Babes in Boyland : Do you have favourite female vocalists ?

Chloe : My favourite female vocalist? Hmm… Brigitte Fontaine ! And.. Heu, comment ça s’apelle ?… Björk, of course, Elastica.
Tim : I love Elastica. And Björk is epic !
Chloe : Then Kim Deal from the Pixies.
Joel : Janis Joplin, Kim Gordon.
Chloe : Yeah I guess Janis Joplin, definitely. When I was six I was given a little… yes Janis Joplin…

Bib : Did you know that there is a new DVD with a collection of all of her videos that we haven’t seen yet?

Chloe: Yeah she’s a mess ! She’s amazing !

Bib : You are signed on Kill the DJ, why did you chose an electronic label for a Rock band ?

Chloe : I think in Kill the DJ, they put more music than the «club albums ». And although a lot of stuff is produced, they release music and don’t really care about what all the other people are doing. There is no sound required : they just do what they believe in and that’s something about we feel quite good…

Bib : What are the themes in your songs ?

Chloe : Manipulation, rape, misguidance, kidnapping of children…
Joel : Misunderstanding…
Tim : « The Lurker » is demonized but he hasn’t necessarily done the thing wrong. He’s just a bit weird.
Chloe : It’s also about depression.

Bib : Ivan Smagghe and Tim Paris produced your album. Isn’t it too hard to work with a dj when we are a rock band ?

Tim & Chloe : No it’s really easy.
Chloe : I think he, and the guys we are working with are really really good. They did a really really good job ! Tim Paris likes rock bands that I like. It wasn’t difficult at all.
Tim : As regards the soundalikes, they actually knew these bands. They knew how to get those sounds. Chloe : Making an album was really new for them as well, our album is far from being perfect but I like its imperfections. I had no idea what I was doing, but it all worked out very well.

Bib : On stage, you are quite a minimalist band : I mean, you don’t have a drummer, why ?

Tim : For the moment, We don’t need a drummer. We would need more money to have one touring with us (laughs).

Bib : Perhaps Battant’s particular charm lies in this minimal sound ?

Tim : Yes, you’re right. For the time being, we thought about finding a drummer. Maybe in the future.

Bib : You are going to play at the female festival « Les femmes s’en mêlent » for five days, why did you chose this kind of festival ?

Joel : Especially in England, no, everywhere, there is, you know when we play live, you’re always kind of pushing yourself and step away from being feminine or …
Chloe : I’m far from being one of those feminists. I think that a woman has a lot of opportunities that men haven’t. But the music industry is still frightened to teach words to women.
Joel : It’s a kind of sex appeal to have a féminine singer, it’s not conventional. I don’t know, it makes… I don’t know where I’m going with this (laughs), the point is that it’s not about going on stage and looking cute, sexy or feminine, but it lives up the music.

Bib : You’re going to play during « Le Printemps de Bourges », a big French festival, do you feel nervous ?

Joel : We are guests for « The Noisettes ». Some mainstream pop music in England. They made a hit with Timbaland. But I like some « crapy pop music », for example, Rihanna : Umbrella, disturbia, Girls Aloud… Are you coming to the fest ?

Bib : I’d like… Do you have some side projects ?

Chloe : i have sung on Krikor's new album which is coming out on the Tigersushi label and i have been working on a track for Tim and Ivan. Me and Joel have done some music for childrens television shows and Joel is doing some music for fashion shows.
Tim : I’m working on an album. Some kind of electronic music, quite dancefloor. Early next year.

Bib : Last question : What’s your favourite band ?

Chloe : The phantom band, month’s favourite.
Tim : I’m currently listening to some dubstep. It’s very popular and exciting in England.

Bib : Thank you very much!

Battant are : Chloe: vocals, Tim: guitar and Joel: synth, bass.
Album : “No Head” released by Kill the DJ
www.battant.co.uk / www.myspace.com/battantbattant