september-2011

EVENTS /// PROFILES /// FOOD /// PLACES /// STYLE /// SPORTS
010
10
MINUTES
WITH...
THE NAKED
& FAMOUS
The Kiwi alternative electro-pop
quintet is creating much buzz since
their fi rst debut single “Young Blood”
topped the charts. Aaron Short
shares his spin on their success.
YOUR DEBUT ALBUM PASSIVE ME,
AGGRESSIVE YOU IS CRITICALLY
ACCLAIMED, YOUR SONGS ARE
CHART TOPPERS AND YOU WERE
NOMINATED TOP 15 ON BBC
SOUND OF 2011 — HOW DO YOU
EXPLAIN THIS RAPID SUCCESS?
When TNAF landed internationally,
it all happened at a very
fast pace for us. With
tracks such as “Young
Blood” spreading virally on the
internet, along with a very heavy
tour schedule across the UK, Europe
and the US, it exposed our music
to a huge number of people and
left us so happy knowing the giant
audience we’ve reached.
YOUR MUSIC HAS BEEN COMPARED
TO THAT OF MGMT AND PASSION
PIT — DO THESE BANDS HAVE A
REAL INFLUENCE ON YOU?
I think when tracks such as “Young
Blood” are listened to in context
with the rest of the album, these
comparisons fade a lot. We don’t
take a lot of infl uence from those
bands, but it’s a big compliment
being compared to artists we
admire and respect.
HOW HAS YOUR MUSIC EVOLVED
SINCE THE BAND FIRST STARTED?
When starting out, we were only a
four-piece band, and that was what
the tracks and lo-fi raw production
LEFT TO RIGHT: Aaron Short,
David Beadle, Thom Powers,
Jesse Wood, Alisa Xayalith
represented. Since the creation of
Passive Me, Aggressive You and
us becoming a fi ve-piece in 2009,
it opened the door to us evolving
our sound. The production became
bigger, more layers were introduced
into tracks, and Thom and Alisa’s
duet-style vocals became quite a
strong feature.
WHAT WAS THE CREATIVE
PROCESS LIKE FOR THE ALBUM?
It was a solid year of writing songs
for the album, but only about two
weeks actually spent in the studio
fi nishing the album. Because of
the way our tracks form together,
so much is done “bedroomstudio”
style and tracks often near
completion before we even enter
a studio. Although it’s different
for every track, demos usually
fi rst appear from Thom or Alisa;
Thom and I will then spend a while
producing the track, giving it a
particular aesthetic. After that, we
go through the track as a band, until
it naturally reaches a point where
it’s ready for a fi nal recording.
The Naked & Famous will
be performing at Parklife
Festival 2011 across
Australia from 24 Sep –
3 Oct. For tickets,
call 1300 338 161,
parklife.com.au.
INTERVIEW: ZUHARA YUSOFF