27 July 2012

Beatportal interview (2011)

Taste Test: Ladytron's Mira Aroyo

What was the first record you remember having as a child?
My parents had Beatles, Dylan, Bowie record, stuff like that. I used to have all these children's story records that had music on them too. Some songs and some quite trippy soundscape stuff.

What was the first record you bought with your own money?
Technotronic's "Pump up the Jam" on tape.

Which style or genre of music was your first great love?
My parents' music. The stuff I mentioned before. Then stuff like The Birthday Party, Suicide and krautrock bands.

What was the first concert that you ever attended?
Guns N' Roses, supported by Billy Idol.

What was the first musical instrument that you ever played?
Guitar.

How did you come to start DJing, and what were your first attempts like?
I was a student in Oxford and started a night with some friends playing quite eclectic material. It was a real mix of old '60s music to newer, electronic kind of stuff.

What was the last record (or MP3) you bought? How many tracks/records do you typically acquire every week?
I have more of a monthly shop. Around 20.

What format do you DJ with – vinyl, CD, Traktor/Serato, Ableton, etc...?
CD.

What's the last gig/party you attended where you weren't also performing?
The last gig was by my friend Vice Cooler.

Which track (by another musician) do you wish that you had made?
Most stuff by Vitalic, Brian Wilson or Leonard Cohen.

What's your favorite record from this year that isn't electronic dance music?
Bill Callahan: Apocalypse.

Current reading or last good book read?
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss.

Favorite piece of gear?
My Ricoh GR1v camera.

Favorite city/country/club to perform in?
North and South America.

Which actress would you want to play you in the biopic of your life?
Shelley Duvall in the '70s.

And if you were an actress, which musician would you want to play?
Sun Ra.

One misperception about Ladytron that you'd like to correct.
That we are cold and distant. There is a lot of emotion in our music.

Source