This very well-known British duo has created some eclectic crazy fun music that has pretty much shot them up in their underground alternative/8-bit music scene. As said in the interview- they had a very progressive rise in popularity which was helped by their Live Bristol show being featured in Skins (all you skins fan would definitely know about this)! Enjoy their very informative and interesting interview:
How did you come up with the name?
YOU LOVE HER COZ SHE’S DEAD was just a random name given to the project when it was just a one man project in 2005/2006, when I was still mainly concentrating on hardcore, but until the end of 2007 when there were other people involved the idea to gig anything hadn’t really been considered but the name just stuck when we did. YOU LOVE HER COZ SHE’S DEAD sort of (i admit, awkwardly) suggests the idea of loving people more while they’re still around, and prods the concept that people are idolized in death more than in life, usually because of death. Thats the bullshit explanation, but really it doesn’t mean a thing.
Tell me a little about yourselves?
Elle (Vocals/Synth) is 22 and I, Jay (Programming/Sampling/Bass/Synth) am 27. We’re both from the UK, Bristol/London/Brighton.
What did you guys do before the group started?
I’m not sure what Elle did before the band, I just met her through a friend in a bar and her past is all a bit hazy. I put out a couple of records out 2006/2007 with my old hardcore band which I started back in 2002 in London, which is also when my dabbling in electronic music started, because i used to demo everything for the band using some programs on my PC, which were more suited to electronic music anyway.
How did you start out/ was it hard?
Well to be dead honest the things that have happened for YLHCSD have happened very naturally & easily since we put out our first ‘official’ record with Kitsune, which was the ‘Inner City Angst’ EP. Being invited to appear in SKINS is a good example of what I mean when I say things went smoothly for a debut release. We had been in Paris with Gildas, Jean & Constance from the label at the time when that happened, spending some time in the city, just after a German stint, before playing the Kitsune Maison 6 release party at ‘The Maroquinerie’ with autoKratz and Cazals, so it all felt like things were happening very fast for YLHCSD, and we filmed for SKINS just a week later (episode7/series3). I had a fever, it was not fun. The road crew and our manager we have worked with since the very start have all become close friends and that makes everything more enjoyable from the get-go, especially when you’re in a foreign country a long way from home – it’s relaxing to be with folks you can trust.
Any big plans for the near future?
Yeah well we just did a recent limited white vinyl self-release of ‘Me Versus You’ which was something we just wanted to do ourselves (includes CD copy if don’t have a record player, and a few copies still left available from http://www.ylhcsd.bigcartel.com), we’ve decided to do another DIY release for the track ‘Young Tender Hearts Beat Fast’; re-recorded and with a brand new video promo featuring a unicorn – The song is about being young, the innocence of first love, and we like the way the film ‘Legend’ from the 1980’s portrays that, being born in ’82 that film is engrained into my psyche, so we hope you’ll enjoy the video (Produced by Elliot Dear who also did our ‘Dead End’ video).
Pre-order for ‘Young Tender Hearts Beat Fast’ is now up, i think there will only be 200 copies, and the official release looks like 2nd November.
Aside from those releases we have been writing new material which may be teamed up with re-masters of older tracks for a mini-album or perhaps even full length. For that we would like to work with a label again, and we’ve been talking to a few.
**Random questions**
What song have you been listening to most in the past few weeks?
Unfortunately the truth is ‘Young Tender Hearts Beat Fast’ on loop as I’ve been remixing it for the release. If it hadn’t been then I think Florence The Machine would be on – Reminds me of Jefferson Airplane. Awesome. Elle’s not stopped listening to Booty Luv’s dubstep remix of ‘Say It’.
What one materialistic thing can you not live without?
Laptop, sadly.
Do you have a secret name for your favourite inanimate object?
My Akai MPC 1000 is ‘The Millennium Falcon’, and the reason I call it that is because to make it work you have to whack it just right.
Does being in a band help in picking up girls/boys?
I’m pretty sure that being in a band isn’t exactly the most attractive thing for a person to do haha. Everyone’s in a fucking band! I’d much rather be able to say I’m a butcher, or an explorer and not be lying – because being good with an axe, or a lot of rope, is surely far sexier.
Has anything crazy or embarrassing ever happened during a live gig?
Apart from the usual equipment getting trashed or tipped over, once there was a random old sofa on the stage at a show we did in Munster (Germany) and someone decided to come and sit on it, facing the crowd, and gaze at people blankly while we were playing.. weirdly, that was surprisingly uncomfortable for everyone involved.
Now if you enjoy the Canadian duo Crystal Castles, enjoy this crazy-melodic music!
Ps- I do love the Star Wars reference to the inanimate object!
Links:
YLHBSD Merch
YLHBSD MySpace
YLHBSD Official Site
YLHBSD Facebook
YLHBSD Twitter
YLHBSD Youtube
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