Photo by Staphane Gallois
Ladytron
Issue #36
The Euro electro group’s latest warm, fuzzy, ‘booty’ release sparks debate about the state of the album
By Katy Henriksen
Published: June 1st, 2008 | 4:03pm
Don’t judge Velocifero — Ladytron’s first album in four years — by a couple of clicks on their MySpace page. Although “velocifero” means bringer of speed in Latin — indeed a telling description of an album written in two days — the band hopes people will linger and listen to it as an album, rather than a collection of catchy singles with filler in between.
“We had about two days between the end of touring and recording,” says Helen Marnie during an interview in support of the new release with Daniel Hunt and Reuben Wu at the dark and mirror-covered lounge of the UN Millennium Plaza Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. Mira Aroyo stayed home to recuperate from a broken leg she’d gotten while skiing.
“We were on tour for so long that we’d gotten together a lot of stuff,” Hunt says. “We had about two albums worth to choose from. It was pretty easy. I think this was the easiest album to make.”
Marnie describes the dark, epic, and bass-y Velocifero as a sister album to 2005’s Witching Hour, which added more elements of guitar and atmospheric pop to their previously keyboards- and beats-dominated sound, to prove they were much more than simply a glossy, trend-seeking group.
“We wanted it to be tight and bass-y, more so than the last record,” Hunt explains of Velocifero. “This one has a bit more of a kick to it.”
“It has more booty,” Wu says.
“Warm and fuzzy, yeah. Do you think it’s more melodic than the others?” Hunt asks. Marnie and Hunt immediately dismiss this suggestion, to which Hunt replies, “Well, then, it’s less melodic.”
“It’s more diverse of a record,” concludes Wu.
The constant back-and-forth and jocular interplay conveys their collaborative efforts. Ladytron is not simply fronted by pretty ladies with men in the back masterminding the sounds. Each member has a huge say in the creation of the band’s distinctive sound that combines a coy playfulness with a keen sense for sonic textural collages that unfold like a story.
“An album should have a beginning and end, and, you know, hopefully some stuff in the middle as well,” Hunt comments before launching into a lament of the apparent demise of albums in the age of digital downloading. “Now bands are coming out and saying, ‘We’re not going to make albums anymore,’ and that kind of freaks me out.”
As Marnie reacts with surprise, Wu asks matter-of-factly, “Do they have to make new albums?”
“They probably don’t. I just don’t think it’s right to abandon the album as a format,” Hunt responds. “You might as well just release 30-second songs or five seconds if the attention span is just going to get shorter and shorter.”
“Just release on MP3,” Wu retorts.
“MP1,” Hunt jokes.
“Just release it as a ring tone,” says Wu.
“Just midi files,” Hunt adds to end the interchange.
So, why exactly make albums?
“It’s the thing to do,” Hunt says. “We don’t know why. We’re quick to dismiss people who don’t, but we don’t actually know why.”
“Because it’s four of us, and we’re all writing and wanting to put a package together,” Marnie says.
After agreeing with her, Hunt adds, “Another reason is because we’ve grown up on great albums.”
“We’re Walkmen kids — putting in the tape, pressing play, and listening to it all the way through,” Wu says.
“Just listening to one song by a band, you can’t actually get what they’re about,” Marnie says.
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