Coco Electrik

Who is Coco Electrik, sounding like Lene Lovich, Cherry Vanilla or even Hazel O’Connor?

interview: Angela Sandweger, photos: Ben Morris


Anne, you were born in Brisbane, Australia. What’s it like there?

It's very hot most of the year round, an amazing place to live as a kid - I rarely wore shoes - there's a fake beach in the city with sand, palm trees etc, 40 degree heat on Christmas day, lots of creepy crawlies, possums running over your roof at night, wailing like banshees. Great book shops, antique shops, and lovely old Queenslander houses.

By that time, did you make music already?

I started writing music when I was 14 and moved to the UK when I was 21, so yes I had been making music but probably wasn't taking it all that seriously until Coco.

For what reason did you move to the UK and why not to Sydney which should also have a great music scene?

Sydney is great but it's never appealed to me as a place to live though it's an incredible place to visit. I love Melbourne and a lot of great music was coming from there at the time I left, but I was fundamentally drawn to London because in many ways it was the anti-thesis of my youth. It got really cold; I could finally wear a big old winter coat.... I moved from a suburban life in a smallish city to a flat on the canal in hackney. I remember I could only afford to live off rice for ages but I was in heaven.   
You used to live in London and hang out with lots of musicians and artsy people like Hot Chip, who seem to have made it. Are you jealous sometimes?

We didn't hang out with hot chip, but we were all doing the same circuits at the same time. I know how much hard work goes into getting music made and then getti ng it out there so I don't resent success when other people get it. I confess I've had my twinges, but there is a lot of sacrifice when it comes to fame that people don't always see. I have a kid now, I couldn't do those crazy arse tours that the new "hot young things" are expected to do. I just enjoy making music. Anything else is a bonus.

Now that you live in Brighton, what do you like most about living there?

The light is a lot like the light In Australia. They used to have a thriving filmmaking scene in the early 20th century in Shoreham-by-sea (where I live, it's 5 minutes from Brighton) because the natural light down here is so wonderful. Lots of porn flicks apparently.

And I get to see the horizon. I couldn't do that in London.

You told me that you could imagine living in Melbourne. Why Melbourne?

It's got a really nice European feel to it and it doesn't feel bitter like a lot of really big cities do. Plus Paul Harrison (co-producer) is there now and lots of other friends. It would be fun. But I am attached to England, we have our moments but I do love her dearly.

We agreed that an artist could make more money with film music. If you would have the choice between making dance music and film music, what would you prefer?

Like doing a score? Hmm, never really given it much thought. I like having music that I've made appear in a film as a single track, but a whole score feels kind of impenetrable to me. Like the difference between writing a poem and a novel I guess. What I'd love to do is write pop for other people. I love my pop.

Your music, especially your voice reminds me of late 70s and early 80s punk and wave, like Hazel O’Connor’s album Braking Glass”. Are artists of this music decade - Blondie, Lene Lovich, Cherry Vanilla, Danielle Dax - your role models?

Yes I think that era has a definite appeal to me and is certainly an influence on this album. Vocally I've always loved Bryan Ferry, Lene Lovich, Lydia Lunch, Edwin Collins, bowie of course and Iggy. B52s...

What is it that makes punk and e-pop so exciting for you?

I know it's been said a million times, but it's the diy ethic of punk that makes it so appealing. We take it for granted now but it really has had a profound effect on the way music is made today.

Your record company talks about “Coco Electrik’s brand of idiosyncratic eccentric pop… taking in a pop art collage of musical styles…”. Do you think of Coco Electrik as an art project more than of a dance music thing?

I suppose it's a little of both. I've always admired people like beck, Laurie Anderson, Yoko Ono, who combine the two and do it very well.

Where from comes the name “Coco Electrik”?

Electrik is from Cafe Elektric; an old Marlene Dietrich film and Coco... A run down shop on the street I used to live on called Coco Shoes.

Are you Coco Electrik? Do you feel like a Coco Electrik?

Difficult question but to quote Descartes; I coco therefore I am coco.

You told me about having a family and the completely different life you lead now. How did you manage to make this album with your long-term partner Paul Harrison?

Paul very kindly timed the arrival of his 2nd kid with ours so we were completely in the same sleep deprived, trance-like state when we wrote it. The music was like a little creative lifeline for us both; it meant a lot to us so every moment we had when our little ones were sleeping we'd be exchanging tracks, ideas, lyrics through the ether.

How far influenced your little baby boy the album “White Ink”? White Ink a synonym for breast-feeding?

White Ink is an idea written about by the French philosopher Helene Cixous. It's supposed to be a celebration of the female form; the necessity of writing with our bodies. I had a difficult birth with Noah and he was born in winter, in this crazy relentless rain. I felt that White Ink was more akin to invisibility and this never ending flood of breast-feeding.... That's where the seed of the album came from. But it's not its ultimate meaning.

Your favourite song on the album still is “Breakfast in Berlin”? Please tell me more about it!

Noah and I had just come back from Australia and my other half had booked a weekend in Berlin to celebrate us coming home. It's a song about reunion, and change, but enjoying that change even when it's difficult, challenging.

Your upcoming single Fire & Ice features remixes from Kreeps, Ulysses82 and Royal Appointment. It’s the appetizer for your audience, especially because of the video. Why “Fire and Ice”?

We just felt it was a track that really got super stuck in your head, so we should put it out there as the single.

Tell me about the video production team please!

George the director got in touch as he was a fan of our music and we in turn really liked the feel of his show reel. We pulled some massive favours from some awesome friends to do hair; styling and make up that we think did a pretty amazing job of it too. It's a very entertaining video, semi serious but also tongues in cheek. I'd like to think that how coco comes across.

How important is the Internet for you and other music artists today?

It's our lifeline really. It's how we reach most of our fans, sell most of our music, promote gigs, get in contact with like minded artists for collaborations and remixes. It's everything.

When will we see you in Germany on stage?

We would love to come back. Germany is a wonderful place to play and the audiences are very sweet and appreciative!


album: White Ink
release: July 2010
Oscillation

single: Fire & Ice
release: 28.07.2010
Oscillation


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