Dean & Britta
Photo: Michael Lavine
Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips are both former members of Luna, a dream pop ensemble that disbanded in 2002. Emigrating from Australia to New York City, Warenham guided Luna through seven studio albums. The final two with Phillips who had an unusual musical resume you could say. As a girl she was the singing voice for cartoon rock star JEM and had co-starred with Justine Bateman (Family Ties) in the film Satisfaction.
After Luna the duo released L'Avventura, a collection of covers and duets along with an EP of remixes. As testament to their atmospheric charms, they were recruited to score the film The Squid & the Whale. Their first full-length of original songs, Back Numbers, will be released in late February.
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Sonic Souvenirs
Answers by Britta (vocals/bass)
Do you have a favorite article of clothing? My black suede knee-high leather boots from Barney's. Boots, it's always boots.
Where did you pick up ideas about style and design? Is it related at all to your music? Dean collects European film posters from the 60s. He has one of Antonioni's L'Avventura, which is what we entitled our first album.
Do you have a favorite musician whose style you really like? Has that musician influenced your style? Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin--they've been a big influence on our musical style. Perhaps they've been an influence on our personal style as well, but I doubt Dean would ever get drunk and say he'd like to fuck Whitney Houston on a talk show.
What does Playboy mean to you? When do you recall discovering Playboy? What does Playboy mean to me? Hmmm....It's like candy for men (and boys). When I was 16, I found a stack of old Playboy magazines hidden by my boyfriend. I immediately bought lingerie.
Beatles or Stones? Apples & Oranges.
Were there bands you heard at a certain point in your lives that made a huge difference in how you thought about music? Saturday Night Fever in 7th grade. It completely transformed my taste in music from puppy love songs to erotic songs. I grew up in a very classic rock, "disco sucks" environment, so when I turned 16, I'd drive around alone listening to Donna Summer. At the time The Talking Heads were a real revelation. So was Patti Smith. She was cool, dangerous and not trying to seduce anyone, at least not in any way I'd seen or heard before.
Who put on the best live show you ever saw, and why was it so good? My memory sucks, but the two shows that pop into my head are Broadcast and Ladytron. Both were at the Bowery Ballroom, so maybe it has something to do with that venue. It is my favorite NYC venue. I thought both of them were much better live than on their albums. They looked cool and they sounded great. I prefer watching bands that have men and women in them.
Do you guys have a pre-game ritual or a superstition before or during shows? We're not superstitious. We just have a drink.
What was the best show you ever played? Why? What makes a good show from your perspective? The final Luna show at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC. It was incredibly emotionally charged because we were saying goodbye. There are many things that make a show good. Practical things like a good soundman & good lighting, and intangible things like excitement, mood, and atmosphere. Most of that comes from the crowd.
At what point do you know a song is good? Do you ever have an idea you just know is going to kill on the dance floor or live or whatever? Often the best ideas come all at once, fully formed and I love them right away. But at other times it will grow on me over time. The latter often have a longer "shelf life." I don't really think about how other people will like my songs until much later after the album comes out.
What's your favorite place on earth? It's a toss up between my bed and Barcelona.
Best song you've been listening to lately? "Sunday Morning"(live) by Holger Czukay & U-She. It's the guy from Can with his girlfriend singing. It's so gorgeous.
Favorite new band? The Killers
Favorite driving album? I don't drive in NYC. What about running? I like the new Madonna album for running.
Favorite bedroom album? My favorite bedroom song is "La Femme d'Argent" (by Air). I prefer no singing in the bedroom.
How have the technology boom and the internet affected the way you approach promoting your music? Are you doing anything specifically designed for online that we should know about? MySpace, MySpace, MySpace. Does anyone flyer any more? I don't think so. I've been having a lot of discussions about YouTube with friends lately. A lot of people think it's evil and that artists are being ripped off, but artists never make any money from videos anyway so I'm all for it. There is so much music out there these days that there's no way to find what you really love (and want to buy!) unless you can sample stuff for free. We made some little QT movies of ourselves recording the new album for our website and we recently collaborated with French video artist Vincent Moon, as part of his Take Away Concert series on La Blogoteque.
