Pitchfork

Tonight (October 23), the Pipettes begin a short UK tour to better acquaint themselves with the songs they've written for their follow-up to 2006's We Are the Pipettes. Earlier this year, the Pipettes saw longtime members Rosay and RiotBecki leave, to be replaced by ladies named Anna and Ani, the latter being the younger sister of remaining Pipette Gwenno.

As Gwenno tells it in a recent phone interview with Pitchfork, the result of this personnel shift is "kind of a new band," one with 1980s influences, "more of a dance element," and somehow even more euphoric songs than before. In addition to dishing on the new material, Gwenno talked with us about tour preparations, working with her sister, and how she dyes her hair in response to stress.

Pitchfork: What have you guys been up to?

Gwenno: We've just been rehearsing mostly, because we have a tour coming up. So we've just been trying to get through as many of the new songs as we can, so we can vary it, so people can hear as many different songs as possible.

Pitchfork: Do you have the whole new record's worth of songs prepared then?

G: Yeah, I guess so. We still keep writing new ones, so we're going to try some of those out as well.

Pitchfork: How is the rehearsal process going?

G: Really well. 'Cause, obviously, it's kind of a new band, actually. So it's about finding our feet as a new band and gaining confidence with playing music together again, you know? It's not "press repeat" with the same group. It's a whole new thing.

Pitchfork: Are you guys still collaborating with the Cassettes and Monster Bobby?

G: Yes [laughs]! 'Cause the thing is, it's always been a seven-way thing. Like, there's never really been one person in charge, and everybody's always contributed creatively. The great thing is, from the big change that we've had, we've gained new songwriters, which has been really exciting.

Pitchfork: One of the new Pipettes, Anna, helped write a Sugababes single ["Girls"], right?

G: Yeah, she did. That's the sort of thing she was doing, amongst other various things, before she got in the band. And it was great, because then she auditioned. She was absolutely amazing to sing with and had a lot of really great ideas that were exciting as well as having a songwriter's experience, which is essential for all of us, because no one person just plays their instrument or sings, or whatever. It was a real bonus that she helped, from [having] so much experience on the songwriting front.

Pitchfork: So you actually held auditions for the new Pipettes?

G: Yeah, we did.

Pitchfork: What was that like?

G: It was weird!

Pitchfork: Were they open auditions, or did you invite specific people?

G: They were sort of open auditions. Anybody that we knew that we thought perhaps would be worth trying out, it was like, "Come on in and try out." My sister auditioned as well, and instinctively, I sort of knew that she'd be really amazing. We've always sung together. But yeah, it was sort of weird, because I didn't really know until she actually joined the band and wrote some amazing songs. I thought, "Oh gosh! I didn't know you could do that! It's amazing!"

Pitchfork: So Ani is your sister?

G: Yep. Ani's my sister.

Pitchfork: I didn't know that, so when you said your sister auditioned, I was imagining a situation in which your sister auditioned and then didn't make it, and that would be awful!

G: No no no! It wasn't like that! It was just like, "We should try Ani out," 'cause I knew she had a really good ear, and she's a great singer and obviously really obsessed with music. I kind of knew that she'd be great for it, being as incredibly creative as well with other things. She'd make dresses for us to perform in and stuff like that. She'd been making our outfits before that.

Pitchfork: Are the outfits for the new group the same as before? Are you sticking with the same sorts of patterns?

G: No, because the music evolved. The whole thing was always that we were based on the principles of 60s girl groups, in terms of the set-up and the energy that those girl groups were about. And it's been amazing actually, from moving on to the second record, we've had the opportunity to evolve and to bring new influences in and move forward. So the look has sort of changed gradually as well.

Pitchfork: What are the new musical influences?

G: I think it ties in a lot more with where we are, where we actually are in our own reality. It's not so much of a 60s girl group, as true to that. Not that it ever was in the first place. There's a lot more 80s influence, and I think having the opportunity to write again has brought in a load of influences that everyone has naturally anyway.

Pitchfork: Is there one specific record, or a couple of songs or songwriters that you guys are listening to right now?

G: There's more of a dance element, because we always sung about dancing. And I think you can actually dance to our songs now properly. I think it was really important, because...[laughs] we kept telling people to dance all the time, but you could kind of shuffle to it maybe but not really dance to it.

Pitchfork: When you say there's more of a dance element, you don't mean there are, say, heavy electro beats under Pipettes singing, do you?

G: No, it's not heavy. It's still an acoustic [drum] kit, but there are Eurobeat elements and disco elements in there that weren't in there originally. It's exciting for all of us in the band, because it's a musical era that we're quite interested in.

Pitchfork: Do you think that acoustic foundation will always be there?

G: No, not necessarily. Obviously, there's been a huge re-shuffle, but it's about seven people making music together on the stage, whichever way that may be. Who knows, really? I just think it's always really amazing to have a drummer, anyways. You would never want to lose that.

Pitchfork: Is it true that you guys have a remix EP that you're bringing on the tour with you?

G: Yeahhhh. It's brilliant, because it was just an a cappella thing, and we were like, "What should we do with this song?" "Oh, I don't know, we'll just get someone," because we were thinking of things that we could have on tour with us. So we've got a Restlesslist remix, an actual fan's remix, a Tom White remix, and a Kat Heath remix. It's quite nice to hear incredibly modern sounds with our music, I think. And I always felt [our music] is bridging that gap.

Pitchfork: Was the lack of modern sounds in the music a frustration in the past? Do you feel like you got crammed into a box of your own making a little bit?

G: Perhaps. And that was a deliberate thing, because we wanted to be very clear about where we were coming from, even for ourselves. So there was something we could-- because of the concept-- throw meat on, to work within. It's been really good for that to evolve naturally into more of a reflection of the people that are in the band, perhaps.

Pitchfork: What can you tell us about the new album? You said you're still writing. Have you actually hit the studio yet?

G: We're still meeting with producers and trying stuff out to find the right person to record the record. It has to be right, rather than rushed. The first album was very distinctive and also very much the Pipettes and not necessarily anything else that was around at the time. That was because we had really great producers on it [who] had their own vision of how they wanted it to sound on record, which is what the aim will always be with us, rather than getting whoever is around at the time. We need to be excited by the recordings of our songs.

Pitchfork: Are you looking to the future, thinking about finalizing singles or release dates or anything like that yet?

G: We were hoping to finish before the end of the year, to record the record before the end of the year so that we can start promoting it. There are songs that have come to the forefront naturally. We kind of had a feeling about them, and our audience reacted really well to them. I think that they're quite obviously single material, because that's how it happened the first time around. It was sort of dictated by the reaction [laughs], how much people were moving.

Pitchfork: Is that part of the purpose of this tour, to continue to feel that out?

G: I think so. We have to get to know the songs better ourselves as well. It's always great before you go into the studio that you really, really know the songs. It's actually because we're not a studio-based band; we are a live band. It's for us to feel our way through our own songs so that they're right before recording them. Definitely.

Pitchfork: How much of the rehearsal process is remembering and memorizing actual songs, and how much of it is interpreting them and starting to feel out, "Okay, this is where this can go if we let it"?

G: Oh, that's happened, and I think that's happened more this time around than it did the last time, just because we're more confident as musicians. We were very aware of not having anything superfluous. There'd be no guitar wig-out in the middle where there's no point for it, you know what I mean? But what's been really amazing is that we've kind of gone, "Actually, you could make that longer. You could really push that, see where it goes." And I think that comes from being more experienced as musicians, and also [being] a band learning to trust itself on instinct, to pursue any source of inspiration in a rehearsal room and just go with it and see what happens.

Pitchfork: So there will be more guitar wig-outs this time around?

G: No no no! Not at all [laughs]! I think it's more just being confident, vocally as well. I think there's just a bit more space, but that really comes from playing more and more and learning from playing gigs. I feel like the new music is more euphoric, so that's an element that's come into it.

Pitchfork: Really? Because the old music was pretty euphoric.

G: Yeah, but [the new music has] sort of a dance euphoria. We have those middle eights and breakdowns and all those things that come from more modern dance music that evolved throughout the 80s, which is really exciting. It's certainly something I've always loved and people in the band have loved too. It's really exciting to bring that into it. There are moments at gigs where the whole crowd can go crazy for, you know, a minute or whatever, 30 seconds. And it's okay, because actually, you can really get into that bit.

Pitchfork: Another change I noticed from looking at a picture of the new Pipettes configuration is that the three of you all collectively have much darker hair than you did before. Even your hair now...

G: My hair is blonde.

Pitchfork: It is? In the picture I'm thinking of, you look brunette.

G: I was for a moment. I've done really strange things with my hair [laughs]. I dyed it at the end of last year, and I think it's probably because I was sensing a lot of drama that was gonna happen [laughs]. That tends to happen with my hair. I dye it red when something crazy is going to happen. It's odd.

Pitchfork: It's like a mood ring?

G: Yeah totally, it really is. It's weird. Then I ruin it, and I go, "Why did I do that?" And I've taken a year to sort it out.

Pitchfork: Is it that you dye it, and that's what precipitates something big happening? Or do you sense something big beforehand, and that's why you dye it?

G: It's just sort of always happens when there's a massive change in my life. I know it sounds really weird, but it does [laughs]. But it's back to blonde now, 'cause everything has calmed down [laughs].

Pitchfork: Are you planning to come back to the U.S. anytime soon?

G: We really are, because we had such an amazing time. We miss touring the States quite a lot, actually. Just because of the people and the record stores and all of that that comes with it, you know? And the very long journeys on buses, which are great. Isolated in a little bubble, and it's great. I think we're taking one step at a time and making sure that we record the most amazing record that we can, because we all are incredibly excited by the new thing, and it has to be perfect.

Pitchfork: Are you at all nervous about being holed-up on tour with your sister?

G: Oh, it's going to be amazing! I can't tell you how-- I think it's given me a lot of confidence.

Pitchfork: So you guys get along really well then?

G: Really well. Just to be in a band with a sibling. Also, Anna's very close to her sister, who is a great singer as well. She's done a lot of stuff with her sister, so I think immediately that bond is quite a strong one between the girls, which I really always felt was such an essential part of being able to present ourselves as a seven-piece punk-pop band, that the three girls have an incredibly strong bond. I feel having my sister in the band, and Anna too, I feel like we can be more confident and seem quite united. It's not as if we're similar in any way. My sister and I are nothing alike. We've done very different things up until now.

Pitchfork: Is she older or younger?

G: She's younger, but she's kind of older in a way [laughs]. She's a bit more responsible than I am [laughs].

Pitchfork: A bit less capricious with hair dye maybe?

G: Absolutely! She's always been a bit more sensible and levelheaded [laughs], which is a really good thing to have in our band [laughs]. There's so many of us, and everyone's so passionate. We still get heated about our differences of perception over what we're doing. It's so interesting, because you'll always have a male and female point of view within the Pipettes, and that's what makes [us] able to present a song. Both the boys and the girls can connect with it. It really is as much about the boys as it is about the girls.

Pitchfork: Since you said it feels like a totally different band now, does everyone maintain the original conceptual opposition to the Beatles?

G: Um...[laughs] I think it's kind of irrelevant. Well, it's not irrelevant, but I think it's a point that we made when we first came out. And it was really important for us to make that point at the time. I just feel like, I think music has evolved, and it always does. Even music that involves females quite predominately has changed quite a bit. I just see so many more women [making] such a variety of music. It also had much to do with the fact that it was our own starting point, and we were like, "Right, you know, fuck the Beatles." That's not what we're interested in. We're interested in something else that was happening at the same time, which we're far more excited by, which we actually based all of our ideals and all of our music on. We're just interested in this sort of polar opposite to the sort of traditionalist, rockist history.

Pitchfork: Sometimes it helps to define something by what it's not.

G: Exactly. And it was incredibly relevant to the music that we made for the first record as well. I don't know whether we need to put ourselves in line with that kind of thing again, because I think we kind of made our point.

Pitchfork: Well, if you're embracing the 80s, maybe it's Depeche Mode that you can reject.

G: Oh, I don't know...

Pitchfork: I'm just kidding!

G: [Laughs] Yeah, it's probably more Margaret Thatcher and Madonna that we should be thinking of.

Pitchfork: Just don't dye your hair again.

G: I'm not gonna do it! [Laughs.] I was thinking of shaving it off yesterday. I was like, "Shall I?" Because I always think it's quite funny. I just think, "Oh yeah, this will just piss so many people off." 'Cause I did the last time I was in a dance show, and it was such a big palaver, and I thought it was quite funny. One of my awful, crap acts of rebellion, but it's just a bit rubbish [laughs].

Pitchfork: It's very Sinéad O'Connor, sort of melodramatic.

G: Realllly, you know? And my mother hates it so much, she gets so upset. I was just considering it yesterday. Like, "Ooh, this could be quite fun."

The Pipettes:

10-23 Leeds, England - Cockpit
10-24 Derby, England - The Royal
10-25 Bristol, England - The Cooler
10-26 Oxford, England - Academy
10-27 Hertford, England - The Marquee
10-28 Winchester, England - The Tower
10-29 Cambridge, England - The Soul Tree
10-30 Leicester, England - The Charlotte
10-31 Darlington, England - Inside Out
11-14 Cardiff, Wales - Sŵn Festival