METRONOMY

That’s how British electronica act Metronomy is marketing their new album. Marc Andrews met with the band’s Joseph Mount to talk psychedelics, remixes and the homoeroticism of boy racers.

DNA: How many times have you toured Australia now? Joseph Mount: Four or five times. A lot of English people go all that distance to find something similar to what they left and the amazing thing about being in a band is that you get to go there without realising how much money it is costing. I love Australia. It is such a nice place and everyone is so welcoming. My impression is totally positive, apart from the bogans [laughs]. I’m very excited to come back in July. Your fourth album, Love Letters, was just released. It’s exciting to be back in the game. For the past year I have been recording and getting more excited about putting out this record, so I’m ready for it. Whether I’ll get bored or not after a few months I don’t know yet [laughs]. Does the album title suggest Metronomy is heading more in a pop direction? In a way it was a throwback to ’60s pop records, which were slightly psychedelic. The sound of this record is influenced by that type of music more than our previous albums. For me it never feels like it changes that drastically, but I can guarantee that for anyone listening it will feel like a shift from what has gone before. Even the album artwork has more than a hint of psychedelia. Yeah [laughs], I guess it’s all pointing in that direction. The nice thing is that the album is not a cliché psychedelic thing. It’s surprisingly sparse. What about the track Boy Racers – that sounds quite homoerotic! [Laughs] I wanted to do a song that was about boy racers. When I started driving in a rural town you get these boys with these crappy cars trying to make them loud and stuff, revving their engines at each other. Now it’s quite clear that there is something of boys showing off to each other – showing their feathers or whatever you want to call it. There’s no lyrics or singing on it, so it’s more atmospheric. I’m Aquarius is the first single – is there a hippy vibe to it? I wanted little bits of this record to be influenced by that stuff. I’ve always liked those tracks from that era, which are about astrology. Your record company feels this is the album to take you from the underground to major chart success. I always just get on with it and put much more pressure on myself to improve and write good records than any label or management person does. They are quite excited about it, which is them putting pressure on themselves. Are you continuing with your remix work alongside band duties? I have put that to the side because it serves a good purpose for a while and then you become more interested in real collaborations than remixes. The last one I did was the Lady Gaga one from that album she did [laughs]. The song was You And I. Not many people can say they remixed everyone from Goldfrapp to Lady Gaga! Yeah. For the Lady Gaga one I did it more than anything to have done something that was in her crazy world. I figure in 20 years’ time it must be of interest to my children. Gaga has a very strong visual image, what about Metronomy? It’s always a work in progress. For this tour we are going to try and nail it. You have photos taken now when you are being quite causal and then you realise they are going to live forever through the internet. All the visual stuff is what’s left behind so it’s quite important. Bands from that 1960s era were wearing nice suits so we’re going to try and smarten up. What’s your message to the readers of DNA about Love Letters? My message would be that this album is for all colours and all lovers. The love letters are written to every single one of the gay boys of Australia [laughs]. You sweet talker! Ha! Yes, I realise it is a lucrative market! I hope the record label is right and everyone does get into it. Irrespective, we will be out there playing. With your tops off on stage? Maybe not me, but the others I’m sure [laughs]. They have better bodies and are more bodyconscious than me.