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 French-monikered British-Norwegian indie troupe JE SUIS ANIMAL visit Brisbane for the first time this week. TOPHER HEALY asks the spangly guitar pop lovers a few questions about important things like koalas, indie solidarity, and whether Broadcast are better than Stereolab…
Featuring two Brits and (Anthony Barratt and Matt Bagguley) and three Norwegians ( Elin Grimstad, Merete Hald and Pål Anders Barth Larsen), Oslo-based Je Suis Animal mix classic guitar pop, post-punk and shoegaze into an engaging composite. Avowed fans of Australia’s own pop heritage, the band are more than pleased to be bringing their ’08 album Self-Taught Magic From A Book to local shores….
TOPHER HEALY: Firstly, a weather question. Why choose to leave Norway in the northern summer for winter in our part of the world? (Admittedly our winter is pretty weak compared to yours, but hey … most bands only ever tour Australia so they can go to the beach).
MERETE: I guess we’ve just gotten so used to being freezing. I can`t wait to have a bit of cold windy weather; I hope it rains!
TH: Some context for newcomers – prior to Pål recently joining, how is it that two British boys and two Norwegian girls came to form Je Suis Animal?
ANTHONY: Elin and I started making demos in England (we were studying
at the same art school). Afterwards I returned to London and Elin to Norway where she formed the band with Matt and Merete. In the end I decided it was time I moved over there too.
TH: The recording of Self-Taught Magic From A Book has been documented elsewhere (holing up in a remote hall threatened by cow-killing bears, no showers, etc), but I’m wondering if it’s an approach you would recommend to other bands – that is, going out and finding somewhere that allows you to cut off from the rest of the world?
MATT: Studios can be horribly uninspiring places to spend time so it can help being so isolated. I`d recommend it, but remoteness and technology don`t mix terribly well and there were times when the whole session looked doomed – remember it`s very dark out there in the woods and when there`s a technical hitch no one can hear you scream!
TH: Being a band – what’s the ratio like of hard work compared to pure enjoyment?
PÅL: 36/64
TH: While it doesn’t garner the same sort of media attention as the ‘latest thing’, there’s definitely a thriving worldwide indie pop community with a lot of shared touchstones like ‘60s pop and C86 guitar indie – are there any particular acts you feel an affinity or shared outlook with outside of Norway?
ELIN: Yes there are plenty of current bands we are inspired and excited by. We’re really into Australian indie – so lucky to have so many fantastic bands in your country and such a positive scene. In the US we`re into the Slumberland bands, great fans of the Aislers Set, Mahogany and Ladybug Transistor. Lots of UK bands too, like Wake The President, The Mai 68`s, Betty & The Werewolves just to mention a
few. Le Futur Pompiste from Finland and Love Is All from Sweden are
pretty good too.
TH: How did Je Suis Animal come to hook up with Lost & Lonesome in Australia?
MATT: Mark at L&L told us that he`d visited Gary from Ladybug Transistor and whilst reclining in his executive suite on the flight home from New York, he realised that Gary had cheekily loaded an unmixed version of our album onto his iPhone and set it to repeat. After 23 hours on repeat Mark called us from the plane on his iPhone in desperation and the deal was set!
TH: Are there any Australian or New Zealand bands who feature on the Je Suis Animal stereo at any point in time?
MERETE: Yes, Minimum Chips, The Zebras, The Crayon Fields, The Motifs,
The Bank Holidays, The Go-Betweens...
TH: When you touch down in Australia, who’s likely to be the first person to say, “let’s go see some koalas” ?
PÅL: Elin the singer is definitely the one – she is very much into animals and thinks “every Koala is sooo cute!”
TH: Stereolab or Broadcast?
PÅL: Both bands I guess are an influence but an informal poll shows:
Stereolab 3 points
Broadcast 2 points
TH: Have you managed to catch My Bloody Valentine on their recent run of festival shows? If so, did it live up to expectations?
ANTHONY: We all saw them at the Oya festival in Oslo last summer, and they were great. Would have been nice with a few more surprises in the set, but I never thought I’d get to see them live, so it of course it felt like a special thing.
TH: Finally – have you had the time to work on any new songs since the release of S-TMFAB (!), and if so, when might we hear them?
ELIN: We’re busy collecting ideas and inspirations for new songs.
JE SUIS ANIMAL play a free show at Ric’s this Thursday Jun 18, supported by The Zebras. SELF-TAUGHT MAGIC FROM A BOOK is out now through Lost & Lonesome. www.myspace.com/jesuisanimal
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