What do you get if you throw together some casiotones, bass guitar, 1 pixie like songstress with a huge voice (and an even huger stage presence), 2 guys and some hearty yet glitchy beats, then stick them together in a blender and crank the switch to high?  Why the electro dance-pop sounds associated with the hotly tipped and Kitsuné favoured London trio Chew Lips of course.  Who the hell else?

Currently riding the tidal wave of the all-consuming 80’s gleaned electro pop reawakening, Chew Lips have garnered a cornucopia of fans, label interest and the odd Radio 1 DJ along the way.  Since their initiation just over twelve months ago, they have consistently topped ones to watch lists and seemingly never wobbled under the weight of the hype that has been lavished upon them since their first live shows.  Last year’s debut single ‘Solo’ became an underground hit with its LCD Soundsystem beat, electronic bleeps and the rousing vocal from enigmatic front woman Tigs.  It’s a track dexterous and immediate enough to be wedged firmly into sub-conciousness everywhere, whilst imparting a desire to jerk your body around in flailing circular motions and simultaneously scream the chorus. Probably best done whilst comfortably wasted in a club.

This year with another release through the ubiquitous Kitsuné Maison label ’Salt Air’, and starring roles at pretty much every festival taking place over the summer, Chew Lips are now embarking on the final phase of recording and producing their debut LP.  A likely progression of early demos, with their finger on the pulse of popular music for the 21st century and widely anticipated especially amidst the already successful electronic pop market that has taken hold and choked the life out of anything outside its realms. 

After witnessing 2 high-octane Chew Lips shows over the past six months, one supporting the Vivian Girls at the Macbeth and the other at this years Great Escape in Brighton, 4or The Record spent a lovely afternoon in the company of Tigs before the single launch party for ‘Salt Air’.  And our interview provided the perfect basis for a vivid glimpse into the cross-pollinating world of Chew Lips, where no holds are barred and honesty prevails.  If you haven’t already, get yourself away from your Facebook and catch their live show.  Or if laziness is your defining adjective then at the very least look them up on Spotify, that’s C H E W space L I P S…

4TR: So Tigs, first things first, is it true the band wrote 10 songs during your first ever practice?
Tigs: Yeah that is true, but I think you have to write a lot of songs to get a lot of good songs.  I think there’s a bit of a trend especially within manufactured pop where the first 10 songs you write all go on the album, because in this country we have a very fast turn over in music.  In America you have to tour for 2 years as a band and play in every single college town before you even make a single, so you have to earn your right to make a single over there.  Here maybe the first 2 songs you write get picked up by some underground thing or maybe BBC6 music for example, and if people like it you are then on this train where you have to do things quickly.  So quality control is not what it should be anymore because you haven’t had the time or the chance to do better, such is the lust for the next new big thing.

4TR: Chew Lips were written about all over the blogosphere very early on in your conception citing you as the next big thing.  Does that amp up the pressure too early for a new band, or was that your aim?
Tigs: We weren’t looking for it at all, but it was really strange because we had important music people coming down to our 5th show or something when no band is really ready to be exposed to that kind of thing.  But if it’s going to happen it’s going to happen, you can’t stop it, and being talked about in pleasant terms or excitedly is something every band wants.  So I don’t think we have ever felt pressure about it, you either make good songs or you don’t.  But I think its sad the way that by the time you put out your album maybe you are not exciting or interesting anymore, but then I think its sadder that that fear would make people put out substandard stuff to try and capitalize on the hype they have got at the beginning. 

4TR: You released your first 2 singles, ‘Solo’ and ‘Salt Air’ on Kitsuné.  ‘Solo’ in particular was massively picked up on, how did that impact on you guys?
Tigs: Oh I don’t know how massive it was really, but what amazes me is everywhere we go people know the fucking words, its blows my mind.  We were in Amsterdam and people knew the words and I couldn’t believe it, then it happened at the Camden Crawl.  We headlined the show and Lamacq introduced us on stage and when we did ‘Solo’ every person in there sang the words to me.  I came off stage and cried, I just couldn’t fucking believe it.

4TR: That’s a big deal for any band or artist at whatever stage of their career.  It’s very popstarish!
Tigs: Yeah definitely and I felt for a second I really, really want this you know.  It’s a very strange sensation.

4TR: How does the band write, musically and lyrically?
Tigs: Well the lyrics aren’t collaborative that’s my work but the rest of it is.  The writing has worked well with us doing it together and so half were written by all 3 of us and the other half were written by just James and I.  But really it’s worked in different combinations of the 3 of us so we all have a role.

4TR: From that first band practice where you wrote your first 10 songs, did you always have the electronic pop sound in mind?
Tigs: No never, because we all come from different musical backgrounds.
4TR: Like what?
Tigs: Well I come from an alt-rock background and I was a solo artist and signed to Universal for 2 years but it didn’t really work out.  James and Will used to be in a band together and again that just fell apart as well.  I think we always thought we would be a bit more indie than it is now, but we got in a room with a bunch of instruments that we didn’t know anything about and just saw what noise they made.  To that end we never really jammed, somebody would sort out a beat on the laptop and it would go from there

4TR: So have you refined your sound at all, or has the sound progressed and changed?  I am guessing if it was never a contrived effort to sound how you do, a kind of anything goes ethos was taken?
Tigs: Well I think it’s definitely changed a lot, but I don’t think anyone is going to realize how much until we put the record out.  We have been working with David Kosten who did both Bat For Lashes records and he is a really great guy who has some brilliant stories.  Actually him and James working together has been a really interesting thing to watch, the combination of both of them as a result means our record has been really experimental.  It’s still commercial but it’s a whole different thing to what I thought it would be.

4TR: David Kosten’s previous work with Bat For Lashes obviously demonstrates a totally different sound altogether to what we know of Chew Lips.  Would you say he has brought a new element to the band at all, or did you maintain your stance on where you wanted to go with the record?
Tigs: Well they still sound like our songs but I think when we went into the studio we didn’t feel that they had to sound a certain way.  I think if you go in feeling like that then you’re going to cut out a lot of potential or interesting bits.  We have tried alot of new things and some of them haven’t worked but some we have kept, so the record has turned into something very interesting and different to what our demos are and we are excited about that.

4TR: So you are employing a diy ethic in the fact that you have written and are involved in producing the record, but you do have management and funding in the absence of a label.  Have you felt that the creative process has been entirely uncompromised in terms of outside influences?
Tigs: Oh yeah in that respect its totally pure.  There have been moments where this record could literally be anything we wanted it to be, and no one has been puling us in any direction at all.  Our management is unique, they encourage you to do whatever you want which is amazing and then we found David Kosten and we all wanted to work with each other.  But at the same time sometimes it really works having a label; you win for obvious reasons with financial support but you are always at risk of being dropped.  Whereas if ours doesn’t do well we’ll just go and make another one.  I don’t envy the pressure that some labels put on artists, especially if you are hyped and it doesn’t go anywhere.  The more money a label spend on you the quicker they drop you, its frightening; actually I think the statistics are 1 in 30 people who get signed actually get to put an album out.

4TR: Its interesting because people think getting signed by a label is a massive thing, but actually its not always the case, people get signed and never actually get the chance to put any music out despite their talent.
Tigs: That’s the thing they get chewed up and spat out, its very sad and very tough.

4TR: In that case once the record is finished will you then be going out to look for a label to back it?
Tigs: Not definitely at this stage, but part of the reason for making the record first is that you are offering the finished product to a label and they can then go fuck I believe in that because they are buying into it knowing exactly what they are getting.  I think that way you can maintain creative control for the next album etc, as they trust you.  A lot of bands like you say get taken on at a very developmental level and the record that they end up making suddenly turns out to be nothing like the label thought and that’s when people get dropped.  An artist who has got something to play already is a different thing altogether.

4TR: Lets talk about your stage show, because you as a front woman are renowned for your huge presence and for always putting a hell of a lot into each show.
Tigs: Thank you for noticing that, I really do, but I would never put anything less than 100% into it. 
4TR: Plus you look like you are having a good time with it!
Tigs: I am and I don’t think anyone else will have a good time if I’m not having a good time.  Like a pet peeve of mine is fucking boring indie boys who just fucking stand there looking miserable.  It’s like you are not miserable, you do want to be there and you do care what people think of you because if you didn’t then you wouldn’t be there on stage.  Why do they pretend they don’t care if people like them of course they love it.  I’m sorry there’s an element of showmanship or wanting to be on stage for everyone who gets on stage even if they have stage fright, and the whole thing of looking like they couldn’t give a fuck is just fucking tired, its bullshit and its not fun to watch at all.  And also I hate that thinking of I’m up here and you are there and I’m really cool; I don’t want there to be that kind of thing going on.  Everyone says that they don’t want there to be a barrier between the stage and the audience, but it’s true I don’t want there to be, its bullshit.

4TR: There is undeniably a lot of electro-pop kind of fringe music happening at the moment, like La Roux, Little Boots and Passion Pit, so do you think other bands could possibly surpass that kind of success within the pop market?
Tigs: Yeah there is definitely still the potential for cool pop music being successful at the moment.  I used to have a real problem with the word pop when I was younger but now I have no problem with it at all, like what La Roux does is pop, what Black Lips do could even be pop, what we do is pop, its all fucking pop.  What pop means is music that young people like really, sometimes its subversive, and sometimes the most subversive music you will here is pop music.  Girls Aloud for example is some dark shit sometimes but you don’t know it because you are looking at glittery shit on telly, its sneaky but brilliant, its genius actually.

4TR: Within the pop industry, where realistically the potential is there to become huge are you looking to reach over into the mainstream with people buying your record at Tesco’s just as much as someone might at say Pure Groove or even I-Tunes?
Tigs: Well there’s no point making music if you don’t want people to hear it and I want as many people as possible to hear it plus I’m not going to be snobby about fans.  When I go to gigs of bands that I really like I sing along to the words and that is what I want people to do at ours.  We already have people of all ages coming to our shows and it’s amazing but I want that to get bigger and bigger.

4TR: Finally, what’s next for Chew Lips along with your debut album?
Tigs: Well in the autumn we would love to go out on a massive support tour.  We have already done supports with Howling Bells and The Virgins, which was such good fun, but next I want us to do something massive like The Killers for example.  You need to have a massive fan base before you put the record out, so I want to be able to fill venues and not be playing to nobody you know, and you only get that by kind of nicking the fans off someone else massive so a really good support tour would be so great.  We will blag our way onto something huge I am confident in that.  Then everyone look out for the album!!!

Write a comment

Name:
Email:
Subject:
Comment: *

Security Code: