Dragonette finds strength in songwriting collaboration
Dance-pop band is close to releasing new album after three years
Three years have gone by since the last Dragonette album, Bodyparts. In the interim, the Toronto dance-pop band has been collaborating with some of the biggest names in electronic dance music. Tracks with producers like Dada, Paul Harris, Kaskade, Martin Solveig, Mike Mago, Big Data, and Galantis have helped introduce the decade-old trio — vocalist Martina Sorbara, bassist/producer Dan Kurtz, drummer Joel Stouffer — to a new audience, while injecting some fresh creative juice into the group’s songwriting.
We talked to Sorbara about the collaborations, the direction of the next album and who should rightfully be credited for Adele’s Hello. Q You’ve been collaborating with a lot of different people since Bodyparts. Is that what has caused the delay in finishing a new Dragonette record?
A What’s the delay? Well, laziness, obviously. No, not really. We’re not the most prolific writers in the world. But I think we were touring forever for the last record and we didn’t want to just go right back into the studio. We kind of needed a break. And I just wanted to write with a bunch of other people and see what happens.
Q What’s left to finish?
A There are a few stragglers. The songs are written, and a couple just need finishing production. If they make it to the finishing line, they’ll make it to the record. If they don’t, then basically the album’s done.
Q Do you have a title for this beast?
A I do, but it’s not exactly agreed upon. Somebody might change my mind. But let’s get real. I’m the boss. If you’re the only girl in the band, you’re the boss. That’s it!
Q Do you think the 2010 success of the single Hello with (producer) Martin Solveig opened the doors for these other collaborations?
A I don’t know. The first collaboration I did was with Basement Jaxx (2006’s Take Me Back to Your House), and that was a really strange process. Ever since then, I just get songs in my inbox, or I sit in the room with someone, but that’s more rare than just getting a track and singing on top of it. I’ve been putting myself in a collaborative songwriting position more and more. I wasn’t really open to it before, I didn’t really understand it. It (songwriting) was a very private process for me. But collaborating and feeding off someone else’s creative energy — I love it. Whereas before I was afraid of it.
Q Can you pin down the way working with different producers might have influenced the tracks on the new album?
A I have better communication skills. Before, I wouldn’t consider a certain aspect of songwriting really a part my milieu or whatever. Now, because I have the language from these experiences, I better communicate ideas I have for tweaking something, or pointing out what’s wrong with something.
Q Is it safe to say the upcoming album is Dragonette’s danciest?
A No. It’s very dance-y sonically. The sounds are big. But I feel like the experience is soft. The songs are emotionally much softer.
Q You guys had a hit with Hello, and now Adele has a hit with a song of the some title.
A And also Hedley. That’s what their new single is called. I think it came out just before Adele’s.
Q I think you started something there.
A No, I think Lionel Richie started it!
Q Why tour now, in early December?
A I don’t know, it’s fun. We have new songs to play. So we said, “Let’s have a concert.”