Stephy: So, how far in the future do you think you'll be able to release other bands?
Verity: In two or three years, whenever we get the money...

Stephy: You could do what Sing Sing did... Remember Emma, who was in Lush? Well, they did not have enough money to release their album after their first e.p.and they sent an e-mail to all their fans, asking them to buy whatever they sold on the shop, on their website. That's how they managed to get the money to record and release their album. Could you do the same to raise fonds for Let's Rock, or is it something impossible.
Verity: Maybe it would be possible. Maybe with Valerie.

Val: But how come Valerie are not signed?
Verity: People are scared of Valerie, I think, because they are messy, I think.

Stephy: What about Lesbotronic? Is it really finished?
Verity: Yes, the other girl lives in Australia now.

Val: And was it really recorded in the toilet?
Verity: Well, it was recorded in the studio that we first practiced in with Electrelane, and it used to be a toilet. They had to cover up the urinals and all that. We never said we literally recorded it in the toilet. (laughs) It's mainly recorded at the Levely studio
Ros (laughs) What is worse the toilet, or the Levely studio?
Verity: The Levely studio is much worse! And the engineer is a stoner... so for the first album, the engineer was stoned all the time, and then people ask us why we recorded with Steve Albini... but I mean... well, obviously it was not a big part of the reason, but the really nice thing was that he actually knew what he was doing, see the whole thing like he was not stoned.

Val: But did he get in touch with you?
Verity: We sent him the record because we wanted to play at All Tomorrows Parties, you know the festival in CA. That did not happen, but he said that he liked the record and said he would be intersted in working with us. When we worked with him we realized that anybody could go there, you know. He wants people to record, so if you have the money, you can go and play there. We wanted to ask him before, but we were too nervous to go to him and ask. It's always that way, you think that things are beyond you, and there's this
impossible thing you can't break through, and then you find out that he's just looking for work for his studio and it's the same as everybody.

Val: Would you say it's easier to get this kind of bawlness, self-confidence you get when you do a lot of D.I.Y.? Like you're more dary, you more used totrying....
Verity: Yes, I feel so. We definitely felt like this for the way we play, I mean the more we play, the more confident we feel and Ros joining has been very good, because I think she thinks musically in the same way as us. We started writing new things and it's exciting, I think. Then, we have done two albums and it feels like we are getting now where we wanted to be musically. We are finally making the stuff we've always wanted to make. It took us a while to get there, but now, we doing what we really wanted to do.

Val: because you feel more confortable...
Verity: Yes, we are more comfortable, but also because quite a few line-up changes and we've had to work through different ideas and I think it's taken us a while in terms of the way we play individually, and the way we play together, to find what really, really works for us. I think everybody's had in their head an idea of where they wanted to get to. I have the feeling everybody is excited about what we are doing now, the feeling that this is the point where we've been trying to get to since we started.

Val: How do you write the songs, then? Is it a lot of jamming?
Verity: Yes

Val: So you really have to have theis amazing connection between all the
musicians...
Verity: yeah, and that's the great thing about it taking a while because we needed to get the right people together, and the experience of having played quite a lot and being able to relax and have the confidence just to try things, have some intuition of when somebody is going to do something or just getting used to the way everybody plays. That's what has been so good with Ros, 'cause I think she picks up on that straight away, immediately when she started to play with us, it just clicked. The imporvisation is actually the most important thing in Electrelane, that's where everything comes from. We've never really been up to plan and say "we're gonna do this, and this." We wait til we get into the studio and try things, then if it works, we carry on with it. It's just been the last few months when
everybody has been excited, everybody thought: "yeah, this is working better than it ever has done before"

Val: Does it mean you spend a lot of time together, besides playing i mean?
Verity: Well, Ros has been living with me....
Ros: On the floor... it's very nice...well, it actually was on the sofa, but I prefer the floor... I had a sofa bed but i actually slept on the floor because it was more comfortable than the fuckin' sofa. It's great at verity's house, it's very nice....
Verity: (laughs): yes, the floor...

Val: What about choosing different languages for the songs...I mean, I know Ros lived in France, Spain....and the rest of the crew probably had their share of foreign experiences...but how does it happen, it is part of the improvisation as well, are you all bilingual?
Verity: Well, Ros is fluent in french and Spanish.... but we think of ourselves mainly as an instrumental band, whenever I sing, I'm just going lalalalalal, and then make up singing line, but without words, and then I have to find words that fit in, make sense with the feeling of the song and fit into the melody line. If English doesn't fit, then it's the right thing
to choose another language. I am more interested in the way the words sound than the way they fit with the music. I mean the meaning matters, but the first thing I ever think about is the sound of the words. It was therefore quite normal for us to try and have different languages and we were surprised that people reacted on it... in every interview people ask us about this, as if we sat down before and decided what language we're gonna
use....

Val: Well, you do not have that many British bands that use other language... and in fact most rock/pop/electronic bands do use English, wherever they come from....
Ros: Yes, so many French band sing in English, for example.... not because they are planning on playing abroad at all, but because they are just used to hearing songs in English. The thing is that if you have a message to take across, why don't you sing in French? People say it's easier to write lyrics in English, but I'm not sure if that's true, because it's very easy to repeat cliches in English, which is what a lot of people do... and writing in English because that's what the bands you listen to do sounds a bit lazy to me
Ochique ochenta: It's the same in Spain, most people write in English, but it's not because it's easier, it's just because it sounds better...
Verity: but that's not true!
Ros: well we sing in Spanish sometimes, because we find it better, so why don't Spanish people sing in Spanish?
Ochique ochenta: you say this because you are english...
Verity: Well, I think.... maybe because I'm English, but Spanish and French seem more lyrical languages than English, it's less abrupt endings and it flows together better... it sounds better.

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