Electroqueer

Darren Hayes Interview Part 2 : "Blogging has completely reinvigorated my faith in the music industry."

Part 1 | Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of our interview with Darren Hayes.  In this segment, Darren opens up about his documentary 'Too Close For Comfort', shares his thoughts on the addictive activity that is blogging, talks about some of the other electro acts he is big upping and let's us in on what he buys from eBay!  Funtastic!

Electroqueer:  Not to long ago, you released a very personal documentary about yourself on DVD called ‘Too Close For Comfort’.  Do you feel any different now than you do from when you were filming that documentary?  Why did you feel it was important to release that footage?

Darren Hayes:  I think it was important because it was like a piece of me that had been shelved, yet again by the powers that be (or used to be LOL!).  It was incredibly cathartic to let go of the pain I associated with my past, especially the awkwardness I felt about the stumble that was my solo career in America – and just admit that I was at least aware that things weren’t necessarily a bed of roses.  I was tired of having to keep my chin up.  Letting my walls down for the camera gave me permission to mess up and be real.

EQ:  One of the things we love about you is that you blog quite frequently on your MySpace page.  What do you think about blogging?  Has it gotten you into trouble yet?

DH:  Here’s how I feel about blogging - it has completely reinvigorated my faith in the music industry.  For me, it has removed the gap between the façade of ‘celebrity’ and the reality of artist.  I get to relate directly to my audience and share my feelings, thoughts and fears.  And they to me.  It has allowed me to get to know the people who support me and makes me feel like a human being again.   I can sell out a show in minutes just by telling my MySpace friends about it.  As opposed to waiting for them to find out.   The only downside is – It’s addictive and I’m worried when I get busy that I’ll let people down if I can’t keep up the intensity.  I’m loving it though!

EQ:  You’re touching on a few political subjects on ‘Bombs Up In My Face’ – Tell us a little bit about this song.

DH:  It’s a track that is angry, that’s for sure!  Sonically it’s built on drums that are made up from sounds and beats recorded on the day of the July 7th terrorist bombings on the tube in London 06.  Shave had recorded the radio broadcasts live on an old reel to reel tape.  He used those sounds to build up the rhythm section.  Lyrically it’s about a fear really.  A fear of this anger I have inside me which I think is a reflection of what it feels like to be alive today in the current political climate. 

EQ:  So you started your own record label ‘Powdered Sugar’ – whats it like to be your own boss now and to call the shots.  Heaven or hell?

DH:  Both.  I can’t lie to you – I have days when I’m exhausted and I’m in tears.  I’m finding out all the awful bitchy competitive things about the music industry now I’m in the driver’s seat.  But by and large it’s a joy to know that all my hard work and that of my team is for a truly good and sincere cause.  For music. 

EQ:  One thing we learned this past year is that your fans are amazingly dedicated!  What is the craziest story you heard from one of your fans?

DH:  Oh I’m crazier than my fans!  That’s for sure.  So none really.  There’s a bunch of people who regularly fly all around the world to see me perform.  That amazes me.  I feel so guilty!  But very grateful.  A woman in New York has her entire back covered in tattoos of me.  That’s pretty wild!

EQ:  Tell us about some of the other acts you’ve been talking about lately like Temposhark, Antigone and She Said Yes.

DH:  Well Temposhark are just fierce determined little fuckers and I love them.  Their album is gorgeous and I’m a fan.  Antigone makes better records than most people in her field and I desperately want her to break into the wide open.  She Said Yes is a band that features my fellow Australian friend Tania Doko on vocals and my ex drummer Karl Lewis.  Tania was the singer in a pop group in Oz called ‘Bachelor Girl’ but did the old electro transformation and has me under her spell now.  She’s currently performing at the Fringe Festival in a Pet Shop Boys inspired show called ‘Seriously’ and word is that the boys ie: Neil Tennant and co. love it!

EQ:  What are some of the current albums you’re listening to these days?  Any recommendations?

DH:  I get all my music tips from you Raj!  You introduced me to Robyn who I’m OBESESSED with now.  Apart from that, I love the Rhianna album (well the first few songs).  And lots of old and rare Prince.  I’m really not loving a lot of new music at the moment to be honest.  There’s a few things that everyone knows – but mostly it’s remixes and one off songs.   Hasn’t been a whole album since Imogen Heap’s ‘Speak for yourself’ that I’ve been that passionate about. 

EQ:  What are the sorts of things you buy on eBay?  Do you ever see how much your memorabilia is going for these days?

DH:  Never!  But I buy lots of 80’s things.  I buy lots of 12 inch mixes and rare Prince records and bootlegs on vinyl.   I buy the odd pair of weird trainers and the occasional E.T. toy.  I’m getting a lot better!  I used to be obsessed!

EQ:  So last year we named you EQ of the Year…Cringeworthy or an honor?

DH:  Fucking Grade A Honor!

EQ:  Thanks Darren for taking time out of your busy schedule to chat to us – anything you want to tell  EQ readers before we sign off?

DH:  Just thanks to everyone for supporting original music and thanks for making Electroqueer as popular as it deserves to be.  EQ is a great thing for music and Raj deserves your lovin’!  xxxD

Awww - well we sure are feeling the love from Darren and everyone of his fans that we have had the pleasure of meeting this year.  Do not miss Darren Hayes as he tours Australia and the UK with the 'Time Machine Tour' throughout September and October as it promises to be a treat for the senses.  Make sure you pick up your copy of 'This Delicate Thing We've Made' when it drops in August as well.  You can count on EQ to bring you all the exciting Darren Hayes news as it develops!

More Darren Hayes...

Darren Hayes on MySpace
Darren Hayes Official Website
EQ Of The Year 2006
EQ's Club Delicacy Live Review

On The Verge Of Ranting Wonderful

Hello EQs - Having just gotten back from Washington DC last night, I thought I would kick things off again by giving you a nice toasty pop rant to get your weekend going.

1. Wow - 26 comments on the Darren Hayes interview...I am humbled.  Just wow.  Comments really are like gold dust to us music bloggers and it's nice to know that what we write is appreciated.  Thanks everyone for leaving such fun comments and I promise a fab part 2 to the Darren Hayes interview, so stay tuned...better yet, bookmark us and read us everyday!
2. Thanks to Dragonette, they have offered up EQ readers a free download of their cover of Calvin Harris hit 'The Girls'.  Although Dragonette have decided to mix things up a bit and call their version 'The Boys'.  How funkin fun!  Go and buy their new single 'Take It Like A Man' that is out this week too and visit their cool website where you find that EQ just happens to be a 'blog they like' in the Links section.  Awww bless, we'll always take it like a good EQ as long as Dragonette keeping givin us their hot electro!  Word on the street is that their album 'Galore' is going to be released in October now.
3. Have you noticed that a lot of new hip-hop artists are making electro songs now because it's hot?  What's up with that?  The new Timbaland song is very electro and how about that Kanye West song sampling Daft Punk?  And is Rhianna officially electro or is she r&B...maybe we'll have to take a listen to her album.
4. Check out this guy Mason Roberts - he's a new pop artist you may like.  We kinda dig his tunes - very soothing to the pop ear and worth your time.  Go give him some pop lubbin.
5. So we decided to buy a few albums and give them a whirl based on recommendations from Darren Hayes and Samuel, formerly of the Hot Stuff Files.  We bought 'Hounds Of Love' by Kate Bush and 'Insomniatic' by Aly & AJ.  Two very different albums from different eras, but totally worth your music allowance.
6. Did you hear that Facebook is being sued and that our Facebook pages may be removed?  Yikes!
7. We gots the 'Heroes' fever...we finally saw the first two episodes on BBC2 last night and they were amazing!  We're gonna get hooked on this new tv show we thinks.
8. How fantastic is it that Robyn is blowing up at the moment?  Everywhere I turn there is a promo poster for her in the UK and people have been saying 'With Every Heartbeat' might go to number one!  Amazing!  I can't urge you enough to go out and buy the single when it drops.  The Kleerup Remix is out of this world as well.  If you haven't bought her debut UK album 'Robyn' or ordered it from somewhere, than you officially are not an EQ and therefore not cool.  Don't disappoint us now readers!
9. Last night I got hit on by three straight girls at a restaurant in Canary Wharf who thought I was dining alone and offered me to join them for dinner.  Awww - I was so flattered.  When I told them I was eating with my boyfriend they sorta frowned and said 'oh that's ok.'  LOL.  Bless them for feeding my ego for 5 minutes.  Or maybe they just thought I was big loser and felt sorry for me!  LOL. 
10. And finally we leave you with the new video from The Shapeshifters - 'Pusher'.  We really love The Shapeshifters - their last album 'Sound Advice' was really well-done and their new single is even hotter.  Check. It. Out.  Turn. It. Out.  We keep waiting for an alien to jump out and eat one of the boys in the video...

Darren Hayes Interview Part 1: "It's Seriously Deadly, and Deadly Serious..."

Part 1 | Part 2

So it should come as no surprise that we have been dying to interview
Darren Hayes for about a year now since we started EQ and we finally got a chance to catch up with him after coming off his recent Club Delicacy residency performances at The Soho Revue Bar in London.

In part 1 of our interview with Darren Hayes, he talks about the upcoming 'Time Machine Tour', the origins of some key songs on 'This Delicate Thing We've Made' as well as his thoughts on the current resurgence of electro music.  It's all just "seriously deadly, and deadly serious..."

Electroqueer: Hello Darren and welcome to EQ!  So you just finished your amazing Club Delicacy showcase tour which hit the UK, Australia and the USA and Canada – how does it feel to have completed this showcase and to play some of your new music to the audiences?

Darren Hayes:  It’s been a total thrill and the pleasure was all mine. Willie Williams has to take credit for the idea of me playing residency performances ie: tiny regular club dates, as it was his belief that this would help the songs develop live.   I have never in my entire career debuted a record live before it hit the shelves and I have to say it was a joy.  I loved seeing how through MySpace the audience was changing and were becoming more and more familiar with the new sound as I released teasers on the ‘net’.

EQ: So 'The Time Machine Tour' is coming up…how is it going to differ from Club Delicacy and your other solo tours?

DH:  Oh God, it’s like night and day.  This tour is the largest production I’ve ever had on stage.  There are two identical stages being built ...one here in the UK and one for Australia as we don’t have time to ship it here and back.  It’s a full on pop show with theatrical leanings, costumes, sets etc.  This show is almost like a musical.  A lot of the songs will merge together and there are extensions of the idea that I mash up songs – both others and my own, to tell the story.  It’s deadly seriously and seriously deadly.

EQ:  'How To Build A Time Machine' is an amazing song on your new album and there is a delicate story behind this track – can you tell the readers a little bit more about the story behind this song?

DH:  Well, quite simply I had a dream that I went to sleep in my sister’s house one day and when I woke up it was 1983.  Only I was 35 years old.  I was still my age but it was 20 years in the past and I had traveled back in time.  I tip toed out of the bedroom and realized that I had just one day to revisit my childhood and fix all the things that were broken.  Including my relationship with my father and my view of myself.  The song is about how I would do things differently if such a thing were possible.  My relationship with my father has been and will always be the most influential experience of my life.  This song explores the intensity of that.

EQ:  We’ve been saying for quite some time now that ‘Step Into The Light’ feels like a natural sequel or next chapter to your song ‘Darkness’ from Tension And The Spark.  Is that true?

DH:  Honestly I think the whole album is.  I see this record as a sequel to 'The Tension and The Spark'.  It begins where we left off, with a song called 'A Fear of Falling Under' where I talk about dipping into my subconscious mind and the fear of what I might find.  As you’ll remember with the last record, things were not so great and I’m delighted by the second song to work out in 'Who Would Have Thought?' that there is in fact a spark of hope in the darkness.  'Step Into The Light' is about finding more hope in the wilderness years and realizing that in fact, I had never truly been in love before.  Not when compared to the real thing.

EQ:  Tell us about your new single 'On The Verge Of Something Wonderful'.  Did you and Janice Dickinson have fun on the set of the music video?

DH:  Oh for sure!  The single is the neon trailer to the movie that is this record.  The record is actually deeper and darker in parts but I wanted to start somewhere in the middle with the singles to show that this ‘movie’ has a happy ending.   The video is one of my favorites in my career mostly because it’s super 80’s and puts me in Tron world.   Janice was a happy accident and she was a total dream to work with!

EQ:  What was the inspiration behind ‘Me, Myself and (I)?

DH:  The inspiration musically was Prince and Shave.   I’d been playing Prince's 'Sign O The Times' to Shave and in particular I was obsessed with the character Camille.  'Bombs Up In My Face' is also in the same vein.  The theme lyrically is about 'time travel' and the notion that my soulmate was out there but somehow I’d messed things up and perhaps we’d missed each other by a lifetime.  That theme is all over the album and especially in the song 'The Future Holds a Lion’s Heart'.  I believe very fiercely that I have been in Victorian England before and that coming 'home' to find my soulmate felt so natural because it was in fact, my destiny.

EQ:  So outside of the new songs you’ve performed at Club Delicacy – there still are quite a few songs we haven’t heard yet – Can you tell us about any of those?

DH:  God, where to start?  By far my favorite songs on the album are 'Casey' and 'How To Build A Time Machine' because they define the sound of the record.  But then moments like 'Setting Sun' and 'Bombs Up In My Face' let me explore my darker electro obsessions and moments like 'Words' are quite simply "aural sex".  It’s just a voice and a piano.  The most interesting production on the album is probably a song called 'The Only One' which is heavily inspired by 10CC and Laurie Anderson.  What you will not find on this album is a 21st century influence.  I rarely get inspired by the future.  I like the idea of going back to go forward.

EQ:  You obviously have such a huge passion for electronic music – what do you think of the current resurgence of electro music today – do you think it’s going to last?

DH:  I think it always has.  My first single 11 years ago was electro-ish ('I Want You') and I’m still doing it today.  Madonna’s 'Lucky Star' or 'Burning Up' still sounds fresh today next to 'Get Together'.   New Order’s 'Bizarre Love Triangle' is to me what Robyn's 'With Every Heartbeat' is.  Good electronic music has been around since the first drum machine and there’ll always be room for good records.   I’m not interested in fads.  You know like in the 70’s how even rock bands were trying to make disco records because disco was 'hot'?  Electronic music is a bit like that these days.  It’s flavour of the month.  Thing is, I’ve always known what flavour I like.  It may go in and out of fashion but sooner or later you hit your time. 

EQ:  How does it feel to be getting some good press in America, especially after the debacle that happened with 'The Tension and the Spark' being shelved?

DH:  It feels like being let out of prison to be honest.  I don’t think I can ever truly explain the frustration I felt seeing my best record sit on a shelf and gather dust.  I vowed that would never happen again to me and it was the sole reason I decided to start my own label, 'Powdered Sugar'.  I could have signed to another major in the UK and I just thought "fuck it".  What do executives in suits know about music today anyway?  To realize that my audiences were out there trying to find my records and not being able to buy them (or hear them!) was bittersweet.  Thank god for MySpace and cool bloggers like yourself Raj!

Aww - thanks Darren!  Stay tuned for Part 2 of our interview with Darren Hayes where he talks about blogging, being his own boss, his latest obsession with Robyn and all things 80's!

Inside EQ: I Love London

Hello EQs.  Well I am in Washington DC at the moment for work and I'm uber busy, but thought I'd take 5 mins to post you something...you see, I just love London so much and a few weeks ago I posted this on my MySpace blog.  And just today I caught myself singing 'I Love London' by one of my favourite singers, Tommy Page.  So raise your pint high and toast London today wherever you are.  I can honestly say that I am a little homesick being away from Geri and Ronnie...sigh.  It must be love.

From EQ's MySpace blog published 9 July 2007

I totally had a realisation this past weekend that London is just the best city to live in.  I don't think there is another city I could live in.  Barcelona and San Francisco come close but still are no comparison to London.  I dunno why I am writing this, but here are my top 10 reasons why I love London and have for 7 + years now...

10.  It's close to everywhere...jump on a cheap flight and you're instantly transported to another world.  Loving it.

9.  It's a bigger melting pot than New York City.  I never met an Australian until I moved here!  Walk down Oxford Street (if you can bear it) and you'll hear almost every language spoken within 30 minutes.

8. London is constantly transforming.  We are actually very excited about the urban growth and development that is happening in my area of East London due to the Olympics and West London gets better and better every year. 

7.  I can marry my boyfriend if I want to.  The Civil Partnership office is just right at the end of my street.  How romantic.

6.  Whole Foods Market in Kensington and Fresh & Wild in Soho.  Heavenly.

5.  They are going to put air conditioning on the tube...or at least they say.  If it actually happens, this will be a perfect city in my opinion.

4.  The British pound is so valauble, that anywhere you go outside of the UK, you get more for your money.  It's tough cookies for tourists though...ouch.

3.  If you love celeb spotting like me...you can't find a better place than London to see celebs walking down the street - it's silly, but still kinda fun.  I almost died last week when Uma Thurman was standing opposite me near a post office in Holborn!

2.  The music - rocks.  Sure some of the pop music here is sugary sweet but we have the best music in the whole fucking world.

1.  You can be as queer as you want to.  And nobody gives a shit.

Lyrics to Tommy Page's 'I Love London'

A beautiful night, is not a beautiful night
It's another night, without you
I felt that way, on a beautiful day
So far away from you
I was walking sadly, in Hyde Park.
And you were on my mind
I said to myself if you were only here
We'd have the best of time

Chorus:
I love London, you would too
There's nothing in the world
that can lift you up
Like a London night can do
I love London, you would too
There's something in the air
That I'd love to share
A London night with you

A special place, in another world
A place you'd want to be
On a summer night, or on any night
a place you've got to see

On a London night at the stroke of midnight
I could hear old Big Ben chime
If only you, could be here too
We'd have the best of times

The Swedes Know How To Pop

You read it here first EQs!

So last night we dragged our elderly ass down to G-A-Y. to check out the reunion of Army Of Lovers and Alcazar as well as the "launch" of BWO and what a fun-filled night it twas.  We arrived around 11:30pm to an enthusiastic drunken crowd, some of which were even sporting their Alcazar t-shirts and it was noticeable that just about every pop-loving Swede was in the crowd last night.

After a few hours of the usual pop trash that you come to expect at G-A-Y, Kylie's 'Better the Devil You Know' played which indicated that the show will start in one hour...a long-time tradition that is just as fun and exciting every time those silly balloons drop from the ceiling.  And finally around 1am, Army Of Lovers took to the stage and delivered 'Crucified' complete with a throne, synthesizers and blow up sex doll.  Now we were never into Army Of Lovers that much, but this was exactly the amount of camp we expected from them!  They looked like they were having a blast up there singing their greatest hit for the first time in 10 years!

Next up was the act that everyone was waiting for.  Alcazar made their first appearance as a group in two years and danced and jived to 'This Is The World We Live In', 'Start The Fire' and closed with their timeless disco anthem, 'Crying At The Discotheque'.  We kinda had to chuckle, cuz the singer Lina that replaced Annikafore, was well, almost a lookalike.  But at least Andreas and Tess made the effort and they looked so happy spreading their disco triumph again to all us at the club.  Jeremy Joseph then came on stage and begged Alcazar to get back together with the audience agreeing and screaming their excitment and Andreas looked a little apprehensive and said 'they will think about it'.  Awww.  Maybe someday - we'll see.  We miss Magnus and Annikafore, but it sounds like a full-on reunion probably isn't in the cards.  Oh well - we have our memories.

Finally swedish sensations BWO graced the stage and were fantastic!  They performed 'Chariots Of Fire' which went down a storm and in our opinion will probably be a big hit when it is released in the UK  soon! 'Temple Of Love' and 'Save My Pride' were also delivered with such extreme energy and it was quite clear that London is ready for BWO with Jeremy Joseph exclaiming 'these guys are gonna be huge' and well, we are right up there singing the BWO gospel with him.

All in all, lots of fun, lots of laughs, lots of vodka redbulls - last nights show was so much fun and every pop-loving Swedish person in Sweden had to be jealous this show was happening in London!  Long live Swedish pop music!  Who needs drugs or anti-depressants when you have the likes of Army Of Lovers, Alcazar and BWO to lift you up when you're feeling down - definitley no crying at the discotheque last night!

Rant To The Future

Hello EQs - Happy Saturday you beautiful young things! First of all. Let's just tell you that we are totally geeking out over our Apple TV. Yes - it's hella cool. We totally had to spend 600 quid on a new LCD television to get it work, but we needed a new one anyways. Not only can we listen and watch my iTunes content on the TV downstairs now, but we can even browse movie trailers, watch our photos to a soundtrack of choice and stare all googely-eyed at the screensaver which consists of album artwork. Apple TV really enhances your album artwork experience. We're geeks, we know. Don't point and snicker ok. On with the rants...

• We have been enjoying the new album by New Young Pony Club called 'Fantastic Playroom'. We only have one critisicm though, it needs a signature track, a ballad or something to calm down all the electro-rock goodness...cuz it then starts to sound a bit repeatitive...but again - it's all good, solid effort and very listenable. 'Get Lucky' and 'F.A.N.' are excellent tracks.
  
• We also bought, Rufus Wainwright's 'Release The Stars' but haven't listened to it yet. We did finally listen to Mika's album though. It's good. That's about all you'll get from us regarding Mika.
  
• Based on Adem's recommendation we also bought Simian Mobile Disco's cleverly titled album 'Attack Decay Sustain Release'. Good album too - although some of the instrumental tracks are snoozers, we like the album overall. We can't get enough of 'I Believe' but you already know this.
  
• So we are planning a little nip/tuck of Electroqueer. What does it mean? Well - you'll have to keep reading to find out. We can however reveal that some of the EQ Fold will be saying their goodbyes to make room for a few new musicians that deserve as much EQ love as they can get. Stay tuned...
  
• Welcome new pop blogger on the block Pop Hyperbole. He's likes Darren Hayes, links up EQ and is off to a good start if you ask us! Simon Curtis even commented him. Go give him some love EQs and support the pop blogs!
  
• EQ takes break to eat an oat pancake...Ok he's back. yum.
  
• Like street fashion? Love San Francisco? Like both? Well do we have a website for you. sfstreetfashion.com is a FABULOUS website which has been getting some great exposure lately. It's the brainchild of my friend Zavan and his boyfriend Phillip. They got 22,000 hits in one day! Flawless - it's a fab website if you need some new fashion ideas for your everyday wear.
  
• Facebook is fun...Visit EQs little space on it. Come poke us.
  
• And finally - the gays will be gays. That's a little phrase I picked up from Megan. Our NYC friends Louis, Pedro and Brian are holidaying in the little town of Provincetown, Massachusetts at the moment (think Brighton but more gayer, yes more gayer) and they made this HILARIOUS video. EQ takes full credit for turning Louis onto Bo Selecta. We thinks we created a monster...LOL...And what word would you tatoo on your ass?...

He's The Best Thing To Come From Russia Since Tatu : Meet Sergey Lazarev

We had full intentions of doing a rant post today, but instead we stumbled upon a bright new talent named Sergey Lazarev that hails from Russia.  Having been offered a chance to buy his new CD single for his cover of Johnny Hates Jazz's classic 'Shattered Dreams', we couldn't help but do a little google search for this young man to see what else he's been up to.  Here is what we learned...

• Sergey has a really fun and colourful MySpace page
• Sergey likes to kiss and is probably quite the cassanova...check out his video to 'Everytime'.
• Sergey looks a little bit like Elijah Wood and Breckin Meyer combined.
• Sergey would like you to buy his CD single for 'Shattered Dreams'.
• Sergey is a media nerd...you can download all his videos and a ton of his audio at his website!
• Sergey has a mix to his song 'Fake' which is called 'The Gay Club Mix'.
• Sergey is just adorable.

So it is with great pleasure that we present to you a new pop treasure to play with today.  We'll be watching Sergey quite closely here on EQ - welcome to the fold, young man. 

Here's his sexy and stylish video to 'Shattered Dreams' to get you going...