Joe Goddard Me and Felix [Martin, drum machines] lived in an old church in Camden. I was trying to copy the bass from Dance by ESG. Everyone added parts and Alexis [Taylor, lead vocals, guitar, keyboards] wrote the lyrics – “the joy of repetition is truly within you” etc. – referring to how Felix and I kept playing that bass groove over and over again. I remember looking around the church with the real estate agent saying, “This will be perfect for band practices. Sign here!” Then, as soon as we started playing, the lady upstairs called, saying, “I just had a baby. What are you doing?!” What are your favorite Hot Chip deep cuts? I’m a huge fan of Ends of the Earth and Dark and Stormy. Lawrence_G Al Doyle (guitar/synth) These are good. Also a B-side called The Girl in Me – and I really like Let There Be H, because the audience would say it. Goddard I recently opened a laptop folder with about 50 demos from the year 2000 that were either fun or incredibly annoying. We did a whole unreleased album called Felix in the Factory in 1998, which wasn’t good. So to me these are deep cuts. What songs from the new album, Freakout/Release, are you all most excited to hear? htounivorn Goddard Probably the title track, because when you’ve been in a band for a long time, it’s exciting to do something so different. It’s laid back, angrier, then almost techno punk. Also the evil that men do. Alexis wrote the lyrics when there was all this bullshit headed to ‘wokeism’. The Colston statue had been taken down in Bristol and we wanted to align with that. Britain’s colonial past has left this trauma in the British psyche brushed under the carpet. Hot Chip’s new track Freakout/Release. Did you consider other names before you arrived at Hot Chip? wenders14 Goddard No. Alexis and I came up with this name around 1995 when we were in school. We played our first gigs in the “performance centers” there, where you’d have artsy stuff like Kieran [Hebden] from Four Tet improvising on guitar or my partner Dan DJing recording jungle while someone did mountain bike tricks. Doyle We used to say we chose the name to be next to Hot Chocolate on the record shelves, which was completely untrue. What’s the best thing to put on hot chips? Ketchup, mayonnaise or curry sauce? TopTramp Doyle I’m from the north [Leeds] so I should say curry sauce, but I’m a mayonnaise person. Goddard In Amsterdam I once had Thai peanut sauce on chips. It was great, but I was a little stoned. Al, how do you manage to be in Hot Chip and LCD Soundsystem at the same time? thsafc Doyle It was pure blind luck over the years when one band was out of business, another was opening. There was a year when I couldn’t do LCD and they got an amazing guy called Dave Scott Stone from the Melvins. The big rehearsals take six weeks, so I retire to the United States. He’s been very busy this year, but a nice problem. You were responsible for some remixes, like Kids With Guns by Gorillaz. How much input does the original artist have when you remix their song? VerulamiumParkRanger Goddard There’s a difference between being completely left to our own devices, having someone give us some direction, or saying, “Would you like a remix for the house, sir?” It’s mostly plain sailing, like with Gorillaz. But occasionally it can get really messy if they say, “But you haven’t included my guitar solo!” When Alexis and I did one for Kraftwerk, we thought it would be cool to put in distorted guitar, but they sent it back with those parts removed. And vice versa – do you have a favorite Hot Chip remix? qbflestrin Doyle Getting the Carl Craig remix of One Life Stand was amazing and hearing other DJs play it in clubs was incredible. Hot Chip’s One Life Stand (Carl Craig remix) – video. Goddard I really like Detroit producer Osborne’s Take It In remix and Audion’s remix of No Fit State a few years ago, a big hit in the clubs. Doyle [laughs] Goddard It was! How did you start working with Jarvis Cocker and how did the collaboration come about personally? laurasnaps Goddard We have a mutual DJ friend in Paris so we started going out for dinner, which was really exciting because Pulp’s His ‘n’ Hers was a huge record for me. I think Alexis suggested Jarvis for our song Straight to the Morning. He was fantastic. He just went into the studio and became Jarvis! With the moves and everything. Doyle It’s like when we did something with Peter Gabriel. We thought, “Blimey. He sounds like Peter Gabriel. How has your approach to playing live changed over time? qbflestrin Doyle The big change was getting a drummer, which started in New York when Felix was sick and couldn’t operate the drum machine. We knew the LCD guys a bit, so we asked Pat Mahoney to play with us. He listened to three or four songs in the dressing room, set up and did the concert. We were surprised. I remember seeing you play at Emmanuel College, Cambridge around 2001, playing acoustic guitars. Some of you were with a friend of mine named Kate. One of the songs had a chorus about beating. Have I imagined all this? Manofthesouth Goddard We played some Cambridge balls. Very drunken affairs, but we actually had a song called Take a Beating. Hot Chip in 2006. Doyle And we have a friend named Kate! I saw her very recently in the Lake District, so it’s true. As an older fan, Hot Chip is my “new” New Order. Is there a comment or story you can offer about their influence or anything else? Joanna Goddard They are a huge influence on us and we’ve played with them quite a few times. Bernard [Sumner] He once told me that one of the reasons he fell out with Peter Hook was the way Hooky ate his crisps. Apparently, when he was done, he would open the bag and put his face in all the corners. The relationships with the bandmates become quite intense! You always look like you’re having a great time live. Is it as much fun as it looks? Slowandnoddy Goddard [drily] No. Doyle Sometimes. This is a blunt question, because we’ve had some gigs recently where things weren’t good, so you’re smiling on stage but dying inside. When we were very young, Owen [Clarke, multi-instrumentalist] and I got into a fist fight and Joe hit Alexis once with a baseball bat. Goddard It was actually an oversized drum from a store display, but it looked like a baseball bat. One of my happiest moments on stage was in Cardiff, hitting balloons with it but accidentally cutting Alexis. Doyle It was a head injury. We pulled it from live shows after that. Freakout/Release is out August 19th
