To ytinifni and beyond

Une interview avec Jack Barnett, ou comment tirer les vers du nez d'un chanteur taciturne.

How did you meet the other members of These New Puritans?

Me and George are brothers, we’ve known each other forever and we started making music when we were really young, at nine or ten. And then, gradually, we used to know Thomas and Sophie from school. We’ve known each other for ages so it seems a natural thing that we started making music.

And was These New Puritans one of your projects? The one which works the better way i guess.

Yeah, I don’t even know whose is the best one, it’s just the one that came out as a real band.

And do you or the other members have side projects?

Yes, I do a lot of music, Tom does his own stuff. We are actually doing our music in secret.

It’s a secret...

Yes, so I can’t tell you about it but we are making lots of differents drumming.

And for the other members?

Tom does his electronic things, and Sophie isn’t really a musician, she’s not really interested in music and Georgesis doing appearences.

It could be something else than music, you don’t have studies left?

Sophie does actually, this is why she’s not here.

Did you for the band because there was a craze about Southend-On-Sea or did you just met and it came naturally ?

We started the carze actually, we were the first band.

There was nothing before you

No

From what I’ve read, you’ve got such an image of cerebral-arty band, is it just an image or are you really smart and arty?

We’re not trying, people just see us like that.

It’s in all the interviews, I don’t know why. Is it just because you wear… black?

I don’t know, it’s an accident. Most of the bands are idiot but it is not making us smarter. We try to make pop music, which is not the most hype and arty thing.

It's principally pop music that you want to make?

Yes, we are alternative pop, we have an alternative vision of pop music. I guess the Elvis video has a secret meaning. I also like the fact that nothing happens, it’s like an empty video.

So you just made it as an experiment?

Yeah, nothing really happens in the video, all that happens is that we do that, it’s really nice. Too much happens in the video nowadays.

Sam is the director, how did you met him?

Erm, I don’t know, he is… well Joe is friend with his sister, and his sister booked us on tour with Crystal Castles, so we just knew him and he’s really really good. Recently, in one of his videos, we are going to get this big person, you know a fat person, and fire him with, what is the secret technique of colorskin change but we did tests on the fat person and it didn’t work...

So you made this one.

Yes.

Is it your first tour outside England?

Yeah, first proper tour, we’ve played in Spain, Italy, France, Danemark, but it was not a tour.

Did you have weird food experiences?

Oh not really, I don’t actually eat anything.

Do you have any flashbacks of your previous life?

I think These New Puritans were people from 19th century.

So you have flashbacks from you 19th century’s life?

Yes, but most likely, I think all members of the band are extra terrestrials. Well, that’s my theory, I’ve got you to realise it, slowly.

If you wanted to be reincarnated what would it be?

Erm, it would be a bird but that’s pretty obvious.

You discribe your album as magic not scientific, why do you think it’s magical?

Cause that's the way we went about it. Like, studio spell is a spell, then live spell is a spell. There’s a millions spell you can cast and at the end there’s only one studio spell. That’s what came out of this.

And is there any question you wanted to be asked but no one ever wanted to ask you ?

I don’t want to be asked what’s my favorite number!

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Ils sont grands, ils sont beaux, ils sentent bon le sable chaud, vous l'aurez deviné, ce sont nos chouchous-chéris les Trash Fashion. De passage au Botanique, nous en avons profité pour faire causette avec ces super-héros plutôt... particuliers.

Can you explain why you choose Trash fashion as a name?

Jet Storm: It's a bad reason, really, but I draw this logo picture that had a « T et une F » and we had to have a name with TF on it and Trash Fashion was kind of, you know trash is an american word for rubbish, and that was what we meant : rubbish fashion.
Mason Storm: well rubbish doesn't have the letter, so we chose trash.

So it wasn't because you wanted to do trash music? Because it's a rave dave sounds pretty sweet for a band walled trash fashion

Jet: Yeah, its' a rave dave is supposed to be telling a story about when I grew up and what I did when I grew up. It wasn't supposed to be in a band, cause I wrote it, 3 years ago or maybe more, it was before nu rave, it wasn't about nu rave, it was about when I grew up.

It was before trash fashion?

Jet: No, it was when we were doing Trash Fashion, but we didn't use to play it, it was originally supposed to be a dance stuff, not to be took in trash fashion, it was just supposed to be a club song like, you know not a joke but.. pour le party, pour le boum ! Le boum, la boum?

La boum. Do you know the movie?

Jet: No, I don't know the movie...

No?!? La Boum, the movie with Sophie Marceau, it's a cult !

Jet: Oh, Sophie Marceau! Elle est très jolie!

You were talking about the logo you draw, do you do all the design yourself? For the website, the covers...

Jet: Mason is doing all the designs, he's very good


I'd like to know how did you end up playing in belgium, do you wanted to play there or someone asked you?

We were asked to do it, I'm not really sure... but we never played in belgium, so we are really happy to be there, plus it's so close to England.

Do you have an album in preparation?

Jet: Yes, finally! We had a mini album coming out in Japan, out the 4th of June, we chose some of our work from last year which, for a reason or an other, we didn't get to release. We've got an album coming out here at the end of summer, we have two other singles that will be out, one very soon and the other in summer when the album comes out.

How did you choose your stage names?

Mason: Ohh I don't know, really! As we are brothers, we both have Storm but I don't know where.. it was a long time ago.
Jet: it was supposed to be super heroe's names, like YEAHHH!

I knew it!

Jet: Mason Storm is Jean-Claude Van Damme
Mason: No, Steven Seagall!
Jet: Steven Seagall is even worst? He's belgian in fact, Steven Seagall is belgian?
Mason: No he's american, Jean-Claude Van Damme is belgian.

Which one of you have a side project?

Jet: It's K-Bomb, it's folk music.

But he's not there... Well do you kno if he did it before or after trash fashion?

Mason: He used to do it before we met and I remember when I met him, he gave me a cd with his folk songs. Then, he joined the band and he didn't do it for a while but now he's doing his folk stuff a bit more and it's really good.

Does he have project for the futur (for his side project)?

Mason: Yes, he's gonna do some music with a producer, and release it... He's good friend with Dave, from Lightspeed Champions, so he might do some gigs with them aswell.

You've got nice merchandising stuff but if there were no problems about budget limits, what would be your merchandising dream like? Something like Trash Fashion Land?

Bam-bam: An airplane would be great.
Mason: Yeah, we saw the Airon Maiden one, they made an airplane in Gathwick and not to use it!
Jet: I'd like a gold Lamborgini to drive around with the big Trash Fashion logo.

In the front of it!

Jet: Yeahh that would be nice!

Do you know any Chuck Norris joke?

Jet: Chuck Norris?

Well, you know Chuck Norris?

Jet: Yes,
Mason: I'd like to know some Chuck Norris jokes
Jet: I don't know any
Mason: Do you know wome chuck norris jokes? Tell us.

Chuck Norris count till intinity TWICE!

Jet: ... he count till infinity twice?
Mason: Yes, cause he is so tough.
Jet: Why is that?

It's impossile to count till infinity

Jet: Oh and he did twice.
Mason: Yeah, cause he's tough!

Yes, he's wonderfull

Mason: And he has a really nice beard.

If you were a drink, what would you be?

Mason: Pina Colada.
Jet: I would be vodka-diet coke because there's less calories in it, we need to watch our weight
Bam bam: erm
Mason: (whispers: hot chocolate!)
Bam bam: I don't know
Mason: Water? Egg Nog?
Bam bam: Maybe egg nog... I don't know, really, just a nice chilled out drink.

I'm personnally convinced that your are super heroes and Trash Fashion is just a cover, so what is your quest and what are your super powers?

Jet: Oooh, super powers... Well, as you will see tonight, I can fly! I only fly sometimes, when people need me but I can only fly to them once. So if you're in trouble, I'll fly to you but I'll only do it once. So if you're in trouble, call me but if you're in trouble again I won't come, because I have to save everyone else. That's why I can't do it.
Mason: I can charge myself full of electricity pschitt it out of my guitar
Bam Bam: I have X-Ray vision: I can see around the corner, especially when I've got this glasses.

And you didn't answer for the quest, do you need to save the world ?

Mason: Just save the world, as usual.
Jet: Keep it dancing, we have to keep the world happy, like that smiley, specially when it's sad.