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Music interview: Little Boots
What a year it's been for Little Boots.
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After being hailed as a hot tip for 2009, the girl raised Victoria Hesketh on the Fylde Coast and who took her first tentative steps into the music industry with the indie-pop trio Dead Disco here in Leeds, has scored two top 20 hits with the singles New In Town and Remedy and a top 5 album with her debut Hands. Plus, thanks to appearances everywhere from BBC Breakfast to the US show Last Call With Carson Daly, she's well on her way to being a household name.
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Besides her fine line in nocturnal synth pop, Little Boots unique selling point is her Yamaha Tenori-on, a small, square music-making gizmo that she coaxes captivating sequences of sounds and lights out of by caressing its touch-sensitive grid.
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She's also working on another flash musical gadget, a laser harp the likes of which we haven't seen since the French synth boffin Jean Michel Jarre brought his audio-visual extravanganza to London Docklands.
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A quick search on Google will turn up the first episode of her video diary detailing her efforts to construct it.
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Little Boots found a few minutes in her busy schedule to tell us how things are going...
You tweeted the other day that you've only just had the chance to look back at your year. So how has it been?
"Pretty crazy, when I think about what i was doing this time last year its just mind blowing the places I've been and the things I've done. "
Were you surprised how it all kicked off after you were named as a hot tip for 2009?
"I didn't really know what to expect so I guess in a way I was, but once it all started you just have to run with it."
Have you started being recognised in Tesco yet?
"Not really. If I have all my make-up and hair done and am wearing something spangly I will, but usually I can go about pretty unnoticed. The other day I was sat in the airport and everyone in the gate was reading the Metro and I was on the front cover, but no-one batted an eyelid!"
There've been quite a few women and synths hitting the charts this year. Who's been your favourite?
"I think Ladyhawke has got a cool sound, really nostalgic, but one of my fave albums of the year is probably Fever Ray."
You certainly know your way around a Tenori-on – is there a bit of nerdyness there?
"I guess I just like to learn as much as possible about what I love, which some people consider nerdy, but I think it's just more unusual as I'm a girl so a bit more striking."
Have Yamaha been in touch yet?
"I work with Yamaha pretty closely and they have been extremely supportive. I met the team in Japan, including the designer Toshio (Iwai], and it was incredible to get to talk to them all."
The BBC Breakfast gig seemed like a pretty odd one. Has there been a stranger one?
"That was actually really fun! We played a gig at a millionaire's private summer party, that was pretty odd."
The Leeds date is one of just three that you're playing in December. What's the thinking behind them?
"We toured earlier this autumn but didn't get to play some of the major places, so I really wanted to do some big shows in these cities. It's great as I live in london so all my friends can come. As I used to live in Leeds all my friends from there will come, and Manchester is pretty near my home town so all my friends from there will probably come to that one! So lots of catching up."
If X Factor sticks to its schedule, the final will be the day after the Leeds show. As a self-confessed fan who do you think will win?
"I'm really behind Joe as I think he has the best voice and is incredibly talented for someone so young, although I think they're all good."
If you were in charge of the show what would you change?
"More fireworks and key changes."
What's on the cards for next year?
"We'll be spending a lot of time in the States launching the album over there, then hopefully I'll get a bit of time off to start work on the next one!"
Will you back home on the sunny Fylde Coast for Christmas?
"Definitely. I cannot wait!"
Little Boots plays at Leeds University Stylus on Saturday. Support comes from two of 2010's hottest tips, quirky female singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding and the part-Irish, part-German Wolf Gang, a solo act who has been described intriguingly as "MGMT fronted by Bryan Ferry".
Doors open at 7pm. Tickets are 10 (subject to booking fee) and are available from Crash, Jumbo records andwww.leedstickets.com
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Friday 25 May 2012
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