It was more a surrealist response to the idea of gossip and people making assumptions about the relationships of others.
Nebenprojekte sind oft ein schwieriges Unterfangen. Mal sind sie einfach nur die B-Ware, der eigentlichen Band, mal aber auch derart abgedreht, dass sie fast nicht anhörbar sind. Faris Badwan (The Horrors) und Rachel Zeffira gelingt jedoch der Spagat zwischen experimentellen Klangeskapaden und verträumter Popmusik ganz gut. So zeigen sie mit ihrem neuen Album Treasure House nicht nur, dass die das Einmaleins des Guerilla Marketing beherrschen, sondern auch, dass das Duo weitaus mehr ist als eine Soundtrack-Maschine deluxe. In dem Zusammenhang haben wir dem Frontmann von The Horrors ein paar Fragen zur neuen Platte, ihrem Einbruch in den Buckingham Palace und kontroversen Videos gestellt.
Hey guys. I saw the fan video of your latest single „Be Careful Where You Park Your Car“ only about a few days ago on your facebook page and it’s just hilarious. But let’s talk more about the songs : it’s pretty/quite different from what you’ve done before, right/is that right ? Could you maybe tell us a little more about the initial idea of that song ? Where does this garage vibe come from ?
That song was one of the first ones Rachel wrote – before we even began recording our first album. Towards the end of the recording we felt Treasure House needed a short, garage song so we added it in. We’re into girl garage – that’s a big part of the records I collect anyway.
Is this song more like a standalone or is it rather reflecting/expressing the mood of ‘treasure house’ ? In your own words, how would you describe the sound of your album ?
It probably is a little different to the rest of the record but I’m into songs that twist the audience’s idea of what a band is or sounds like. I don’t really like describing our own music – I’m not sure any musician does – but I guess an important part is the clash between orchestral arrangements and weirder sonic production. When we write we always look for strong melodies – that’s the number one thing for us.
Your Buckingham Palace video went viral. Who came up with that idea and why ?
We had been wanting to do it for about 3 years. After the Vatican it seemed like the only thing we could do that would be harder/more unexpected.
Was it hard to breach security at Buckingham Palace?
Yes! It took fucking ages.
It’s not the first time that you’ve done this kind of guerilla marketing. Is this weapon (getting progressively gaining importance in these days and where social media is dominating our society ?
It’s just fun for us, that stuff. Taking risks to avoid getting bored. We don’t really see ourselves as a band – more like two people who have fun collaborating in different ways. We aren’t really interested in doing the conveyor belt stuff that bands can easily get trapped in.
The video of your single ‘Drag’ pictures a problem, which remains (all too)often unspoken/unsaid : domestic violence. What was your emotional response/reaction to that topic ? In your opinion, would you suppose/believe that our society doesn’t care enough about this issue ?
To be honest that video doesn’t really have anything to do with domestic violence. It was more a surrealist response to the idea of gossip and people making assumptions about the relationships of others – the idea that you never know what happens behind closed doors. There were no victims in the video and that was important for us.
Thanks a lot for taking your time !
Das angesprochene Video zur Single „Drag“ gibt es hier: