Hot Chip

Mon 19th Jan, 2009 in Features

Do an outfit like Hot Chip have reason to fear electronic music on the radio? There’s an argument that could be put forth that indie music is (de)evolving into pop. But according to guitarist Owen Clarke, it seems Hot Chip have realised that the dragging of so many new musical genres into the mainstream may lead to a change in the listener, as opposed to purely a change in the industry.

“I think it’s more that mainstream is becoming more everything. I mean there’s obviously crap music that lots of people buy… You know Idol music and TV-plugged music, Christmas singles and things. But I think that music is getting miles broader just because if you’re in Australia, you can find out about a band from anywhere in ten seconds just by going on their MySpace, and likewise for a band from Adelaide and you’re in Guatemala.”

The South London outfit have been guilty of complaining to NME about such changes in the past, but it appears they’ve now wholeheartedly embraced the shifts to the industry. “There’s going to be a wider scope of music. To be worrying about indie and dance music being incorporated into the mainstream, well we shouldn’t worry about it really,” says Clarke. “You have to be discerning, you wouldn’t eat every dish on the buffet…It does become more difficult, it’s also harder for scenes to start up. But I think, if you like something you like it, and I think the cream will always rise to the top, hopefully. Unless it all turns sour, and then it’s cheesy and you have to put it all down the sink.”

Ultimately though, Hot Chip have little to fear from the broadening of the music game. With three critically-acclaimed albums under their belt, the band has been riding a wave that shows no signs of breaking onto the shore. Last year saw Hot Chip travel to the far-flung corners of the globe, and even with their epic global touring, a fourth album has been promised for 2009.

“We’re still making music all of the time. It is just that when you are touring all the time, you are busy doing that. We are going to make a new record in the New Year, probably start in February or March. There’s no sudden need to go into a recording studio and make a record…You just make music as you go, and then if it’s good enough for an album, then you do that, and if it’s not, then you go and record and album. But I think this time we might try going somewhere and record something in a place, you know, like a conventional rock band or whatever, and see what that’s like.”

Hot Chip have never exactly been a conventional band, with their remixes and collaborations in particular seeing to turn a surprising corner with every announcement. A very confused relationship with Kylie emerged through the media, when their recent hit Ready For The Floor was offered to her as a new single. It was apparently rejected, but in turn, Kylie allegedly wrote a single for Hot Chip. Who would have thought? Although Joe Goddard described the track as “fucking rubbish” to Clash Music, Clarke remained stoic, claiming, “It was really nice of her to do it. I think if you went on the internet you could probably find out if Kylie wrote a song for us or if we wrote a song for her. Nothing happened actually. It was like a blind date that never happened.”

Odd arrangements with Aussie pop princesses aside, Hot Chip have been involved with a few other imaginative remix projects in their time. “The hardest remixes are the ones where we actually like the band, like Kraftwerk or Robert White. What do we do with this thing that is already quite glorious and not screw things up?” However, creating original music remains at the forefront for Hot Chip. “Remixes are great, they’re fun and it’s like a challenge,” Clarke muses. “But it’s the difference between art and graphic design. It’s like working to a brief, or trying to change to make things into art, rather than just doing art itself.”

It seems that a decade in the industry has left Hot Chip begging for a challenge – while The Warning was lauded as a success, the more recent Made in the Dark received a somewhat different reception. “We got more mixed reviews for our latest record,” Clarke explains, “And I think that’s quite fun, because if everyone likes something it isn’t challenging people. The Warning was very likeable, danceable, listenable, so I can see how it was popular. But I think Made in the Dark was more divergent, it had more possibility of splitting people.”

On their earlier hit A-B-C the band sarcastically sang, “Everybody’s whistling for that Hot Chip sound.” There may have been a level of irony/sarcasm there, but the band certainly does have a sound all of its own. “There seems to be a set of frequencies and noises and other elements that stimulate certain members of the band consistently, and they will continue to do so until they go deaf. If we try something different, it will probably sound a little different, but there will always be something that will sound Hot Chip in Hot Chip records.”

Nobody seems to be complaining, and the Hot Chip just keeps on coming with free downloads now online from their new EP with Robert Wyatt and Geese. The industry may be changing, but it doesn’t look like Hot Chip will allow it to change them. The quirks and novelty from their South London upbringing seem firmly intact, and I got Clarke to ponder on the ideal description of Hot Chip’s music. “Nuclear miners looking for love? That sounds a bit weird. It sounds like the bunny at the dog race track. It’s good? People like it?”

Catch Hot Chip sounding like Hot Chip at the following shows…

Wednesday 21st Jan – Enmore Theatre, Sydney
Fri Jan 23 – Big Day Out, Sydney
Sunday 25 Jan – Billboard, Melbourne
Mon Jan 26 – Big Day Out, Melbourne
Fri Jan 30 – Big Day Out, Adelaide
Sun Feb 1 – Big Day Out, Perth