Unlike so many British bands that cross the pond to play the U.S., the Klaxons toured America and absolutely owned it. Their raucous live shows received critical acclaim and the band’s rabid cult following has been growing ever since.
Klaxons keyboardist and vocalist James Righton took the time to talk about meeting Lindsay Lohan, covering Justin Timberlake and why you won’t find any fluorescent fashion in his closet.
How would you compare American festivals to European ones?
I think in Europe and the UK, there’s more of a focus on drinking which creates lairy crowds. Coachella was more laid back and full of Hollywood faces. It’s too muddy over here [in Europe] for people like that to go to festivals.
So, did you have any good celeb sightings at Coachella?
We did, like Lindsey Lohan. She was cool, very friendly and pretty normal…Simon [Taylor-Davis, our guitarist] got run over by Cameron Diaz.
How would you describe your American fans?
They differ from state to state. Some states groove, some mosh, some dance and others just do their own thing.
Which city has the wildest crowds?
On our last trip, New York, L.A. and San Francisco were the best gigs in terms of crowd reaction. Oh, also half the Seattle crowd was incredible. It was strange because there was a barrier cutting the crowd in two—half was for under-21s, and the other was for over-21s. It was surreal. The under-21s were going mad, and the over-21s were cool and sober, which was surprising—they were the ones allowed to drink.
Do you still get questions about "nu-rave"?
[Silence.]
OK…what led to you guys covering the Justin Timberlake song “My Love”?
We thought it was a great song. It’s just a classic piece of pop and we thought we could give it our own twist.
How do you feel about the Kaiser Chiefs and Mark Ronson covering your song “Golden Skans”?
It’s a massive honor whenever you’re covered. I guess it’s the true sign of a good song if people from all types of genres want to cover it.
And you just worked on the new Chemical Brothers album “We Are The Night”—what was that like?
It was crazy. They sent us lots of instrumental tracks that we were supposed to work on, [but] we left it to the last hour. When we got to the studio, all we had was a really bad melody recorded on a phone. Then we spent a few hours actually working, and then it just came. We usually have to go through stress before we get anywhere.
Does the term “nu-rave” annoy you?
[Silence.]
Alright…now that you’re coming back to America, what are your expectations this time around?
I hope more people will be familiar with our music. The album was only just released when we first came over, so hopefully this time more people will be able to sing along.
I’ll try one more time with a“nu-rave” question—do you even own any neon clothing?
No. I burned them in a sacrilegious ceremony. There were neon flames over the London skyline!
Scott T. Sterling is Music editor for Metromix Los Angeles.
