Im a pop junkie, says Victoria Hesketh a.k.a. Little Boots, whose stated goal is to write the perfect pop song. It could be argued that the British singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist has already done that with the 2009 single New In Town from her debut album Hands, but Hesketh modestly insists she has yet to attain that songwriting holy grail.
The word pop when describing any artistic medium is often considered to be synonymous with shallow and disposable, but the music Hesketh makes is most definitely not of that ilk. Unlike many who seek popular music success, Hesketh has put in the work and refused to sacrifice her individuality. Shes learnt her craft, paid her dues, and stayed true to her somewhat geeky self, and in doing so has created a DIY electro-pop aesthetic all of her own. Rejecting over-polished pop, Hesketh incorporates lo-fi sounds from offbeat gadgets such as the Stylophone and Tenori-on into her well-crafted songs.
Its this down to earth, quirky, and honest approach that resonates with fans, who appreciate that shes never conformed to the pop princess mold though conversely its something that no doubt frustrated her first major label Warner Music Group home. Creative differences led to an amicable split after the release of her first album, and now Little Boots is doing her own thing her own way.
Her second album, Nocturnes, which was produced by Mo' Wax co-founder Tim Goldsworthy [now of disco-punk label DFA records], was released via Heskeths On Repeat Records imprint earlier this year, and a video for the song Satellite, which she directed, debuted this month.
We caught up with Hesketh by phone as she was preparing for her upcoming US tour, which kicks off in Santa Ana, California this weekend.
Nicole Powers: So youre from the Blackpool area. My moms from there.
Little Boots: No way! Awesome!
NP: Ive spent a lot of time in Blackpool. When Im trying to explain what Blackpool is like to Americans, I always call it Vegas-lite.
LB: Yeah, Coney Island meets Vegas I normally say.
NP: How do you think growing up in Blackpool has influenced your work? Its a very strange place to grow up.
LB: Yes, I guess soTheres always entertainment that goes on, however high or low quality it is, but its a very honest place. Its changed a lot. When I was growing up it was a lot more a family place, and it was a lot busier, and its kind of become this hen party place. I have a lot of strong connections to the town because Ive got a huge family from there that are very involved with the town. My granddad was mayor of the town when I was little, so Ive got a really big bond with it really. Its an interesting place to come from. I think you really see that two sides of things. Youve got the summer when everythings on, and everythings shiny and got its surface on, and then in the winter everythings shut down, and you see the seedy underside. So its a real town of two faces. Its interesting because I often analyze things like that. I always want to get under the surface of things.
NP: One of the instruments you learned to play at a young age was the flute.
LB: I wasnt very good. I didnt have enough lung capacity apparently.
NP: Thats another thing we share. My parents made me learn the flute. I wanted to play something cool like the guitar or keyboards theres not many rock flautists.
LB: No. I mean, Jethro Tull, isnt he a bit flutey? I remember I originally wanted to play the piccolo, which is a mini flute, but they said no, youve got to learn the big one first, and that seemed a lot less fun. I think I just like small things with lots of buttons. It was so big I was daunted.
I played a lot of instruments as a kid. I played the harp imagine dragging a harp through the school playground? That is not cool by any means. But I think I was always trying to look for something different and tried to play something a bit more unusual. Everyone played piano and guitar. I tried a lot of different things out, but I think it was when I started playing with electronic things that it really started to make sense, and I started to find my forte.
NP: Well, youre known for playing the Stylophone, which is a small thing with lots of buttons.
LB: Yeah.
NP: Do you still have one from when you were a kid? Or did you buy one as an adult from a vintage store?
LB: I didnt really have one when I was a kid. I found it later, I cant remember where. I was probably messing around in the studio. And there was a phase when fans used to buy me them, which, on the one hand was really sweet, and then on the other hand, really useful. Because, on tour, the things were always breaking or running out of batteries, so it was great because I had a stockpile of them.
I was actually lucky enough to meet the guys who invented it, and we made a little film. And theres a Stylophone 2 now, which is a much bigger one, which is properly analogue. Its really cool. So Ive been talking to those guys about doing something with the Stylophone 2. Its a cool little instrument. Its a mad sound. Its kind of the greatest and most annoying sound in the world at once, but I think thats what makes it so unique.
NP: I know early on in your career you auditioned for Pop Idol and got eliminated in the third round. When talking about that experience you were quoted as saying, It made me realize that it wasn't a short cut to getting where I wanted to be."
LB: Yeah.
NP: I admired that, because I don't think theres any substitute for learning your craft, which is what you went on to do.
LB: I was very young, and I think growing up somewhere like Blackpool, even though its all entertainment, its not very clear if you decide you want to be a musician or pop artist how on earth you do that. Now, I live in London and Im so saturated in the music industry and I understand how everything worksOnce youre in it, it feels very easy. But for me, as a teenager, it felt like sending a demo off to a record label was like putting a message in a bottle. I had literally no idea how to go about it.
I think it is hard when you grow up in a town that maybe doesnt have as much of a music scene well, it does have its own scene, but its not like A&R guys are running up to Blackpool to check out the new bands so its difficult. Its easier now with the internet and everything becoming more globalized, people can just put things out themselves. But definitely ten years ago it was just so confusing.
Pop Idol just seemed like the most obvious option for me. I was pretty upset when I didnt get through. I had a little cry in the car with my mom, but everything happens for a reason. The thought now of me doing something like that on a show that doesnt involve you composing your own music or playing your own instruments just seems insane, but I at that age I was just quite naive and I didnt really know how else to go about it.
NP: Your eventual route to fame involved posting videos of yourself making music in your bedroom on YouTube. I love the fact that wankers in corner offices are no longer the gatekeepers of the music industry. Theres a relationship between artists and their fans now that circumvents that.
LB: I think thats a nice picture and I wish it was that simple, but Im pretty sure the wankers in suits are still hanging around the gatesBut I think around the time I was doing that it wasnt so saturated with people on YouTube doing covers. Even though I still was involved with a major label, and all that happened, I think there was something that originally connected me with people that was genuine and honest. I was genuinely just sat in my bedroom bored, in my pajamas at two in the morning playing songs because I thought it would be fun. And the reaction that that got just felt very genuine as well. So that was definitely good. But the music industry is changing so much. Definitely, at that time, it still felt like to be validated you needed a major label. I think less so now. Now all sorts of people are breaking through and having number ones or being in the charts or having great touring careers without the validation of these big, bad labels. So I think thats changed actually, and thats a really empowering, positive thing in a lot of ways.
NP: Its interesting that you use the word validation, because I do think that a lot of artists want to be on a label for that validation.
LB: Yeah. Definitely, when I was getting started. I do think less so now because people realize all you do is take a gigantic loan that youve got a one in a million chance of paying back. And the amount of pressure, and things that come with itYou know, those kind of machines, the labels, they want to just package you into something that they can sell, and you better be comfortable with that because thats what theyre going to do. It definitely does take the ball out of your court. A lot of my new album and new label has been reclaiming that power and gaining the confidence really to call the shots. Ive basically grown a pair of balls in the last couple of years, which I think is a good thing for me. I go into it quite wide-eyed and quite nave, so its been a journey the last couple of years really.
NP: Is that a reflection of the first album, which I know you recorded in Los Angeles with Greg Kurstin, whos produced Kelly Clarkson, Pink, and The Shins. Was there a lot of label involvement that made you feel disconnected from the process?
LB: There was a lot of pressure. I mean, at the time, Greg Kurstin had not worked with any of those people. Hes just incredibly talented. I mean, hes the guy who convinced me to be a pop artist really. But I think on the label side there was just a lot of pressure with the BBC thing [being named the BBC Sound of 2009]. Everyone had kind of decided I was going to be the UK Lady Gaga, and I was the last to get the memo. I was like, hang on a minute, Im not sure about this. It was just such a crazy, crazy time. It was amazing to get swept up in the whirlwind, and experience it, but I think now on the other side Im definitely a little more cautious about how I jump into things.
NP: How did you reclaim your own identity? How did you set things up differently for this album?
LB: One of the main differences is I have my own label, which just gives me complete creative freedom, which was a big move. I could have gone to another label but when I looked at it and sat down and compared the options it was like: I know what I want to do, Ive learnt a lot of lessons, and I can do this. So I set up the label, which means I could creatively do what I want, and then the whole thing of going with Tim Goldsworthy was quite a big call, that was a bit of a gamble really, but I went with it and that turned out great. I guess its just having the confidence in your own gut instincts and knowing whats right for the project. No one knows better then you, and the sooner you realize that the easier it gets. Really, its just made me grow more and more in confidence to the point where I just directed my last music video, which is something if you told me three years ago Id be doing, Id have laughed in your face. The first music video I made for the first album with my old label, apart from turning up on the day, I didnt have a massive amount of input in. So I really feel, personally, creatively Ive come along way.
NP: The video for your new single Satellite was shot in the Blackpool Tower.
LB: In the ballroom, yeah.
NP: And it features an amazing young gymnast/dancer. What made you want to express the song in that way?
LB: I just wanted to capture the energy of the song. Id been thinking of doing something in Blackpool for a while and they have this Disco Kids competition there. Annalise the dancer, shes done that competition, and thats where I got that idea from. Its a freestyle dance contest that been going for years in Blackpool. Id see these little girls all dressed up when I was a kid and thought, who are these amazing girls and why do they get to wear makeup and sparkly clothes and I dont?
Then I saw Channel 4 did a documentary on it called Baby Disco, which was really interesting. It showed you behind-the-scenes of this whole competition. Not all of it was very positive but it occurred to me that there was a positive side in that these girls just love it. So I had the idea to do it with an almost Mini Me, and get one girl to do an amazing routine, and then work these special high speed cameras so we could slow down and speed up and make her fly through the air. Its almost like this ghostly, flying spangly angel. It all just fit into place
Because the songs all about highs and lows, and that sort of thing. This whole business is about taking risks and jumping off a cliff, and having huge highs. But then also youre going to have falls, youre going to have crashes, and youve got to be able to pick yourself up again. The whole song is all kind of about that, and so it just seemed like a really good way to capture the energy and the message of the song. I just knew really clearly what I wanted in my head, so it was actually easier than I thought to bring the elements together and just take charge of it.
NP: Your live shows are great. You really show off your talent and versatility. Beyond even being a singer and songwriter, youre a multi-instrumentalist, and you hop around the stage between the different instruments. You have some US dates coming up, what kind of preparation do you put into the live concerts?
LB: Oh my god, so much! Its the most over-thought live show in history probably. Because Im so obsessed with marrying these things. Like I want a great pop show where I can jump around in a sparkly dress and sing and live out all my Kylie Minogue fantasies. But Im also a musician, I play instruments, I want it to be as live as possible. I dont want to hit go on a backing track and have a Karaoke thing. I want it to be really live and feel live, and I want that to be reflected visually as well. Its a huge thing for me to try and marry these worlds, and I feel like thats something Im constantly trying to do
We put a lot of work into it. Weve got a new surprise, amazing gadget, but maybe Ill keep it a secret for now. But Ive been working on a prototype for ages with some people that Im hopefully going to debut in LA. And well have all the other little gadgets and synths and stuff, and we just had a whole new visual accompaniment commissioned for the video screens. So Im super, super involved in it. That should be the place that you come and experience Little Boots and it all makes sense. Even if all these different bits dont quite add up, that should be the place where the pieces of the puzzle fit together and you get it.
I mean not everything always works. Were notorious for disasters of things breaking or going wrong, but Id much rather try and fail, Id much rather attempt to do difficult things and be ambitious than take the boring safe route. My fans, they dont care if something goes wrong. They know me and they know thats what its all aboutThats what makes it real.
NP: Well, these days, the mistakes make people realize its live.
LB: Exactly. Everyones so obsessed with auto-tune and beat mapping and everythings so perfect. Its so easy to be perfect now that perfection cant be the aim. Surely the most interesting bit is the gaps and the mistakesI get more excited about things sounding a little wonky than sounding too slick.
NP: Wonky thats a great English word. I use it a lot out here and it makes people laugh
LB: We need a dictionary so people can understand us.
NP: So whats next for you beyond the tour?
LB: Weve got a few tours. Weve got this one, weve got one in November where were doing Mexico and a couple of other places, Im finally getting to go to Austin and Dallas, round that way, Miami, and then weve got a big European tour in December and Im doing a huge London show. And Im taking a month off to write some new material, which Im really excited about. Im really ready for it nowAnd weve also got the first releases coming out on my new label, so thats quite exciting, getting the other artists ready, and getting those wheels turning. Ive got a lot on, but Im happy being busy.
NP: Whos the first artist on your label?
LB: Were announcing it next week, but its very cool. Its good pop. Good pop is the mantra for the label.
NP: A lot of people look down on pop, but I think theres nothing greater than a well crafted pop song. Thats whats so wonderful about New In Town. I was playing it to a friend yesterday and telling her to listen to the middle eight even the middle eight is fucking awesome on that song. What are your thoughts about pop music and the snobbery that surrounds it?
LB: I think some people are snobby, but other people think its quite cool to say youre pop now. Im bored to the back teeth with indie bands and indie artists claiming theyre pop when theyre definitely not. Im just not scared of a chorus. Im not really interested if it doesnt hold my attention. Im not here to make mood music, or film music, or atmosphere, Im here to write something that makes you want to sing along. The power of a song that can get in your head, I just think thats a really powerful thing. If you can then do that in an interesting way, or with an interesting message, or thats not just completely straight-forward and not completely derivative.
Theres a lot of bad pop thats the problem with pop, it really falls into two camps. But for me its just the biggest challenge. I can never find anything as challenging as writing the perfect pop song. Its the wholly grail for me. I havent done it yet, so Im still trying. Hopefully Ill get there one day but its just a lot more fun and a lot more difficult. I genuinely think its a lot more difficult to do a simple thing well.
NP: Its also so transformative. You put a great pop song on which I think both New In Town and Satellite are and it can transform your mood.
LB: Thats the idea. Its the thought for me that I can touch people. Like I just got back from a South American tour and I got a book full of letters from fans saying things like, I was in a new place, I moved to a new town, and it was really hard for me to get on there and then I put New In Town on and it made me feel better every day. Or, Ive got anxiety issues and your music made me feel happy and full of hope. Thats just an incredible feeling. I think thats the power of pop songs really, that in such a short space of time you can really connect, and lift people or affect them in some way. Its really powerful. Its a great thing. I dont know, Im a pop junkie. I just love pop music.
Little Boots album Nocturnes, featuring the single Satellite, is out now. Her US tour kicks of at the Constellation Room in Santa Ana, CA on Sunday, September 22nd, 2013. For more info visit littlebootsmusic.co.uk/.
The word pop when describing any artistic medium is often considered to be synonymous with shallow and disposable, but the music Hesketh makes is most definitely not of that ilk. Unlike many who seek popular music success, Hesketh has put in the work and refused to sacrifice her individuality. Shes learnt her craft, paid her dues, and stayed true to her somewhat geeky self, and in doing so has created a DIY electro-pop aesthetic all of her own. Rejecting over-polished pop, Hesketh incorporates lo-fi sounds from offbeat gadgets such as the Stylophone and Tenori-on into her well-crafted songs.
Its this down to earth, quirky, and honest approach that resonates with fans, who appreciate that shes never conformed to the pop princess mold though conversely its something that no doubt frustrated her first major label Warner Music Group home. Creative differences led to an amicable split after the release of her first album, and now Little Boots is doing her own thing her own way.
Her second album, Nocturnes, which was produced by Mo' Wax co-founder Tim Goldsworthy [now of disco-punk label DFA records], was released via Heskeths On Repeat Records imprint earlier this year, and a video for the song Satellite, which she directed, debuted this month.
We caught up with Hesketh by phone as she was preparing for her upcoming US tour, which kicks off in Santa Ana, California this weekend.
Nicole Powers: So youre from the Blackpool area. My moms from there.
Little Boots: No way! Awesome!
NP: Ive spent a lot of time in Blackpool. When Im trying to explain what Blackpool is like to Americans, I always call it Vegas-lite.
LB: Yeah, Coney Island meets Vegas I normally say.
NP: How do you think growing up in Blackpool has influenced your work? Its a very strange place to grow up.
LB: Yes, I guess soTheres always entertainment that goes on, however high or low quality it is, but its a very honest place. Its changed a lot. When I was growing up it was a lot more a family place, and it was a lot busier, and its kind of become this hen party place. I have a lot of strong connections to the town because Ive got a huge family from there that are very involved with the town. My granddad was mayor of the town when I was little, so Ive got a really big bond with it really. Its an interesting place to come from. I think you really see that two sides of things. Youve got the summer when everythings on, and everythings shiny and got its surface on, and then in the winter everythings shut down, and you see the seedy underside. So its a real town of two faces. Its interesting because I often analyze things like that. I always want to get under the surface of things.
NP: One of the instruments you learned to play at a young age was the flute.
LB: I wasnt very good. I didnt have enough lung capacity apparently.
NP: Thats another thing we share. My parents made me learn the flute. I wanted to play something cool like the guitar or keyboards theres not many rock flautists.
LB: No. I mean, Jethro Tull, isnt he a bit flutey? I remember I originally wanted to play the piccolo, which is a mini flute, but they said no, youve got to learn the big one first, and that seemed a lot less fun. I think I just like small things with lots of buttons. It was so big I was daunted.
I played a lot of instruments as a kid. I played the harp imagine dragging a harp through the school playground? That is not cool by any means. But I think I was always trying to look for something different and tried to play something a bit more unusual. Everyone played piano and guitar. I tried a lot of different things out, but I think it was when I started playing with electronic things that it really started to make sense, and I started to find my forte.
NP: Well, youre known for playing the Stylophone, which is a small thing with lots of buttons.
LB: Yeah.
NP: Do you still have one from when you were a kid? Or did you buy one as an adult from a vintage store?
LB: I didnt really have one when I was a kid. I found it later, I cant remember where. I was probably messing around in the studio. And there was a phase when fans used to buy me them, which, on the one hand was really sweet, and then on the other hand, really useful. Because, on tour, the things were always breaking or running out of batteries, so it was great because I had a stockpile of them.
I was actually lucky enough to meet the guys who invented it, and we made a little film. And theres a Stylophone 2 now, which is a much bigger one, which is properly analogue. Its really cool. So Ive been talking to those guys about doing something with the Stylophone 2. Its a cool little instrument. Its a mad sound. Its kind of the greatest and most annoying sound in the world at once, but I think thats what makes it so unique.
NP: I know early on in your career you auditioned for Pop Idol and got eliminated in the third round. When talking about that experience you were quoted as saying, It made me realize that it wasn't a short cut to getting where I wanted to be."
LB: Yeah.
NP: I admired that, because I don't think theres any substitute for learning your craft, which is what you went on to do.
LB: I was very young, and I think growing up somewhere like Blackpool, even though its all entertainment, its not very clear if you decide you want to be a musician or pop artist how on earth you do that. Now, I live in London and Im so saturated in the music industry and I understand how everything worksOnce youre in it, it feels very easy. But for me, as a teenager, it felt like sending a demo off to a record label was like putting a message in a bottle. I had literally no idea how to go about it.
I think it is hard when you grow up in a town that maybe doesnt have as much of a music scene well, it does have its own scene, but its not like A&R guys are running up to Blackpool to check out the new bands so its difficult. Its easier now with the internet and everything becoming more globalized, people can just put things out themselves. But definitely ten years ago it was just so confusing.
Pop Idol just seemed like the most obvious option for me. I was pretty upset when I didnt get through. I had a little cry in the car with my mom, but everything happens for a reason. The thought now of me doing something like that on a show that doesnt involve you composing your own music or playing your own instruments just seems insane, but I at that age I was just quite naive and I didnt really know how else to go about it.
NP: Your eventual route to fame involved posting videos of yourself making music in your bedroom on YouTube. I love the fact that wankers in corner offices are no longer the gatekeepers of the music industry. Theres a relationship between artists and their fans now that circumvents that.
LB: I think thats a nice picture and I wish it was that simple, but Im pretty sure the wankers in suits are still hanging around the gatesBut I think around the time I was doing that it wasnt so saturated with people on YouTube doing covers. Even though I still was involved with a major label, and all that happened, I think there was something that originally connected me with people that was genuine and honest. I was genuinely just sat in my bedroom bored, in my pajamas at two in the morning playing songs because I thought it would be fun. And the reaction that that got just felt very genuine as well. So that was definitely good. But the music industry is changing so much. Definitely, at that time, it still felt like to be validated you needed a major label. I think less so now. Now all sorts of people are breaking through and having number ones or being in the charts or having great touring careers without the validation of these big, bad labels. So I think thats changed actually, and thats a really empowering, positive thing in a lot of ways.
NP: Its interesting that you use the word validation, because I do think that a lot of artists want to be on a label for that validation.
LB: Yeah. Definitely, when I was getting started. I do think less so now because people realize all you do is take a gigantic loan that youve got a one in a million chance of paying back. And the amount of pressure, and things that come with itYou know, those kind of machines, the labels, they want to just package you into something that they can sell, and you better be comfortable with that because thats what theyre going to do. It definitely does take the ball out of your court. A lot of my new album and new label has been reclaiming that power and gaining the confidence really to call the shots. Ive basically grown a pair of balls in the last couple of years, which I think is a good thing for me. I go into it quite wide-eyed and quite nave, so its been a journey the last couple of years really.
NP: Is that a reflection of the first album, which I know you recorded in Los Angeles with Greg Kurstin, whos produced Kelly Clarkson, Pink, and The Shins. Was there a lot of label involvement that made you feel disconnected from the process?
LB: There was a lot of pressure. I mean, at the time, Greg Kurstin had not worked with any of those people. Hes just incredibly talented. I mean, hes the guy who convinced me to be a pop artist really. But I think on the label side there was just a lot of pressure with the BBC thing [being named the BBC Sound of 2009]. Everyone had kind of decided I was going to be the UK Lady Gaga, and I was the last to get the memo. I was like, hang on a minute, Im not sure about this. It was just such a crazy, crazy time. It was amazing to get swept up in the whirlwind, and experience it, but I think now on the other side Im definitely a little more cautious about how I jump into things.
NP: How did you reclaim your own identity? How did you set things up differently for this album?
LB: One of the main differences is I have my own label, which just gives me complete creative freedom, which was a big move. I could have gone to another label but when I looked at it and sat down and compared the options it was like: I know what I want to do, Ive learnt a lot of lessons, and I can do this. So I set up the label, which means I could creatively do what I want, and then the whole thing of going with Tim Goldsworthy was quite a big call, that was a bit of a gamble really, but I went with it and that turned out great. I guess its just having the confidence in your own gut instincts and knowing whats right for the project. No one knows better then you, and the sooner you realize that the easier it gets. Really, its just made me grow more and more in confidence to the point where I just directed my last music video, which is something if you told me three years ago Id be doing, Id have laughed in your face. The first music video I made for the first album with my old label, apart from turning up on the day, I didnt have a massive amount of input in. So I really feel, personally, creatively Ive come along way.
NP: The video for your new single Satellite was shot in the Blackpool Tower.
LB: In the ballroom, yeah.
NP: And it features an amazing young gymnast/dancer. What made you want to express the song in that way?
LB: I just wanted to capture the energy of the song. Id been thinking of doing something in Blackpool for a while and they have this Disco Kids competition there. Annalise the dancer, shes done that competition, and thats where I got that idea from. Its a freestyle dance contest that been going for years in Blackpool. Id see these little girls all dressed up when I was a kid and thought, who are these amazing girls and why do they get to wear makeup and sparkly clothes and I dont?
Then I saw Channel 4 did a documentary on it called Baby Disco, which was really interesting. It showed you behind-the-scenes of this whole competition. Not all of it was very positive but it occurred to me that there was a positive side in that these girls just love it. So I had the idea to do it with an almost Mini Me, and get one girl to do an amazing routine, and then work these special high speed cameras so we could slow down and speed up and make her fly through the air. Its almost like this ghostly, flying spangly angel. It all just fit into place
Because the songs all about highs and lows, and that sort of thing. This whole business is about taking risks and jumping off a cliff, and having huge highs. But then also youre going to have falls, youre going to have crashes, and youve got to be able to pick yourself up again. The whole song is all kind of about that, and so it just seemed like a really good way to capture the energy and the message of the song. I just knew really clearly what I wanted in my head, so it was actually easier than I thought to bring the elements together and just take charge of it.
NP: Your live shows are great. You really show off your talent and versatility. Beyond even being a singer and songwriter, youre a multi-instrumentalist, and you hop around the stage between the different instruments. You have some US dates coming up, what kind of preparation do you put into the live concerts?
LB: Oh my god, so much! Its the most over-thought live show in history probably. Because Im so obsessed with marrying these things. Like I want a great pop show where I can jump around in a sparkly dress and sing and live out all my Kylie Minogue fantasies. But Im also a musician, I play instruments, I want it to be as live as possible. I dont want to hit go on a backing track and have a Karaoke thing. I want it to be really live and feel live, and I want that to be reflected visually as well. Its a huge thing for me to try and marry these worlds, and I feel like thats something Im constantly trying to do
We put a lot of work into it. Weve got a new surprise, amazing gadget, but maybe Ill keep it a secret for now. But Ive been working on a prototype for ages with some people that Im hopefully going to debut in LA. And well have all the other little gadgets and synths and stuff, and we just had a whole new visual accompaniment commissioned for the video screens. So Im super, super involved in it. That should be the place that you come and experience Little Boots and it all makes sense. Even if all these different bits dont quite add up, that should be the place where the pieces of the puzzle fit together and you get it.
I mean not everything always works. Were notorious for disasters of things breaking or going wrong, but Id much rather try and fail, Id much rather attempt to do difficult things and be ambitious than take the boring safe route. My fans, they dont care if something goes wrong. They know me and they know thats what its all aboutThats what makes it real.
NP: Well, these days, the mistakes make people realize its live.
LB: Exactly. Everyones so obsessed with auto-tune and beat mapping and everythings so perfect. Its so easy to be perfect now that perfection cant be the aim. Surely the most interesting bit is the gaps and the mistakesI get more excited about things sounding a little wonky than sounding too slick.
NP: Wonky thats a great English word. I use it a lot out here and it makes people laugh
LB: We need a dictionary so people can understand us.
NP: So whats next for you beyond the tour?
LB: Weve got a few tours. Weve got this one, weve got one in November where were doing Mexico and a couple of other places, Im finally getting to go to Austin and Dallas, round that way, Miami, and then weve got a big European tour in December and Im doing a huge London show. And Im taking a month off to write some new material, which Im really excited about. Im really ready for it nowAnd weve also got the first releases coming out on my new label, so thats quite exciting, getting the other artists ready, and getting those wheels turning. Ive got a lot on, but Im happy being busy.
NP: Whos the first artist on your label?
LB: Were announcing it next week, but its very cool. Its good pop. Good pop is the mantra for the label.
NP: A lot of people look down on pop, but I think theres nothing greater than a well crafted pop song. Thats whats so wonderful about New In Town. I was playing it to a friend yesterday and telling her to listen to the middle eight even the middle eight is fucking awesome on that song. What are your thoughts about pop music and the snobbery that surrounds it?
LB: I think some people are snobby, but other people think its quite cool to say youre pop now. Im bored to the back teeth with indie bands and indie artists claiming theyre pop when theyre definitely not. Im just not scared of a chorus. Im not really interested if it doesnt hold my attention. Im not here to make mood music, or film music, or atmosphere, Im here to write something that makes you want to sing along. The power of a song that can get in your head, I just think thats a really powerful thing. If you can then do that in an interesting way, or with an interesting message, or thats not just completely straight-forward and not completely derivative.
Theres a lot of bad pop thats the problem with pop, it really falls into two camps. But for me its just the biggest challenge. I can never find anything as challenging as writing the perfect pop song. Its the wholly grail for me. I havent done it yet, so Im still trying. Hopefully Ill get there one day but its just a lot more fun and a lot more difficult. I genuinely think its a lot more difficult to do a simple thing well.
NP: Its also so transformative. You put a great pop song on which I think both New In Town and Satellite are and it can transform your mood.
LB: Thats the idea. Its the thought for me that I can touch people. Like I just got back from a South American tour and I got a book full of letters from fans saying things like, I was in a new place, I moved to a new town, and it was really hard for me to get on there and then I put New In Town on and it made me feel better every day. Or, Ive got anxiety issues and your music made me feel happy and full of hope. Thats just an incredible feeling. I think thats the power of pop songs really, that in such a short space of time you can really connect, and lift people or affect them in some way. Its really powerful. Its a great thing. I dont know, Im a pop junkie. I just love pop music.
Little Boots album Nocturnes, featuring the single Satellite, is out now. Her US tour kicks of at the Constellation Room in Santa Ana, CA on Sunday, September 22nd, 2013. For more info visit littlebootsmusic.co.uk/.