Chaos Control interview (2006)

The following is an interview with Daniel Hunt of Ladytron. It was conducted on Saturday, 15 April 2006, the day after Ladytron kicked off their North American tour with a show in Washington DC. The band returned late last year with their 3rd album, "Witching Hour," and recently released a new EP/DVD, "Extended Play."

The US tour just kicked off in DC – how did that show go?

It was good. The last time we played DC I think it was about 3 shows in, and it was in the middle of a blizzard. It was a bit better this time. The weather was good, and we sold out.

What can people exact from this tour?

We played live a lot after that last US tour. In fact we were touring for about another 8 months. I think it's a lot more powerful now. It's definitely progressed, the live show.

Have you made any major changes in terms of live set-up or instrumentation?

Not really, it's exactly the same as it was last time, it's just that there's a guitar as well. I play guitar and keyboards. That's the only addition. There's 8 synths on stage, and one guitar, if that gives an indication.

Have you added guitar to songs that in the past were performed on just keyboards/synths?

Just on a couple of songs where it made sense. The way we record, there are loads of guitars on all the records. But when we didn't have a guitar with us, we'd approximate with synth going through a bunch of delays or something. So we just use whatever is appropriate. We're not purists, at all. The bands that we like are not afraid to use whatever instrument works. A guitar, when you feed it through a few pedals, is just a sound generator, really. Using a guitar doesn't mean it's going to become kraut rock or Oasis or something.

Can you talk about the new "Extended Play" EP?

The EP was done because the label wanted something to put out while we were on tour. So we did some exclusive mixes for it, and released some that hadn't been out before. We also put together a DVD, which is the "Sugar" and "Destroy" videos and this film we made when we toured in China. A mini documentary.

And "Witching Hour" just came out on vinyl?

Yeah, we always think all our records should be released on vinyl. It was always intended. It's just that the label wanted to tie it together to when we came to tour. It seems to be pretty standard now to release something on vinyl after it comes out on CD. But as long as it comes out on vinyl eventually we don't care.

What was the reason for switching labels, from Emperor Norton to Ryko?

We've switched labels about 7 times since we started! We've been in this long enough … it's kind of irrelevant. The most important thing is the team around you and the people you work with day to day at whatever label it is. Ryko is good at the moment, because a lot of them are Ladytron fans. So they've been very enthusiastic.

The music industry has changed so much over the past decade or so – what do you think has been most effective in terms of getting the word our about Ladytron? The internet? Radio? Club Play?

I don't know. The internet has definitely had an effect, especially in between albums. There seems to be twice as many people into us than last time, even though we didn't do anything in between. The best way for people to hear the record is the radio or online. Myspace is really good for bands. We've only been on that for the past 6 months. Things have changed a lot in 5 years even. Something like Myspace, there's probably going to be a point where it gets saturated and possibly useless, but it's good for the band. Things aren't being forced down people's throats. It's not like a record company making some big Flash animation site or sending a lot of unsolicited stuff out. The fact that it's actually people networking around the band, on their terms, it brings them closer to the band in a way. I think that's really cool.

What are your thoughts about online music distribution?

As far as file sharing, that debate is dead now. It exists, and everyone does it. There's a certain naivety about who it actually affects … some people are adamant that it doesn't affect the bands, that it only affects the labels. Which really isn't true. Because there are now legal downloads as well, people really do now have a choice. If someone doesn't spend any money on music, there are other ways to support a band. Going to a show, etc. If someone does want to spend money on music, but doesn't want to go out and buy cds, they can instead go to iTunes of whatever. At least they have a choice. And if they like a band, it's not like the only way they can support them is by going into a store a buying a record. Because it might not even be available where they are. We've played places in the world where none of our records have been available, and the only way to get them is to illegally download them. And then you go and play a sell-out show, and everyone knows all the material. That's amazing. It wasn't possible even five or six years ago.

Some people see it as bringing back the single. Have you considered releasing individual tracks between albums?

Yeah, we might possibly do that. You could put a track out as an individual release, and that's very easy to do now. It's not like you have manufacture and distribute them. I still think that we consider ourselves an album band.

All three of your albums sound a bit different from each other. Do you think it's a natural thing, or do you intentionally set out to give each release a fresh edge?

It's evolved naturally because we were playing the tracks from Light and Magic live for a year. And when we were playing them live, they became heavier and more dynamic. We were playing them with live bass, and live drums triggering sounds. And by the end, it got to the point where we were like 'if we were recording the album now, this is what it would sound like.' Rather than it be kind of a bedroom production. We ended up finishing in a studio with a producer, but that's what it started off as. So this album, it was just a natural thing where as we were working on it we were aware of things that we weren't aware of before. Just from playing live so much. Also, we felt like we had the freedom to make the record we were capable of, rather than the record people expected. Our label in the UK, when they got the demos they were like 'oh, we know you want to make the big opus or whatever, but can't you just make Light and Magic 2 first?' I think you can do more for the reputation of the band by making each successive record different. There are a lot of bands who get big by doing the same thing over and over again, but we don't want to do that. We want to be successful by making the music we're inspired to do. Rather than what people who don't actually like music very much want.

What are your plans for after this tour? When can we expect the next release?

Well we've already started to work on stuff for the next record. 'Witching Hour' was delayed for a year, between recording and release. We don't want to have a big break again this time. We want to just be on the way with this record. At some point we'll have a break from touring 'Witching Hour' and we'll go record maybe half of it. And then hopefully get the next record out pretty quickly. Early next year, hopefully. Rather than wait so long again.

Source

Format Magazine interview (2008)

Helen Marnie, one-fourth of the universally respected electro-pop group Ladytron, makes a good point when she discusses the perks of a slow-building fan base. "I think some bands are hyped far too much initially, and therefore they feel the pressure to have the same success with their next album."

While Ladytron has certainly seen their share of hype in the past few years, the hype did build slowly, giving the creatively daring group plenty of time to plant their roots. These roots have allowed them to believe in the kind of music they want to produce – not what a label or current musical climate might ask them to – which has resulted in sounds that are not just momentarily fresh, but perpetually so. Read on as we catch up with Marnie about the process behind Ladytron's latest album, Velocifero.

All four of you had musical careers before joining together as Ladytron. What were you up to in those days?

Actually, the only one of us that really had a career based in music was Danny [Hunt]. He ran a club night as well as his own indie label called Invicta Hi-Fi. Mira [Aroyo] and Reuben [Wu] used to DJ occasionally, but it was more of a fun thing. I was still at university studying music when I met Danny. After that I just took on a few odd jobs to get me by and about a year or so after I left [university], Ladytron became more of a full time thing.

It's been several years since you first started making music together, and for the greater part of those years you've been really successful. Do you miss anything about the excitement of the beginning, or has settling into your careers been a greater reward?

We're more experienced now, so I guess know what we want. The music industry has changed substantially since we started and we've had to take note and adapt to it, and have learned a lot about the industry along the way.

We still get excited about doing certain gigs, otherwise there would be no point in being in a band. We've been together for quite some time now so I think we know each other far better, which makes touring and working together a lot easier.

Aside from playing roles in the actual instrumental of the band, what would you say that each of you contributes uniquely and creatively to the direction of your sound?

Obviously the voices are very important to Ladytron; we've two very different styles and techniques that work well together and also individually. We all write, each member having different ideas and influences, which in turn makes a more-well rounded album, diverse yet coherent.

Your album before this year's Velocifero, Witching Hour, really marked a shifting point in your sound – a lot of critics excitedly described it as a leaps-and-bounds evolution from your previous albums. In what ways do you think Velocifero continued that evolution – or didn't it?

I think if you listen to both albums consecutively then you can hear the natural progression. Witching Hour sounds the closest to Velocifero.

When we first started out we were still learning how to produce and promote our sound on the live stage. The amount of touring we were doing before and during Witching Hour really contributed to the feel of Velocifero. It's punchy, dynamic with infectious beats, but retains a distinctive Ladytron sound – the warmth of the synths and floaty vocals.

What are some of the things that were influencing you during the writing and recording phases of Velocifero?

It's always very difficult to say what influences you as a songwriter, as you're not actually aware of one particular thing at the time.

For me, I'm influenced by personal things that go on around me – people, places, thoughts and feelings, reminiscing but also looking forward – I think that's why there are so many moments of light and dark on the album. I love the softness of certain female vocals such as Nancy Sinatra, but have also recently been drawn towards more recent folk artists such as Bon Iver and Laura Marling.

Some of your lyrics seem to hold references to Paganism. Am I right in observing that?

Nope. Afraid not. We never actually like to discuss our lyrics in depth, we prefer to let the listener conjure up their own images and let songs be personal to them.

As Ladytron has become more and more successful, do you feel more pressure to keep your sound in the comfortable realm of what you know your fans will continue to like, or do you fully bow to your creativity?

We have never felt any pressure to stay the same, or please anyone in particular. All we want to do is make music that satisfies ourselves. I think some bands are hyped far too much initially, and therefore they feel the pressure to have the same success with their next album.

As electronic artists, what are your thoughts on the remix? Do you tend to think of them as a derivative of the main track or something that can take on artistic merit of its own?

It depends. Remixes can be great, and some can just be miserable. It often depends on the song to begin with; sometimes a gem can be created, other times a monster.

This is a really extensive tour, where will you be heading next, and what are you crossing your fingers to experience this time around?

This tour has been so long. I'm just looking forward to putting my feet up over Christmas and seeing friends, family, and my dog. We're in Scandinavia right now, and in five days we wrap this year up in Oslo. It's been great, but we need time off to refresh for 2009. Tonight we are sold out in Stockholm, so it should be fun, and we're on in less than an hour, so I better put my makeup on.

Source

Ladytron - BBC 6Music Hub Session, 2008

Format: MP3, 160 kbps CBR

Track listing:
1. Interview
2. Ghosts
3. Interview
4. Runaway
5. Interview

Download

Ladytron - Exit Festival, 2005

Content: Evil (excerpt) / Blue Jeans / Sugar / He Took Her To a Movie / Playgirl / International Dateline / Fighting in Built Up Areas (excerpt)

Contact Music interview (2005)

Contact Music spoke to Liverpool based Ladytron member Helen Marnie about the new release of their album and all the up and coming festival dates!

Hi how are you?

Not too bad thank you!

I just want to know where have you been since "Light and Magic"?

We went to China and Liverpool. We've also come back from a festival in Berlin, and did a small tour of England and Scotland. Last night we played at the ICA. We've also finished the new album.

Onto the new album, it's your third and is due for release in August. Are there any songs on the album that sum up how you feel about it?

All of the songs are about feelings, the album is really diverse. There isn't just one song that explains our thoughts. Its more diverse than the other two albums, every song is very different and we approach them in very different ways. It's a lot darker than the other albums.

Do you have any favourite songs on the album?

I appreciate each one. "Sugar" is our first single and I love it, "International Deadline" is my favourite at the minute – they all do different things.

How was your time in the studio?

It was really good fun, it didn't take very long to record! But because of technical difficulties, it's taken longer to release. It was actually finished last September, and then we had a gap in recording. We recorded it in Liverpool because Reuben lives there. We had friends around which was cool!

Every album has been more progressive and collaborative; this is the most collaborative up to date. We worked with the guys behind Kasabian and Placebo. They were good fun to work with! They have a lot of gadgets and toys, we like that! They pushed us further, they'd be like let's try this and we'd give it a go. They would make us do things we didn't want to try!

So are the British audience going to like your new album?

I hope so!

Do you think you have loyal fans?

We have a very loyal fan base! You can really see that too because despite us not releasing anything for ages, our gig in Brighton sold out! We didn't even have any press.

Have you recognised anyone in the crowds?

Yeah, there's a guy called Craig, who I don't know what he does for a day job but he follows us around everywhere! He's been from New York to Australia.

Do you think you resemble anyone?

No just ourselves. It's really difficult to group our music with others. Whenever we do a song, we just approach it in our own way and do what we can! It's for other people to say! The first two albums were niche like, so it was easier back then.

You said you've just finished a short tour; do you have any festivals planned this summer?

Yeah, we're playing the Wireless Festival in Hyde Park and we're headlining the Reading and Leeds Festival. We're also going to be playing in Kings Cross the same weekend as Leeds. We have all sorts of European Festivals.

What could we expect from a Ladytron live show?

A cannonball! Tigers, fighting, visuals and some new songs. Live we play with the four of us plus a drummer and a bass player, it's probably a harder sound live than what you would hear on a record. The live show is more extreme.

Do you have any favourite venues?

We played in an amusement park in China which had miniature landmarks from all over the world! On the concrete Arc de Triumph there was a huge Ladytron poster – that was quite funny to see. We played at an exhibition of our friend's in Liverpool which was part of the Summer of Love. He had these crazy wallpapers; it was weird playing at an art show!

To end this I just want to know what's next for you guys?

We're going to be doing some recording sessions for radio stations; we'll also be shooting the next video and then rehearsing a bit more! Just festivals throughout the summer really!

I'd like to thank you for talking to us.

Ok thank you too!

Source

Battery in Your Leg interview (2008)

I don't even know if it is possible to convey how THRILLED I was at the opportunity to interview Ladytron. Specifically, vocalist Helen Marnie. I've been a fan of this band ever since I purchased the Commodore Rock EP, and have been consistently impressed with every new album. Yes, I realize I didn't actually get to talk to her and this was all over email, but stop trying to rain on my parade, alright?

The band's winning streak looks to continue with their latest album, Velocifero, due out in the US on June 3rd.

Have you always wanted to be in a band? What did 8 year old Helen want to be when she grew up?

When I was a kid I either wanted to be an actress, a model, or a singer... Of course, when you realize you'll never grow past 5'6″ that's one dream shattered. Then, after a few drama classes I realised I wasn't the best of actresses either. After university I just fell into the band thing. It was a chance meeting, and next thing I know I'm in Ladytron. I guess it was what fate had in store for me.

A lot of the band's influences are fairly well-known – Roxy Music, My Bloody Valentine, etc. What bands & singers have most directly influenced you as an individual?

I always find this question really difficult to answer because obviously over the years there is so much stimuli which makes it hard to decide who or what influenced you the most. I think I've probably been most influenced by dreamy female vocalists from different eras and genres. Ranging for the operatic queen that was Maria Callas to the unusual vocal styles of Kate Bush and Joni Mitchell.

This album feels 'heavier' than any other you've done. Was that a concious decision or more a natural byproduct of working with Alessandro Cortini & Vicarious Bliss?

I think Velocifero feels heavier because with Witching Hour we realised more how we wanted to sound, and we just developed on that and took it to another level for album number 4. Also, having toured Witching Hour for 2 years the live show influenced us alot. We were always striving to make songs hit the audience harder. When we finally finished touring Witching Hour we had 1 day off before going into the studio to record Velocifero. All the songs were pretty much together by the time Alessandro and Vicarious Bliss came on board, it was more a case of some additional production.

I've always found myself quite taken with the photographs of the band that coincide with the release of an album. How important is style & image for you?

Obviously when you release an album it is quite important to coincide it with a fresh set of press shots, which make it all the more exciting. Every band wants to look their best at this stage, and we are no different. We like to keep our stage gear separate to what we wear everyday, it makes the clothes more special and unique to the gig experience.

How do you decide who will take vocal duties on a track? Or do the tracks themselves tend to dictate the singer?

Generally we know who will take lead on a certain track, and in which language it will be sung. Bulgarian is a very rhythmical language and works well on certain tracks. The diction also has alot to do with it. Also, our vocal styles are very different and i think they compliment each other when they come together.

Speaking of vocals, I couldn't help but notice the male singer on 'Versus'. Is that Daniel or Reuben? Or someone else entirely?

Danny sings on Versus. At the moment it's one of my favourite tracks to listen to on the album. I'm looking forward to singing it live, as I think it'll be fun dueting with Danny.

So far 'Tomorrow' & 'Runaway' seem to be my absolute favorites this time out (though it changes every time I listen). Are there any specific tracks that you're especially proud/fond of on this one?

Apart from Versus I'm also really enjoying 'Runaway' and 'Ghosts' at the moment. But really, I am very happy with all the songs on the album.

To this day, I can walk into a club and hear 'Playgirl' or 'Seventeen' or 'Destroy Everything You Touch' and EVERYONE will immediately run to the floor to dance. Given the sometimes fickle nature of music lovers, does the incredible 'shelf life' of your albums ever surprise you?

It's totally flattering when you hear stories like this. In some ways it surprises me, but then I also realize the dancability of these tracks. Having toured alot since we released Light and Magic you also find out which tracks get people moving and Destroy Everything you Touch is one example of a crowd pleaser. What really amazes me though, is when you go to a country where the albums haven't even been released and the crowd knows every word to every song. I can hear them louder than I can hear my own voice. We have a very loyal fanbase, and I think the fact we've never really been hyped or gone mainstream pleases people. It's like we still belong to them.

And of course, because I live in Arizona I have to ask – when can we expect to see you again? We know it's hot but we're very fond of you!

I think we've actually only played Arizona once, but it was a great gig. I remember the beautiful red sky at night and partying with CSS as it was our last night touring together. Unfortunately I don't think we'll be hitting Arizona on this leg of the tour, but we will be back to the US very soon for the second installment... so watch this space.

Source

The Telegraph interview (2002)

In a league of their own

They've been likened to the Human League, but synth-pop band Ladytron are a far more sophisticated proposition, says Andrew Perry
5 December 2002

It's been a terrible year for dance music. The revolution promised by acid house 15 years ago, where boring old guitars would be swept out of the charts by an exciting new world of electronic machinery, seems to have finally petered out. The superclubs are deserted as the same ageing DJs creakily endeavour to wind up the dancefloor to an all too familiar beat.

One fresh sound did arrive. Known as "electroclash", it was concocted by a handful of remixers from Berlin, and a tiny underground scene in New York centred on the duo Fischerspooner. They took their version of Kylie's "Come Into My World" into the pop charts, but when they brought their "live" performance to the UK in the summer, it was a glorified fashion show - a clumsy one at that - and all the music was pre-recorded. It almost felt like the end of the road.

Against this sorry landscape, a new album called Light & Magic by the British group Ladytron is a ray of sunshine, bringing both pop pizzazz and intriguing complexity to a wilting genre. On the surface, it may not sound a million miles from the electroclash agenda - 1980s synth-pop, updated with contemporary technology - but there's a greater sophistication at work here, on practically every level.

By existing outside the dance fraternity, the quartet have developed an identity of their own, based on the intriguing sexual frisson in their two boy/two girl line-up and their interest in songwriting traditions which extend back far beyond those of their peers.

It all began in Liverpool. Keyboard fanatics Danny Hunt and Reuben Wu were friends at college there when, in about 1997, they first started using the name Ladytron - an old Roxy Music song title. A year or two later, their two singers, London-based Helen Marnie, and Mira Aroyo, who was doing a PhD in genetics at Oxford, came into the picture. Their story of exactly how that happened varies from interview to interview - was it a chance meeting on a train in Mira's parental homeland, Bulgaria, or via the internet? When I ask them what the truth is, as their tour bus calmly eats up the miles between gigs in Glasgow and Edinburgh, they blush a little and say that they prefer these romantic possibilities to the mundane reality.

Inspired by the discrepancies in their tastes as much as the similarities, they began writing together during free weekends on Merseyside. They released a string of singles on Invicta Hi-Fi, an independent label co-run by Hunt, and followed these in 2001 with a DIY debut album, 604, disturbingly named after the world-threatening virus in the movie The Andromeda Strain.

Its marriage of analogue synthesizers, state-of-the-art programming and outrageously hummable pop tunes was equally unconventional, as was the playful interchange of Helen's seductive vocals coo and Mira's harsher, deadpan sound.

"There wasn't stuff like this being done in Liverpool at the time", says Aroyo with some understatement. "Liverpool comes out of this Teardrop Explodes/Beatles culture, and everyone wants to be in that mould. We just tried to bring through something different. We use a mixture of 1980s and 1970s synths, and also computer programmes that weren't around at that time, so you wouldn't have been able to make our music then".

Their idiosyncrasy came across in the lyrics, too, which were anything but the usual hedonist mantras or "I love my robot" retro-futurism spouted in most electronic music. Theirs suggested unusual sexuality, strange love triangles, and, on "The Way That I Found You", an obsession about someone spotted in the crowd at a women's tennis match.

All this was feverishly lapped up by the music press, but, as with all the most interesting pop music, people had trouble finding a pigeonhole for Ladytron. Were they Kraftwerk meets Blondie? A weirder Saint Etienne, maybe? The Human League reborn in the age of girlpower? None of these really hit the mark, and the confusion deepened when they were more likely to be found glamming up an afternoon's billing at the Reading Festival in their stage uniform of black catsuits than swanning around at the Ministry of Sound.

If Ladytron had actually wanted to fit in, the perfect chance came earlier this year when they could easily have jumped into bed with the electroclashers by signing to the trendier-than-thou label City Rockers. They chose not to.

Perhaps their most decisive act of separation from the electro fad came when they recorded the follow-up to 604. They'd already prepared some basic tracks back in Liverpool, and decided to finish them off in Los Angeles - a city almost totally devoid of electronic influence - with producer Mickey Petralia, who is best known for his work with Beck and the Beastie Boys.

"We just wanted to look at what we do in a totally different environment", says Aroyo. "We couldn't have brought anything new to it if we'd gone to Berlin or New York. Whereas people don't really make this sort of music in the sunshine. The studio had a swimming pool, so you could walk out for suntanning sessions between takes. Inside, it was black granite, black leather, black mirrored surfaces and huge cockroaches all over the place. It was decrepit sunshine, David Lynch sunshine".

The change of scenery at least partly explains why Light & Magic sounds so different from everything else. One track, "Blue Jeans", is pure techno-pop perfection, but with a thundering hip-hop breakbeat underneath it. As Danny Hunt rightly points out, "I don't know how anyone could hear that and still say that we sound like The Human League.

"You write a song that's basically inspired by Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood, and people still think you're Kraftwerk. People find it hard to get beyond the sound of the keyboards".

What really separates Ladytron from the pack is the substance in their songs. In terms of structure, the band draw from all kinds of classic pop and rock. During our conversation, countless names crop up from the non-electro field - the Supremes, Britney, Phil Spector, Can, Nick Cave, Dolly Parton, Donna Summer, even Black Sabbath, whose classic "Paranoid" regularly features in Aroyo's solo DJ sets.

They're loath to reveal what the lyrics are actually about, because they're mostly about relationships all too close to home, and anyway, they like the idea of a pop lyric being a blank screen for the listeners to project their own meaning on.

"What they're not about", says Mira, "is space-age travel and riding in limousines. All that may be fun, but it's not something that we can relate to in a song. There's a lot of humanity in there. It's not this robotic, cold, icy thing".

To remind them to steer clear of that sort of thing, they pinned up the sleeve of Gary Numan's album The Pleasure Principle on the studio wall.

"It was a sign of where not to go", Aroyo chuckles. "I like some Tubeway Army songs, but we all respond to things that are warmer and have humanity to them".

"We heard that Gary actually wanted to meet us, but we didn't want to talk about planes, or hairpieces. We didn't meet up".

Source

Ladytron - La Maroquinerie, Paris, 2008

Discotraxx





Ghosts





Playgirl