CLIENT : So What, Oslo. Sept 2003

Backstage at So What! Thursday September 4th. We meet the two Client women in their stage uniform, right after their soundcheck. The Lydverket people are feeding on Andy Fletcher who's on tour as "DJ" with the band. Client is signed on his label, Toast Hawaii and their first album, Client, is to be released soon. A promo tour, a big classic except for the name of the Depeche Mode boy being bigger than that of the artists. The try out of the "bring your famous friends along" seems to work out, I mean the national TV is here....

Oa/Bib : Can you uncover the mystery and reveal your names?
Client A : I'm Client A, real name Kate
Client B : I'm Sara, Client B.

Oa/Bib : Can you explain the reason for this code?
Client A: because we wanted to change, really, it just goes with the whole image of the band, being quite androgynous. When we first started we wanted nobody to know what sex we were. That's why we liked to have A and B.

Oa/Bib : Would you say now that your imagery is still androgynous? It looks rather feminine to me now, with these 50s secretary uniforms and high heels.
Client A : Well, the thing is that it became really soon obvious that we were women. What we really are trying to fight is this sexual image of woman, selling themselves. I mean every single magazine has a woman with a g-string in it, we are just sick of it, aren't we?
Client B : It looks like they can just change the heads on one same body actually.
Client A : I think it demystifies women sexually as well, showing us as portrait of just tits and bums, I don't think it's a good model for children.
Client B : It is also these women professionally looking after their bodies all the time, they're air-brushed.
Client A : and that's the reason why we wear cheap uniforms. We didn't want to be sexy, or refer to a different type of sexuality. We wanted to be more mysterious. You can be sexual, you do not need to take your clothes off, that is what we are trying to say as well. Women have got a mystique. They can wear clothes, they can be sexy without having to have big tits.
Client B: All this imagery of showing fake, unreal body parts is boring. We are jut trying to change things now.

Oa/Bib : And not only is this high-heels, shirt down to the knee + suit style quite sexy, it is also loaded with power and authority. I mean, it was the image of the powerful woman in the 50s.
Client B : and in every bank clerk there is a repressed sexuality trying to escape, you know. Every woman has a sexuality whatever her role or position and it should not be denied to her. Neither should she lose control over it.

Oa/Bib : Tell us how you worked on this imagery then?
Client B : First we did the concept, then we found this girl that we work with. The whole team is quite feminine really. Dana, who is actually Steven Hagges' wife (he did New Order production... which is a nice link, actually) started working with us. She is one of our mates.
Client A : We didn't have any money then... not that we do now, but anyway, we talked about the imagery and she just took a camera and did some shot. She's more into the S& M vibe, really. She is a bit of a fetish girl, isn't she? She found out... It doesn't look like that when you meet her, she's like a housewife, isn't she? Anyway, she does the artwork for us now.
Client B : Next single we are going to have blindfolds, but it is not going to be in a horrible way, a bit more military oriented in a way. We're all trying to move forward all the time and have a team around us. The girls at Mute in charge of the art work is brilliant as well, she's got a great eye

Oa/Bib : Can you explain the relationship between Toast Hawaii and Mute?
Client B : Basically Andy wanted to have a label. He went to Mute because he loves Daniel. So it is like an imprint on Mute, doing the marketing and everything.
Client A : Andy is trying to do what Daniel did with Depeche Mode in the early eighties: to have a 50/50 deal. To develop a band and let them grow rather than shoving loads of money, with loads of expectations.
Client B : 'caue right now the music scene is just like powder: Everybody has like 15 minutes, people spend a lot of money on you and then if you don't sell, you're out;
Client A : That's why we are more going back to the roots, really, making records cheap, taking care of everything... and then we have Andy's help as well. He said he wanted to help us make a good start and next year, we are on our own, we'll only do the festival together.

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