Interview
Pop king and queen: Porcelain Raft and Little Boots
We’re big music fans at 9flats, and love that we can offer musicians a more comfy, homely life on the road. Most recently, we provided beautiful vintage and art nouveau Berlin flats for electro-pop stars Porcelain Raft and Little Boots, both performing at Intro magazine’s 20th birthday party.
We caught up with them both to talk about music, life on the road and, yes, the joys of staying in other people’s apartments.
Photo by Michael Hess
On the couch with Porcelain Raft
After helping carry his stage equipment into the flat and chatting about his most recent gig in Sweden, we had a chat with Mauro Remiddi on the gorgeous red couch…
Back to the roots of Little Boots
She’s had a year’s creative break, and now Brit Award nominated Victoria Hesketh is back, and just about to release a new album. We asked her a quick nine questions just before she went on stage…
Photo by Michael Hess
1. It’s been a year since you’ve played live. Are you excited about tonight?
Well we’ve played a few sporadic gigs, but this is the first with new material, new visuals, new instruments… so it’s a real test gig. You get bored of playing the same things, so it’s cool to be playing all the new stuff, but it’s scary to see if it will all work, and how it will go down with the crowd.
2. What have you been up to in the last year?
I’ve been recording and writing, with lots of different people. When you go from playing in your bedroom to going around the world, and back, it’s kind of a come down of a year. It took me a while to get in the right zone for writing, meet the right people, figure the sound out. Working with James from Simian Mobile Disco and Andy from Hercules and the Love Affair has brought me back to that whole dancefloor friendly thing that I love, but with my pop vocal over it, which is something I’ll never get rid of.
3. So you’ve gone back to your musical roots?
Well not the real roots! I’ve played music from a early age and been through all kinds of genres and bands… when I started Little Boots, that’s when I really realised what I enjoy doing, what suited me the best. Yes, back to the roots of Little Boots, but not the roots of me. That would be a five-year-old playing Mozart or something!
Photo by Michael Hess
4. You’re from Blackpool. Is it still close to your heart, and would you tell travellers to go there?
Definitely. I still go there quite often, because my family’s still there. If you’ve grown up there, you love it – and I’m super proud of it. It’s a fun, kitsch place to visit. I’d go in September, go to The Illuminations, get some fish and chips, walk down the prom, go on a tram, go up the tower, go to the ballroom… it’s funny, because it’s a seaside resort, but you wouldn’t go sunbathing, or swimming, unless you’re mad! But there’s still a lot of things to see. There are also great photo opportunities, with loads of amazing art deco buildings.
5. Now you’re based in London. Why choose this city as your base?
I think you’ve got to be in London for the music industry these days. You don’t really know what’s going on until you’re in the middle of it. But I absolutely love it, I’ve lived there for five years now. I live in East London, Hackney, there’s just so much going on, all my friends are there, so many crazy people, every single night there are a million things you can do, it’s fantastic.
6. What about life on the road… do you enjoy travelling, being away?
I think I’m so used to it, it’s just a way of life. We were joking today: what’s your favourite aiport terminal? The only downside of it is that you don’t spend a lot of time in one place. I’ve become a master at seeing a city in one day. Twitter is amazing. So many times I say, where can I get good sushi in Tokyo, or a good bratwurst in Berlin? And someone will tweet me and say, go here! So we go. It’s like a little adventure.
7. What about the idea of staying in someone else’s apartment?
It’s cool, we’ve done it a few times in New York. I think for bands it’s a really great thing, and we’re definitely looking at it more. Because you can get an absolutely beautiful flat compared to a crappy hotel for the same price.
8. Is there something you really miss while you’re travelling?
I miss my home comforts, my boyfriend, eating home cooked food, going out with my friends… just being around London. You just spend time in London then you get plugged in to what’s going out again. When you’re away, you live in such a vacuum.
9. You’re going on stage, pretty much now (!) so, lastly, can you tell us what’s coming this year?
New album, new single, new videos, new hair! Yeah, new everything. I’m super excited, I really feel like 2012 is going to be a big year for me. I’ve got so much more creative control this time round. It’s kind of scary, because when you put yourself in the heart of it, there’s only you to blame if it doesn’t work. But I just can’t wait to get touring again, get my music out there, and get stuck in really.
Well, enjoy tonight and we look forward to hearing your new album…
Thank you very much, we look forward to seeing our flat!
Little Boots’ flight was delayed, and she’d been up since five in the morning. We’d like to say thanks to her for taking the time to talk to us on such a hectic day. You can find the flat she stayed in here, and more about her music here.