Became one of the top master of the pop underground since their album "Knife Play" last year (5 RUE CHRISTINE (5RC) - 2001), it was time for STNT to have an interview with JAMES STEWART of XIU XIU ! A new EP is now available on ABSOLUTELY KOSHER RECORDS in 2002 !
DOWNLOAD A MP3 OF "Knife Play" (5RC 2001)
XIU XIU'S RELATED LINKS :
"Knife Play" (album on 5RC - 2001)
"Chapel of the Chimes" (EP on Absiolutely Kosher - 2002)
> 1 - a lot of questions in one : Your age, where do you live, from which social conditions do you come... Can you talk about the way you created XIU XIU... can you talk about the idea behind the title.
sam 20 seattle, jherek 22 seattle, lauren, 21 san jose, cory 32 san jose, and me, jamie 30 oakland
xiu xiu started out as an idea based in what it feels like to be at a dance club and show up by yourself and dance by yourself. you go through moments of feeling wonderful rushes of music and then horrible crashes of feeling very very lonely and stupid. the songs have come from horrible things that have happened to us or people that we know. the movie where we got the band name from "xiu xiu the sent down girl" is the most difficult depressing movie ever made, there is no resolution and there is no peace at the end nothing is solved after months of confusion and self torture. the songs we are working on are about things that have happened that are like that.
>2 - the music of XIU XIU remember lots of stuffs, from metallic percussions of EINSTURZENDE NEUBAUTEN to melodies of POP & experimental stuffs of Electronic ??? have you all the same tastes concerning music in the band ?
yes absolutely. the main elements that we are hoping to have work together are very much those that you mentioned, sad, dark pop, experiemental music and modern classical and dance music. einsturzende neubauten was the best show i have ever seen and one of my very very favorite bands.
>3 - Can you talk about the music you listened to as a child & the way you listen to it nowadays ?
some things are very much the same. i grew up listening to otis redding and motown, which i still love, dub, british gloom pop from the 80's like the smiths, joy division, new order, the cure and bauhaus and the maestro prince. i still love and listen to those bands all the time. now i also really love western classical music from the 20th century, house/free style/happy hardcore dance and gamelan music. i experimented with listening to indie rock for awhile but did not find it very interesting with few exceptions such as the mountain goats. my favorite bands are often my friends bands, deerhoof, casiotone for the painfully alone, the sweet science, semi automatic, hella, steve gigante, good for cows, pegasvs and kill me tomorrow as many many others. i am super interested in anyone trying to make a new idea and use real, honest feelings.
>4 - Have you learn yr instrument alone or ??? What is a musician for you ?
i took some lessons as a teenager but mostly just practiced and started playing in bands when i was about 14 so mostly we just did our best with what little we could do and tried to get better. a musician to me is anyone who plays themsleves, plays thier heart and is not afraid to be naked and brave.
>5 - How do you meet with 5RC / Absolutely Kosher ? Which kind of relationships you've got with the other bands of the label ?
the band deerhoof who is on 5rc and with whom we are freinds sent our demo to slim moom who runs 5rc and kill rock stars and he liked it and said he wanted to put it out. yvonne (from xiu xiu) knows cory who runs absolutely kosher and we became freinds. it was very lucky for us. we have toured with a few of the 5rc bands like hella, semiautomatic and deerhoof and we are all good friends when we see eachother. they are very very creative and wonderful musicians and people.
>6 - What are the ambitions & the futur projects for XIU XIU ? Do you play in other bands / side projects ?
sam and jherek both play in other bands that are brilliant, the sweet science and degenerate art ensemble (who are touring europe soon), cory plays in 150,000, yvonne runs a comic store and lauren make videos and does animation. i just finished music for a play called "or poloroids" which is showing in new york right now, am working on a few small film music projects and am writing a book called "sex life of destruction." xiu xiu has a new record coming out on 5rc this february that will be called "a promise."
>7 - do you work ? can you talk about "work" in USA ?
when not on tour i work as a teacher in a preschool with children aged 2 to 5. a good freind of mine is from mexico and said when she lived there she never had any problems going to school and working and seeing friends and making art and seeing family but since she moved to the USA she says it feels impossible to do all of those things. work in the USA is veru disruptive and far too consuming. what are your perspectives as a french person on work in france and on your perception of work in the USA?
>8 - Are you interested in politic ? What do you think of the Patriotism in the USA ?
yes very much so. patriotism is an excuse to be repressive and racist against people of color and to start wars to make oil barons money and then to bully people not to speak out or question it. it is very very very frightening. nationalism brings the worst out in people.
>9 - On the net, you can find lots of stuffs to download for free ? what do you think of that ? Do you think bands/musicians are loosing money because of those networks ?
i feel mixed about it. yes bands do lose money, especially small bands which is not good as they do not have any to spare but music is a fantastic part of life and if people can be moved by it more easily then that is good. i would never down load music for free myself but i would not hate anyone who did.
>10 - hey, what are you listening (reading...) to these days ?
Hmmmmm...
am listening to a record of choral music by arvo part, a mix cd that slim moom made for me of bob dylan songs, the new mountain goats record a new dance station called 92.7 PARTY (it is insane), the new sweet science demo and the new nels cline record. i am reading a book on the history of the united states complicity of genocide in the 20th century called "a problem from hell" and a book on bird watching. what about you?
>11 - Thanks a lot ! Another word ? strombolini