“Yes it’s all false love and affection
You don’t want me
You just like the attention
Yes it’s all false love and affection
You don’t like me
You just want the attention”
On the day when the video for I’m Not Your Toy, the new single taken from the self-titled debut makes its way across the internets, it’s indeed a pleasure to present Elly Jackson from La Roux who was gracious enough to answer some questions about the band.
BS. From your debut on Kitsune to being poised to take over the US, how do you feel?
EJ. Mighty real
BS. Have you gotten your head around it all yet?
EJ. No. Tis one helluva head fuck
BS. The record is great and it’s chock full of single-worthy songs. My personal favourites would be “Bulletproof” and “Colourless Colour”. What are your favourite songs? Ben’s?
EJ. I’m Not Your Toy is mine and In For The Kill is Ben’s
BS. If you weren’t Elly Jackson, frontwoman of La Roux, you would be Elly Jackson the…?
EJ. Pervert
BS. How did La Roux come about?
EJ. A mutual friend put us in touch 5 years ago. Now we’re best mates and wouldn’t want to work with anyone else
BS.. What do you think of the UK music scene at the moment? Tell the truth. Are you and Victoria Hesketh (Little Boots) rivals? Give us some dirt!
BS. Do you feel there’s a genuine electronic pop resurgence gaining traction at the moment? With you, Little Boots, Frankmusik amongst others putting out quality records this year, is electronic pop back?
EJ. Did it ever go away?
BS. Who’s on the La Roux playlist right now? Besides…erm…La Roux?!
EJ. Glass Candy, Magistrates, Maccabees, Bowie and Prince
BS. As you can tell from my blog, I’m a fan of the band. What don’t we know about Elly and Ben?
EJ. Ben Langmaid is not his real name. Its Len Bangmaid but the record label made him change it
BS. If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be?
EJ. David bowie, Prince, Heaven 17
BS. I love the hair! Please don’t even cut it! Have you seen any fans out on the road attempt to emulate the La Roux look?
Happy day! Guess who’s coming back to the States! Yup! La Roux are coming back for another round through the US, albeit a somehwat abbreviated one. With the release of the self-titled debut via Cherrytree/Interscope slated for 29 September, the duo are primed to bring their brand of analogue electronic pop to the State for real. Here are the dates! Can you tell how excited I am?!
10/18/09 San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
10/19/09 Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre
10/21/09 Chicago, IL @ Schuba’s Tavern
10/23/09 Toronto, ON @ The Guvernment
10/24/09 Montreal, QC @ Studio Juste Pour Rire
10/26/09New York, NY @ Highline Ballroom
10/27/09 Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
been there, done that, messed around
I’m having fun don’t pull me down,
I’ll never let you sweep me off my feet,
I won’t let you in again, the messages I’ve tried to send,
my informations’ just not going in,
burnin’ bridges shore to shore, I’ll break away from something more,
I’m not to not to love until it’s cheap
And there you have it, friends! Elly & Ben and friends aka La Roux make their nationally televised debut on Jimmy Kimmel and I must say it was pretty good! It was obvious that Elly was a tumultuous bundle of nerves on stage but she still came out like a champ. Not quite sure what the point of the drummer was there as it’s obviously he doesn’t add anything aside from the visual so not it’s all synths up on stage. Nonetheless, it was a good performance of a brilliant track from an ace debut record. America, the synths are back. I hope you’re ready…
“I won’t let you turn around,
and tell me now I’m much too proud,
to walk away from something when it’s dead”
Yes I know you guys are probably very sick of my incessant posting about La Roux. Allow me to explain. They are brilliant! I can’t help it. The songs stick to my gut and I can’t help but hum them on the subway which as you can imagine elicits some strange stares from the unknowing riders. Their loss… Anyway, I present the brand new video for Bulletproof and this is by far the best and most elaborate video we’ve witnessed to date. It certainly appears that the folks at Polydor increased the budget for this one.
Elly’s got some funky cool futuristic makeup going on and I must say I heartily approve of the outfits as well. It’s so refreshing to see a female artist who doesn’t feel the need to be a video ho and actually displays some semblance of a sense of fashion! About the song itself? This is right up there with Quicksand as a simply immaculate track and a nice rebound from In For The Kill. Bouncy analogue synths and a killer chorus make this song a winner. This will be the summer of La Roux.
It’s only fair that if I’m going to mention the brilliance of Frankmusik that I also continue waxing poetic about Miss Elly Jackson aka La Roux, the current queen of analogue dance pop. The new single Bulletproof continues the roll she’s been on and sets up a very interesting chart battle between Elly and Mr. Frank. Her self-titled debut drops in June and wouldn’t you know it? So does Frankmusik’s… Now I’m not one to fan the flames of controversy for controversy’s sake…oh who am I kidding? Yes I am. Anyway it should be fun to see who outsells whom each act’s debut albums finally see the light of the day.
As for Bulletproof itself? Can’t beat a midtempo stomper to get you dancing up as the summer draws nearer. This may be the most accessible and poppiest of the three singles released thus far. Although I’m still quite partial to Quicksand, Bulletproof is nothing to sneeze at and I look forward to hearing it spun at the local indie disco so I can impersonate someone who can dance with rhythm. Enjoy and comments are most welcome!
That’s right, kids. Finally comes the news that our dear La Roux is coming to America. This round will be a “Hello America” type deal that is sure to be followed by a much more involved jaunt later in the year. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll be in attendance and have a few friends in tow to witness the highlights of 2009 to be sure.
Brooklyn, NY Studio B (April 3)
Montreal, QE Les Saints (4)
Toronto, ONT The Drake (5)
San Francisco, CA 330 Ritch (9)
Los Angeles, CA Roxy (12)
Of course, you’ll all have to tell me how the Brooklyn date at Studio B goes as I’ll unfortunately be out of town that weekend. Grrr….Quel dommage!
Here’s a little something to tide you over in the meantime. Enjoy!
We get ever so hotOuuhh whether we like it or not.They say we can love who we trustOuuhh but what is love without lost?Two hours with accurate devotionsOuuhh and what are feelings without emotions?"
Well, it was only but a couple of days ago I introduced you all to the lovely couple, Elly & Ben, who together come to form La Roux and their catchy debut single Quicksand. Right on cue, it seems the lovely people at Polydor have issued a quaint promotional film for the second single In For The Kill. If you didn’t quite hear the strong 80s influence to be found in La Roux’s music before, you definitely hear it here. Analogue synths in abundance, a tinge of vocodered vocals and a simple, plaintive beat. In other words: they kept it simple, stupid!
Have I mentioned that 2009 is off to a huge bang already?! Some solid tunes and some great records on the way have already begun putting 2008 to shame! May I introduce you to another hot act. Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to La Roux. They’ve come to us from England (where else?) and are made up of Elly Jackson and Ben Langmaid, they’ve also brought the force in the form of their debut single Quicksand released in November on Kitsune. A bit of a head-nodder, you’ll be dancing haphazardly in no time flat. It’s that infectious. For some reason, I hear some serious Eurythmics action with Timbaland dropping a beat from his mid 90’s sample library. Throw that in a blender with some Yaz and you’ve got La Roux. I think I’m in love…
The debut record will be out very soon via Polydor. You lucky Brits can catch them on the road now as they’re opening dates with Lily Allen. The rest of us? We’ll have to settle with checking out their MySpace.
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