Never Mind the Bollocks – the Robots have arrived (Part 1)

Posted on 26th Oct 07 by Contributor | 0

Artist: Robots in Disguise
Author: Aoife Barry

"I'd say get the bass out from under the bed" stop trying to pull boys with it" and play it"" Sue Denim" bassist and one half of English electro"punk band Robots in Disguise laughs" a twinkle in her eyes half hidden by a pair of enormous Jarvis Cocker"esque black glasses. Her partner in music" guitarist Dee Plume" smiles from under her red and black fringe and adds: "Try and write a song everyday" that's what I'd say." "Why don't you follow that advice now"" teases Sue.

We're sitting in a noisy bar an hour or two before their debut Irish gig in the Village" chatting about the new single "The Sex Has Made Me Stupid" out now"" the new album" and what it's like being a female musician. I've asked Dee and Sue "Plume and Denim are pseudonyms" but it seems strange to think of them with 'normal' surnames" about what they'd say if they could go back ten years and give their younger selves some advice. After around seven years in a band together" they have a lovely partnership. As a pair they're perfectly similar and dissimilar in equal parts" they work so well together but are independent at the same time.

We get talking about their lyrics" particularly of the song Girl from their second album Get Rid" "sample lyric: "The f"word" f for feminist""" which came out in 2006. Their debut" Disguises" was released in 2001 after a mini"album" Mix"up Words and Sounds. I tell them that Girl is one of my favourite tracks they've written " I feel like the lyrics are pro"feminist in a way that not many other electro"pop songs these days are" with perhaps the exception of Le Tigre. The both nod. "We always just said we were feminist" that just meant that we could do exactly what boys did"" explains Dee. "That's what it means to me" as opposed to it being any sort of doctrine or movement "I think that's why people really steer clear of it" because it means you hate men or you're not sexy." Sue agrees: "People are scared that if you say you're a feminist that you're not sexy" which is absolutely ridiculous. I think the lyrics to that song are quite humorous as well"it's a good way of broaching that area for people who are scared of it."

As much as the song is humorous" as is the video "which features Sue and Dee in a robot battle against their real"life partners" The Mighty Boosh's Noel Fielding and IAMX frontman Chris Corner " naturally" the women win"" the frivolity is backed up by something more serious. "We were trying to make a point " that language is really negative towards women"" explains Dee.
The past year has seen the band's popularity rise and rise " and it seems that a large part of its fanbase is made up of teenage girls. "Since the last album" the audience has grown and we've got loads of girls and they're all up the front and are really empowered by it" which is really fantastic"" says Sue.
"There's not a lot go get into when you're a girl"" says Dee. "You always think you have to get your tits out. There's still loads of that." This makes Sue smile" and with good reason. "But we have actually got our tits out on the new album cover"" she laughs. "But again" in a subversive way"" she adds. It's clearly something they're more than a little excited about. "We did discuss it and we just found it a really brilliant "I was just about to say 'we found it a really brilliant concept which we thought up'" which is kind of blowing our own trumpet"" laughs Sue again.

http://www.robotsindisguise.co.uk/

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