Everyone knows I have a penchant for Rochelle, and obviously I am not the only one as they have just signed up to Fat Boy Slim’s label, Southern Fried Records to release the fabulous ‘Fer De Lance’!

So In keeping with this fabulous news, I caught up with them for a brief chat to find out about Southern Fried, their work with Chewy Chocolate Cookies and also some background on Yorkshire!

Oh p.s. there is also a lovely remix of ‘Drugs in my Body’ by Thieves Like Us remixed by Rochelle at the bottom of this lovely page…….and the band’s new video for ‘Fer De Lance’…ENJOY!

Kimbereleysmobiledisco: It says on your press release that you are the best things to come out of Yorkshire since Hovis, what other great Yorkshire based things float your boat at present?

Thom: Sharon’s Den on Cardigan Road in Leeds is really floating my boat whenever I’m in Leeds. They make the best bacon and egg baps in the whole world, which are an awesome hangover cure. The baps are literally the size of a human head.

KMD: I saw you play in Wakefield and your live set really rocked mind and the rest of the audiences socks. How would you say your live set has developed in the last year since then?

James: Since we started gigging 18 Months ago, we’ve been learning a lot more about our own sound and awareness onstage, and this allows us to be more confident when we perform, and ultimately more spontaneous.

Lydia: We’ve also become more experienced playing a wide variety of different sized venues, and types of shows including, more recently, all ages gigs. In those kind of situations you have to be completely prepared for the unexpected; the kids are a lot more honest and react to the music without any inhibitions!

KMD: When you were younger who were your favourite bands?

Thom: Foo Fighters; Nirvana; Jet Plane Landing… I was a rock kid to the core!

James: Silverchair, Metallica, Rage Against The Machine. Then I really got into dance music like Moby and Orbital.

Lydia: Madonna, All Saints, Kylie… and any boy bands……!

KMD: Did you originally have four members? just wondered really….?

James: Yep, it’s true we were once a four piece… But as De La Soul say ‘three is the magic number’!!

KMD: How did you get involved with Southern Fried Records?

Lydia: When we moved to London we played more industry attended gigs, and we met the guys from Southern Fried at Notting Hill Arts Club last year. We’ve built up a really good relationship with them, and their background in electronic music works really well for us.

KMD: How has it been so far working with them?

Thom: So far we have been working towards our first single ‘Fer De Lance’ with them. They have been really supportive and have opened up a lot of avenues for us which wouldn’t have been possible before. We have been able to work with some amazing re-mixers for the single, as well as working closely with a street artist called Adam Koukoudakis for the single’s artwork.

The thing we really loved about Southern Fried is the close relationships they have with their artists that you don’t get with a lot of the larger labels. Recently Nathan and Katy from the label came over to watch us rehearse, before coming back to our house and cooking us a meal! Anybody who wants to come around to my house and cook for me is brilliant in my eyes!

KMD: Did you have a few record labels to choose from?

James: Our management were originally talking to Parisian label Kitsuné, who we’d been dealing with on the remix for the Thieves Like Us track ‘Drugs In My Body’, but on meeting Southern Fried we decided it was better for us to have the first single out on a label that was closer to home. The great thing is Kitsunė are putting out the remix we did at the end of April too, so that should lead nicely into our own debut.

KMD: How was playing at Leeds festival?

Lydia: It was amazing! Being a performing artist at a festival you’ve been going to for a while feels pretty special. We hope to play Leeds again this year. That would be the cherry on the cake.

KMD: Do you have any festivals planned this year?

Lydia: We’re playing Rockness in Inverness alongside Fat Boy Slim, CSS, Digitalism, etc. And hope to be confirming a couple more soon….watch this space.

KMD: As a relatively new band you are inevitably going to get compared to other bands by reviewers and industry bods - what comparisons do you predict, or as a band do you love or loathe?

Thom: I think the obvious comparisons are going to the associated with other strong female fronted artists such as Blondie and Kylie. I think we would be happy with either of those comparisons as they have obviously both had incredibly successful careers and have held on to their spirit and integrity over a long period of time. I can also imagine comparisons being drawn up with more current bands such as CSS and New Young Pony Club. These kind of comparisons don’t really bother us to be honest, as people need a reference point to gauge whether they might like your music or not before they check you out.

KMD: So you have relocated to London now, do you think this is a necessary step for a young band in order to succeed in the industry today?

James: Bands like The Pigeon Detectives and Arctic Monkeys have proved that it’s possible to make a stand, and almost make the music industry come to them by celebrating their roots, and making the most of local support. On the other hand, moving to London allows new bands to network within the industry, which is perhaps not possible in their hometown.

KMD: The new track is delicious and The Whip remix is fabulous, how did you get involved with them?

Lydia: We played at The Cockpit in Leeds with The Whip. There’s also a connection with them being on Southern Fried Records, so they got involved and we got a wicked remix.

KMD: How come you chose chewy chocolate cookies for a remix? We are big fans of their work…

Thom: Again………Southern Fried Records put us on to CCC. We really loved their stuff too. When we heard the ‘Fer De Lance‘ remix we fell in love. Its absolutely Nuts!

KMD: So judging on your involvement with Adam Koukoudakis you are pretty in tap with street level talent. Are there any other creatively minded people you recommend us to check out at present?

Lydia: Yeah we’re really lucky to know people around us that are arty and who don’t mind getting their hands dirty for the passion of it! Our friends in Leeds are a good example, always willing to muck in and help out. For our video for ‘Fer De Lance’ we worked with our friend Matt Maude - part of Left Eye Blind Productions - who did an incredible job on a shoestring budget. If you can work together to create things and make things happen it makes the journey a lot more interesting and personal.

KMD: Tell us about the new video

Lydia: We were very close to the project and saw its creation from day one to the very end. It took months of planning and fine tuning by Matt and his team of talents to make sure it could be made on literally nothing. The idea is that we’re all drones trapped in a futuristic world of repression. The dancers start to glitch and things start to go wrong. We’re finally free of that world and as the lights fade out we somehow get transported into a party land. It was fun to make, we had our friends not only in the video but working with us. It was shot in 2 days - intense but great!

Everyone has a ‘‘Fer De Lance‘, a vice that makes you feel like letting go, or a sense of a certain feeling taking over. Hopefully with the added magic of the video people will experience that too.

KMD: If you could achieve one thing as a band what would that be and why?

James: We’d love to be able to tour all over the world. Playing live is the best part of being in a band, and making a connection with so many people in different places (no matter what language they speak) is an awesome feeling. We had a taste of that when we played Razzmatazz Club in Barcelona recently and it just made us want more.

Drugs in my body - Thieves Like Us - Rochelle Remix

Rochelle - Fer De Lance Video - Courtesy of Southern Fried Records