Whoo! Alright-Yeah! The Rapture are back with album number two. It's been three years since the New York based quartet unleashed their much-lauded debut ‘Echoes', and its successor, ‘Pieces Of The People We Love' - described as a more personable offering - is already rumoured to be the record of the summer.
During a whirlwind UK promo tour Music News met the band who are pretty much done with the talk and want to get on and play their wicked mix of myriad musical styles. Just as well, as we want to hear it, but first the obligatory question time.
Luke Jenner - guitar, vocals
Gabriel Andruzzi - keys, sax, percussion
Mattie Safer - bass, vocals, keys
Vito Roccoforte - drums
MN: By your own admission the new album took longer than expected, why was that?
Luke: It took longer in the writing process but actually recording it was really fast and that was a lot more fun. Last time we spent two years in the studio and that was stressful because every day cost money.
Vito: We made sure we had a lot of material and then also we spent time looking at producers and talking producers and having to get that all lined up.
Gabriel: That took longer than we thought because somebody cancelled on us and then it wasn't the easiest situation finding the producers and convincing people who we wanted to work with were the right people.
Mattie: In the end, though, we were right!
MN: You worked with Danger Mouse on a couple of tracks. He's hot property at the moment especially through his Gnarls Barkley project, so is that a good sign?
Gabriel: He hadn't even signed to that one at the time we went into the studio. I heard ‘Crazy' online which made me go, yeah that's a good song, maybe we can make something as good.
MN: Do you think there's a genre yet for The Rapture? You've been tagged with many styles.
Gabriel: We're one of the few contemporary bands in the ‘good music' genre, which is a real shame. It should be easy to find if you walk into HMV or Virgin, you can go to the ‘good music' section.
MN: Using the lazy assumption you are a rock/dance crossover band do you think there's more competition this time round?
Mattie: I don't think there's any competition.
Gabriel: I see it more as a blessing, that there's more things out there and people's ears have opened up more to bands that have similarities.
Vito: Although it would be cool to have us versus somebody else.
Gabriel: But at the end of the day it would be kind of boring because you know who's going to win.
Vito: (oblivious) No, you never know…
Gabriel: Vito! The only way we would lose is if one of us got hurt.
Mattie: ‘Dance rock' has always seemed a bad name for a genre. We're considered a rock band…
Gabriel: …but we play very rhythmic pop music that will get people shaking their asses. I just think we're an R&B act.
Mattie: I think we both defy and define genres - is my answer to that previous question. We've been many things already in our short time in the public mind and we haven't gone down with any of them yet. But you know we're the godfathers of new rave, we're the punk funkers of 2003, we're the disco punk originators!
MN: When you first arrived in the UK there was very much a New York scene kicking off…
Gabriel: According to the UK press.
MN: Do you believe that and think it's still in vogue?
Vito: There's a lot more bands because I think a lot of people move there. It was really big in the media for a while and now it's not.
Mattie: It was interesting that for two or three years there were a lot of genuinely good bands in New York and when we moved there originally, there wasn't one good band in New York besides us - certainly nothing that was very new or exciting. It's been a little while since anything really awesome surfaced in New York.
Gabriel: I think the US finally got used to a lot of ideas and the culture of New York and it's kind of spread across the country. I feel like bands now think they have a hope of doing well in America and I think the American press actually pays a little more attention.
MN: You've been described as a “fashionable†band. How do you feel about that as obviously things come in and out of fashion?
Vito: Do you see it as fashionable in like what we wear or fashionable music-wise?
Mattie: I mean Vito knows what he's wearing!
MN: Music-wise.
Luke: I like it in the way that it just tends to coincide with something having a buzz. It just means people want to grab onto you but it's nothing to hold on to. I mean look at all the bands from New York round last time, they're not fashionable now so it's not really something you can make a life out of.
Mattie: Some people do!
MN: For fans of ‘Echoes' what should they expect from ‘Pieces Of The People We Love'? Do you think you're going to entice a new breed of fans with this record?
Vito: I don't know, I think one of the things is probably that it's been a while since ‘Echoes' was out and it seems that there's a lot of young kids coming to shows. Some of those kids probably weren't even super aware of us three years ago because a lot of them were 12 or something. I think we'll reach a whole new group of younger kids.
MN: You had quite an underground following for a while. Do you think the mainstream is catching on - and is that a good thing?
Gabriel: I don't think they've caught on yet. I think this album might be a little more accessible but I've honestly not any real perspective on that and I don't think we set out necessarily to make it more accessible. But yeah I'd be happy if grandmas and eight year olds were listening to our record.
MN: You're off to Japan next. How does that market treat you?
Vito: In Japan it's kind of a cultural thing. It's one of the only places where I've been that you'll have a kid lining up to get your autograph and shake your hand. I always like playing there.
Gabriel: They're really, really good fans to any band that goes over there and has an audience. I also think they're very loyal. It's a nation of super fans. It makes it really interesting and enjoyable to go over there and experience that.
Mattie: I think they appreciate fine craftsmanship. They want to meet the artisans who made these songs.
Luke: Japan's good for me because I grew up in Hawaii when I was little and it just reminds me a lot of that because Hawaii is almost all Japanese people.
Gabriel: Yeah it reminds me of my youth, too because I had nothing but Asian friends till I was about 11… although none of them were Japanese!
MN: And then you're touring Europe rounding up in the UK in October. Are you looking forward to playing here again?
Vito: Oh yeah. I just think we're looking forward to playing now. We just did that Transmission show (for Channel 4) and it was a weird feeling as we just haven't played many shows lately.
Gabriel: We walked off and we were like, what have we been doing talking to people about what we've been doing for the past week? I mean no offence or anything but it's relatively ridiculous as what you're supposed to be doing is out there playing music, getting off on it.
MN: You always pick your support bands. Any intriguing ones lined up?
Vito: The Presets are still probably the only confirmed band but we've got a wish list of bands so we're going through it.
MN: You played a benefit gig in NYC quite recently under the pseudonym Druzzi's Wyld Stallyns (Ex-DFA). Why not The Rapture?
Gabriel: We were doing a benefit for a friend and we knew word would get out and didn't want to attract any press or anything like that. We just wanted to keep it low key.
Mattie: This was for a good friend of ours Chris Schorb who's in the middle of getting chemo for brain cancer. His nickname is Good Time Kid - he still has a beer and a hamburger. We wanted it to be something he would enjoy.
Gabriel: It was a show for him, a party for him - to raise money.
MN: Your new album is being touted as the sound of you having a party to which everyone is invited. Are you happy with that guestlist?
Mattie: Everyone's invited but there's a cover charge!
Gabriel: Everyone's invited but it has to be fun. If you're a wet blanket you still have to come and not be a wet blanket. I mean it's a party!
Catch The Rapture playing new single ‘Get Myself Into It' on Channel 4's ‘Transmission' on August 4th and listen online at
www.myspace.com/therapture.
And fans of Druzzi's Wyld Stallyns (Ex-DFA) should visit:
www.goodtimekidfund.org/.
