Reykjavík Grapevine - 20.10.2007, Side 4

Interview
Canadian electro duo Chromeo – the urban riposte P-Thugg and the more
sensibly named Dave 1 – are making the flight from one elegantly frozen land
to another for Airwaves. The duo shot to worldwide recognition following
a brace of highly commended albums (2004’s She’s In Control and 2007’s
Fancy Footwork) and several international tours, all heavily reliant on their
old school hip-hop roots and 80s electro youth. Still, that does not mean that
news of Iceland, other than frozen water and Björk, has reached the Canadian
‘hood.
Have you been to Iceland before?
Where?
Iceland?
No.
OK, do you have any preconceptions about what Iceland is like?
It’s an icy land… cold.
Hmm, do you know any Icelandic music?
I only know Björk.
Any special plans for your festival appearance?
Not really, just a normal set I think.
That line of questioning did not exactly provide an insight to the life and soul
of Chromeo, or any hint of what we might expect from their performance, so
we swiftly move on to how the now internationally credible duo came to be,
a subject we can have a slightly more in-depth conversation about. “It started
in High School, we were about 14 or 15 years old and we started a band to-
gether, like a funk band, and we just stuck together all these years. Not only as
Chromeo, we were just doing lots of different stuff like hip hop and so on.” And
how would he sum up their brand of electro, given that they claim a vast array
of hip hop influences but the end result doesn’t really sound like any sort of hip
hop known to mankind? “To me it’s our interpretation of what they were doing
back in the 80s, our interpretations of Prince and so on. We have our own take
on it so it’s for our generation.”
Considering that they recently supported Bloc Party on tour and were
chosen as an MTV artist of the week in early October, it’s certainly true that
P-Thugg and Dave 1 have a handle on how to make a record that appeals to
a current generation of open-minded festival-goers who might compare them
to a smoothed-over Daft Punk minus the theatrics, a remixed Michael Jackson
record from his early 80s pomp or a fully plugged-in band such as the UK’s
Reverend And The Makers.
An interesting aspect of Chromeo’s material, highlighted by a recent Pitch-
fork review of their latest album, is that their songs are often deceptively hon-
est. If the track is called Fancy Footwork, then it’s about some smooth dance
moves and if a song, on first listen, has lyrics about a son falling for his mum
and a daughter falling for her dad (Momma’s Boy), then this is indeed what
it’s about, rather than being a metaphor about a more pressing world issue or
some shady personal experience.
Is this a fair comment about Chromeo’s music?
Yes.
I should’ve really learnt my lesson on such questions after the first batch.
Beyond their music, when browsing any of the band’s current artwork it’s
hard not to notice that ladies’ legs feature heavily, and what a pair they are
thanks to some specially commissioned pins that double as synth stands. “We
just got them made but we can’t bring them to Iceland, it’s too much stuff to
bring.”
A crying shame, who’s legs are they?
I don’t know if the guy who made them moulded them after somebody…
You should find that lady.
Yeah.
There we go again, lets hope their live performance at Airwaves has a few
more syllables.
Words by Ben Murray
Chromeo
“Hello, is this P-Thugg?” I receive confirmation through the phone that indeed, this is P-Thugg,
who sounds like he’s out and about on serious gangster business in downtown Montreal.
Chromeo play at Gaukurinn tonight at 00:00