ - Brick *
09 Apr: Lexington, KY - Old Pepper Distillery *
11 Apr: San Diego, CA - U31 Cocktail Lounge *
13 Apr: San Francisco, CA - Vessel *
14 Apr: Chicago, IL - Beauty Bar *
15 Apr: Milwaukee, WI - The Rave Bar *
16 Apr: Mexico City, Mexico - H20 *
01 May: Beijing, China - Ping Gu Music Festival
05 May: Zagreb, Croatia - Aquarius Club
07 May: Krems, Austria - Donaufestival
13 May: St. Petersburg, Russia - Kosmonavt Club
14 May: Helsinki, Finland - Circus
02 May: Hässleholm, Sweden - Siesta! Festival
03 May: Krakow, Poland - Selector Festival
08 May: London, England - The Forum
09 May: Glasgow, Scotland - The Arches
* Mira Aroyo DJ date
Source
In a press release, Daniel Hunt said: "Gravity the Seducer is more of a jump than the last album was, more ethereal and melodic, a touch more abstract in places than we've gone before, baroque 'n' roll. It was a pleasure to make, took us right through last summer. It's our best record, in my opinion".
Over the next few months, the group has a few shows planned in Europe and Asia. Mira Aroyo will also do a few North American DJ dates.
Touring schedule:
08 Apr: Phoenix, AZ - Brick *
09 Apr: Lexington, KY - Old Pepper Distillery *
11 Apr: San Diego, CA - U31 Cocktail Lounge *
13 Apr: San Francisco, CA - Vessel *
14 Apr: Chicago, IL - Beauty Bar *
15 Apr: Milwaukee, WI - The Rave Bar *
16 Apr: Mexico City, Mexico - H20 *
01 May: Beijing, China - Ping Gu Music Festival
05 May: Zagreb, Croatia - Aquarius Club
07 May: Krems, Austria - Donaufestival
13 May: St. Petersburg, Russia - Kosmonavt Club
14 May: Helsinki, Finland - Circus
02 May: Hässleholm, Sweden - Siesta! Festival
03 May: Krakow, Poland - Selector Festival
08 May: London, England - The Forum
09 May: Glasgow, Scotland - The Arches
* Mira Aroyo DJ date
Source
"Velocifero" unofficial promos
A project for promoting Velocifero that never saw the light of day:
Black Cat Animatic 01
Black Cat Interstitial 01
Motion Test 01
More info and pictures here.
Black Cat Animatic 01
Black Cat Interstitial 01
Motion Test 01
More info and pictures here.
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