Quirky-pop kids Metronomy are an entirely new beast since electro-punk legend Erol Alkan saw the commercial potential of Mount’s then-solo project.
It took quite the revolving door of members for Joseph Mount to finally find his perfect lineup. Now a full-fledged four-piece, UK quirky-pop kids Metronomy are an entirely new beast since electro-punk legend Erol Alkan saw the commercial potential of Mount’s then-solo project. For one, according to the frontman, it’s a nice change from tinkering around the computer in his bedroom trying to recreate beats a’la Aphex Twin and LFO.
“It all probably goes back to the single You Could Easily Have Me,” Mount recalls. “Basically the single got to Erol Alkan and he started playing the track in [DJ] his sets at first. Then I guess he was interested in hearing more because he actually asked for us to play at his club. So we got some band members and transformed the whole thing into a big live show. It was a big honour,” he adds, “for sure; I can’t say that I could have planned it or even saw it coming. You can only really hope for things like that to happen, you can’t really expect them to.
“Before that I’d been sitting in my bedroom making music that sounded like what I was listening to at the time. Since then there’s been quite a few different people coming and going for their own reasons, but the lineup is looking pretty steady now.”
Also featuring Anna Prior on drums, Oscar Cash on keys, and bassist Gbenga Adelekan, Metronomy, these days, are more akin in sound to New Order and Pet Shop Boys on sophomore album Nights Out. According to Mount, it’s been an introduction to Metronomy and a benchmark in a whole new era for the band.
“I guess the album sort of cements the fact that this really is a band now,” states Mount. “Before that, it almost felt like it was just a name I had to come up with for the solo stuff I was doing, but now it actually feels like a collective.
“Another important thing about it,” he adds, “is that there are vocals on it, which wasn’t that eas
y for me to start doing. It took some guts. There’s almost a cautionary tale behind it about how easy it is to fall into the lifestyle of drugs and parties and girls and basically lose yourself,” he chuckles darkly.
“A lot of people call us electro-pop, which sits fine with me. I think it’s come quite a long way from the first album a few years ago ( Pip Paine (Pay The $5000 You Owe), 2006) because that was quite an instrumental release.”
Parties, drugs, girls – it’s the lifestyle that Mount first got acquainted with when he moved from his native Devon to Brighton in order to study at university. As a drummer in various bands during this time, Mount says he speaks from firsthand experience when it comes to the lyrical themes on Nights Out.
“A lot of bands get broken up because of girlfriend issues and other people meddling,” he points out. “We got to see the seeder side to music pretty early on, as soon as the live shows started happening. In East London people are so self-conscious and so concerned about how cool they are and what drugs they’re taking and whether they’re in the right bar and whether they can be seen.
“When we first started doing gigs we got thrown into a box with Klaxons and ‘new-rave’ pretty much straight away. It’s like nobody could take the time to actually listen to the music and everyone was so cynical. We had to put up with that, which was very frustrating, but we also knew that if we held in there eventually we’d be seen for what we really are. That begins to happen after other bands you get lumped in with start to disappear and you’re still around.”
It was certainly a big plus that at the same time Mount was building a fierce reputation as a re-mixer of musical giants such as the likes of Gorillaz, Architecture In Helsinki, Goldfrapp and Hot Chip. And while it’s Metronomy that both UK and Australian audiences can’t get enough of, Mount claims he isn’t ready to give up on his solo productions entirely.
“We have a lot to thank Myspace for,” he claims. “I mean that for both Metronomy and so many other talented bands and solo artists out there. I’ve managed to meet a few brilliant people through Myspace which I wasn’t able to say up until recently, because let’s face it, there’s also a lot of crap that floats around on the internet. I’ve been keeping my eye on some interesting artists over the last couple of years, someone to collaborate with on the side, and one of them was an artist called Anita Blay.”
And while it’s a dance/pop crossover on Nights Out as well as upcoming third album which Mount is currently working on, in a live setting Metronomy possess a mind-blowing rock show that was nothing short of jaw-dropping, one that was proven when the band played in Australia last year.
“Some people prefer to complain about how much they have on their plate and how they never get anything done, but I prefer to never stop working,” Mount admits. “The more work I’ve got on, the more creative I’m being and the better quality I’m actually producing, I find.
“We’ve got a third album coming up, but that’s just one of the things of many. We’re also really trying to make our live show as huge as possible. I’m really into the flashy lights and dancing and just leaving an impression on people at the end of the night. I don’t think there’s anything more boring than just watching a bunch of people playing their instruments on the stage – you might as well just come and check them out at rehearsal.”
METRONOMY bring their amazing live show back to Australia when they play The Prince Bandroom on Thursday November 25. They’re joined by World’s End Press and Magic Silver White – tickets from princebandroom.com.au. Their latest album, Nights Out , is out now through Warner.
