Pitchfork

Klaxons are in a rush. The British electro-rockers are at the airport in Iceland when Pitchfork catches up with them, heading from a triumphant set at the Iceland Airwaves festival back to a gig in their home country.

"That's pretty much the story of our lives," lead Klaxon Jamie Reynolds says. "We go to the most beautiful places in the world but don't actually get to see them. We just sit in the back of a taxi and then go home."

But the band's hurry isn't just a struggle not to be late. Their music races frantic grooves through candy-colored riffs and comet-chasing synthesizers, and it has propelled the trio to near-instant fame. Despite having only released a few singles in England and an EP (Xan Valleys on Modular) in America, Klaxons have already rocketed to the top of the buzz bin, appearing on the cover of the NME, signing to Polydor, and selling out shows everywhere. Ah, the magic of the internet!

However, Klaxons' rapid rise has been both a blessing and a bit of a curse, when internet hype meets real-world logistics. The band was scheduled to go on its first U.S. mini-tour in early November, but were forced to cancel the shows when the members were denied visas due to the band's youth and its small recorded output. "I guess it's something about not being able to have a visa unless you've been together for a certain period of time," Reynolds says. We haven't even had our [one year] anniversary yet. It's on the fourth of November or something. It does sound a bit crazy doesn't it? Certainly they can't mark your popularity on the amount of time that you have been in existence."

The band is using their newfound extra time to finish up work on their debut album, set to be released January 29 on Polydor in the UK. (They're still negotiating with labels in the U.S.) "We have recorded the majority of it; we have just not finished mixing it yet," Reynolds says. "It has just been a case of the buying the time to make sure that we make the best record possible."

The album's title, Myths of the Near Future, is taken from a story collection by author JG Ballard. Reynolds explains, "It's a beautiful piece of apocalyptic future tales and warriors and a warning of the end and we've sort of looped that onto every track on the album. It ties everything together."

James Ford of Simian Mobile Disco produced Myths, which was recorded "down in Hastings where the famous battle in 1066 took place." The album features eleven tracks, including re-recorded versions of the Xan Valleys cuts "Gravity's Rainbow" and "Atlantis to Interzone", a cover of Grace's "Not Over Yet", and the singles "Magick" (out now--see the creepy Saam Farahmand-directed video below) and "Golden Skans" (out in January). The latter is "our attempt at being a pop band," says Reynolds.

Describing the creation of Myths, Reynolds says, "We wanted to record the session all in one go so that we got the same feel. So we locked ourselves away and made it feel bigger and brighter. Sonically, it's a well-rounded album. "Our songs are mixed and matched pastiches of secondary literary references and strange dreams that we've had. It's got nothing to do with reality."

Reynolds admits that Klaxons haven't really been all that affected by the pressures of being the Next Big Thing. "It's one of those things-- the idea of it actually happening isn't something that we think about whatsoever," he says. "We think that if we genuinely stop to think about everything that is going on then we will get ourselves in trouble and we'll fall apart. The idea is that we will think about it in the years to come when everything is over, but for the minute we just get on with it and enjoy it. "The reception that we've been getting is incredible. But if we start some sort of self-analysis then we'll just get ourselves in trouble. We don't allow ourselves any time to actually stop and think about what's going on 'cause that would stop it."

How about the term "new rave", which has been bandied about in reference to Klaxons for the past few months? "I think that it's really funny," Reynolds says. "It's something that I invented with the intention of it being nothing more than a tongue-in-cheek joke between friends. And all of a sudden when it's in the media, I just find it amusing. It's not something that we've got any intention of having ourselves tied to. "We haven't made a rave record; if anything we've made a r&b record. It's just a joke that has gone to far basically. Everyone finds it funny and is just sort of trying to get rid of the tag. We feel bad for people who are going to pick it up on some secondary level. It's just something that was funny to begin with and we have already moved on."

Klaxons dates:

11-13 Paris, France - Les Inrocks
11-16 Berlin, Germany - Magnet
11-17 Copenhagen, Denmark - Small Vega
11-19 Bergen, Norway - The Garage
11-20 Oslo, Norway - Bla
11-22 Hamburg, Germany - Molotov
11-23 Cologne, Germany - Gebaude 9
11-24 Amsterdam, Netherlands - London Calling
11-25 Manchester, England - Sankeys Soap
12-01 Brisbane, Australia - Tivoli
12-02 Melbourne, Australia - Espie
12-03 Sydney, Australia - Bondi Beach
12-05 Tokyo, Japan - Daikanyama Unit
12-08 Rennes, France - Transmusicales

"Magick" video: