The Chemical Brothers: "St. Vincent Is So Full Of Ideas"
The dance duo were bowled over when working with alt.pop guitar goddess Annie Clark on their new album. Find out why.
THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS’ Tom Rowlands says working with St. Vincent (pictured above) led to him creating music he’d “never dreamt of” when they collaborated recently.
The singer-songwriter, real name Annie Clark, features on Under Neon Lights on the duo’s new album Born In The Echoes – read our review of the album – and speaking to MOJO the producer said he was bowled over by her contribution.
“She’s so full of ideas and brilliance – you really feel you’re in the presence of an artist,” he declares in our latest issue.
“She gets you to do things you’d never dream of. It can be brilliant when a lyricist gives your music a totally different meaning. Years ago we gave Wayne Coyne a track that didn’t suggest anything in particular to us and he came back with The Golden Path, this amazing vision of the afterlife. We’re like, Oh my God…”
“Ultimately, it’s just about trying to make alien pop music.”
St. Vincent
Rowlands was speaking as part of a review of his record in the new MOJO (August 15/ #261), and the issue also features an extensive interview with St. Vincent, which sees Clark – plus contributions from her collaborators including Talking Heads’ David Byrne and The National’s Bryce Dessner – discussing her musical impulses and her creative vision.
“Ultimately, it’s just about trying to make alien pop music,” she muses, “music that is memorable, but also has a twist.”
Get the latest MOJO now for both interviews, plus listen to Under Neon Lights below.
PHOTO: Guy Eppel for MOJO