Koko Von Napoo : Q & A

Koko Von Napoo’s music exists within the sanctuary of synth-pop, yet also exercises a willingness to adhere to the edgier fringes of pop-punk with a kind of ramshackle class.  It’s refreshing amidst the scores of others attempting similar efforts and conveys simple charm through the vocals, courtesy of singer Toupie, not to mention the obvious Gallic sensibility flowing directly from the quartets' motherland.

Forming 3 years ago, whilst based in France, Koko Von Napoo have steadily nurtured a cult status throughout Europe, recently signing to uber-tastemakers Trouble Records.  Joe “Metronomy” Mount was so impressed by the KNV early demos he offered to work with them by mixing a track on the new ep and thus basically providing them with an intro to the symbiotic London music environment as a kick start.  Now with the blogosphere at their tapping feet, the wheels of the hype machine have been set in motion skyrocketing their reputation and smacking their name firmly onto the lips of every new music aficionado in the UK.
  
Latest ep ‘June’, released in, well, July actually, is a new-wave inspired, melodic insight into their influences.  It conveys sultry sounding layers that evoke comparisons to music from the French electronic underground as well as an 80’s originating appeal relevant to bands such as Blondie and Altered Images.  However this is coupled with a relevant modern twist and a sense of eccentricity that can’t be feigned.  Older track ‘Polly’, previously released last year has undergone remixing by the collaborators behind Chateau Marmont, subsequently giving it a dance-worthy crossover aesthetic that brings the 4-track ep to a stylish close.  A clever, whirling, melodic offering that demonstrates the Koko Von Napoo style that has been labeled the Champs-Elysees-birthed branch of Topshop-electro-pop-punk.  Thank you NME.

Of course 4or The Record wanted a slice of the action, et voila, we bring you a Q & A with Koko Von Napoo’s drummer Kiddo.

4or The Record: For anyone that hasn’t heard of Koko Von Napoo, tell us the story of how the band originated.
Kiddo: Toupie and I used to play in a band together where Toupie was playing guitar and I was singing. But we stopped the band after a few rehearsals when Toupie left for Brighton. When she came back, we randomly met in the Paris Metro and she told me she was fed up playing music alone and I told her I wanted to start playing the drums.  So she brought some songs she had written on her computer, and we started playing them. Then Renarde (keyboards) and Kokoboy (bass, guitar) joined and that was how it all basically got started.

4TR: Why did you call yourselves Koko Von Napoo?
Kiddo: Toupie found the name. The Napoos were a Manchester street gang in the 30's. And "Koko Von", well, it was just for the sound of it.

4TR: In you’re the bands opinion, how would you describe your sound?
Kiddo: A journalist recently said it's electro post-punk and we think that describes it well. We used to describe it as "rectangular pop", because we're 4 and were not playing very tightly at the beginning, which can be literally translated in French by "not being square" (ne pas être carré).

4TR: Was that the sound you always aspired to create when the band formed?
Kiddo: As for the 'untight' aspect, no. It's linked to the fact that two of us started playing our instruments with the band (Renarde and I), but we definitely wish to play better and better. But on the other hand that's somehow part of the charm, and it goes well with the destructured and fragile songs that Toupie writes. She writes all the songs on her computer with a quite precise idea of what it should sound like, but when we play them, there's always something unpredictable happening.

4TR: What influences you musically as a group?
Kiddo: Wow, so many different things. But I think we are equally inspired by post-punk and electronic music, Manchester Factory Records, French synth pop acts from the 80's such as Elli & Jacno or Taxi Girl, and today's French and English (or US) music from The Fiery Furnaces to Late Of The Pier, from Phoenix to Sebastien Tellier.

4TR: You recently signed to Trouble Records, how did that relationship come about and what was it about them that interested you?
Kiddo: It came about through common friends basically. A designer who's working at Renarde's office is a friend of theirs and made them listen to our first single 'Polly'. Then we met them in Paris at a party where they were djing, and we couldn't believe our ears: they were playing exactly what we would have played or have in our record collection. But really, EXACTLY. I guess we share the very same aesthetic ideas. 

4TR: You recently released the ep ‘June’ in the UK – tell us about the songs that made it on there and how do you feel it has been received so far?
Kiddo: It's comprised of three new songs ‘June’, ‘Rocky’ and ‘Baden Baden’, and a remix of our first single 'Polly'. It's very hard to tell how it's been generally received. All we know is we're getting some nice reviews and doing quite a lot of interviews. Do you think it's a good sign?

4TR: Is the bands writing process collaborative or does everyone have their own individual role?
Kiddo: The writing has so far been Toupie's speciality. Most of the time she brings very accurate demos and we play them. We might suggest small changes from time to time or help finish the songs, but that's it, it’s basically all Toupie.

4TR: You have employed a true DIY ethic when making your music, producing everything yourselves – why did you decide to do that?
Kiddo: Well we didn’t really have the choice. We wanted our music to exist and didn't want to wait ages before we could release something. When you really want something and don't have the money to pay people, you just do it yourself. Besides, it's very interesting and challenging to control the creative process from A to Z. But really we did we did not make it entirely on our own; many people helped us at different stages.

4TR: Joe Mount from Metronomy has been involved with the group from an early stage, mixing tracks on the ep – did you feel he was able to bring something new to the bands sound?
Kiddo: Joe didn't mix the whole ep but he did the title track, 'June'. We understand that Julien Delfaud may not ring a bell to you guys in the UK, but he's the one who mixed the two other songs 'Rocky' and 'Baden Baden'. And he's truly a great guy too and has worked with bands like Phoenix and Herman Dune before working with us. Where Julien Delfaud chose to stay very faithful to our sound and just bring some power to it, Joe worked more as a producer, giving it a very personal touch and making it sound "the english way". Both processes were very interesting to explore.

4TR: You have been compared to bands like Altered Images, New Order, Kraftwerk etc, are any of those bands influences of yours and do you agree with any of the comparisons that have been made so far?
Kiddo: Despite some of us being very interested in the Scottish scene, we've never really listened to Altered Images before getting these comparisons. But the other two are definitely a part of our influences. For Altered Images it's a good surprise to have that comparison made, and for the other two it's not really that surprising. But for all of them it's an honour.

4TR: How is your music viewed at home in Paris?  And how does the Paris/French music industry/scenes differ from the UK?
Kiddo: In France, everything is far more labeled. The different scenes are strongly separated and don't meet each other very often. So I guess here we're seen as an "indie pop" act, whereas in the UK we're not stuck in one category. Here in France pop is not a culture but more a kind of "political" choice, so everyone's very involved in one type of music and they don't really like things to be mixed.
 
4TR: Your 2009 single ‘Polly’ has been remixed and included on the ep – but its been seen as something of a cross-over track suitable for the live environment and the club environment – is that a niche you are aiming to create for the band?
Kiddo: The original track is not really suitable for dancefloors. It's quite slow and dreamy, but it's also a good tune to play live, because it's got some kind of primal energy. As for the remix, Chateau Marmont really loved the tune and asked if they could remix it. We said "sure" because we were intrigued by what it might become. We loved the result, it's a totally different track, and now we're able to dance on it. That's what we were aiming for definitely.

4TR: Is an album in the pipeline?
Kiddo: Yes, we're thinking about it seriously at the moment. We plan to record it during the autumn and to release it in spring 2010. Fingers crossed!

4TR: The electro-synth pop field is one that has been somewhat saturated lately, along with the huge 80’s renaissance – what sets Koko Von Napoo apart from the others.  And is the 80’s an influential musical period for the band?
Kiddo: Completely. But we only love taking some ideas and elements from that period and are in no way nostalgic about it. Recycling things is about making something new out of them, there's no point in making them exactly the same, and we would hate being a revival act.

4TR: What can we expect for the rest of 2009 from Koko Von Napoo and what is the ultimate goal?
Kiddo: We'll be opening for Metronomy in Paris in September and playing in the UK in October. After that, we'll try to concentrate on the album, which is for now the ultimate goal!

Koko Von Napoo’s brilliant ep ‘June’ is available now.

Words: Francesca Strange

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