Damals, in einem Land vor unserer Zeit, als es noch Festivals gab, hatte ich 2018 Dream Wife auf der Reeperbahn gesehen: eine britisch-isländische Riot-Grrrl-Art-Punk-Disco-Band, die zwischen The Slits für die Indie-Disco und einer Teenage-Version von Le Tigre wechselten. Insbesondere die frühen Singles „Hey Heartbreaker“ und vor allem „Somebody“ – das der weiblichen Selbstermächtigung eine junge Stimme gibt: „I am not my body / I am somebody“ – waren wilde Hits.
Gerade ist das zweite Album der Dreier-Band erschienen, das sich etwas mehr in Richtung Pop bewegt und auch die eine oder andere Ballade ins Konzept schmuggelt, dabei aber konsequent in den Lyrics bleibt, behandelt “After The Rain” natürlich nicht das Sehnen nach Mr Perfect, sondern die Selbstbestimmung über den eigenen Körper.
Die isländische Sängerin Rakel Mjöll ist übrigens die Cousine von Björk (gut, wer ist das in Island wohl nicht?), Bella Popadec übernimmt den Bass und Alice Go, die unsere Fragen nach ihren Lieblingsplatten beantwortet, ist eine Gitarristinn mit beeindruckend androgyn-aggressiver Bühnenpräsenz, die man gesehen haben muss – hoffen wir dass das bald wieder möglich sein wird.
* Your three favourite Punk singles/songs?
The Undertones – Teenage Kicks
Iggy Pop – I Wanna Be Your Dog
X-Ray Spex – Oh Bondage! Up Yours!
* A record that will make you dance?
Peaches – I Feel Cream.
* Your favourite song lyrics?
David Bowie, Lady Grinning Soul.
“And when the clothes are strewn
Don’t be afraid of the room
Touch the fullness of her breast
Feel the love of her caress
She will be your living end”
Bowie’s description of passion devouring has always been so poetic and bold to me. It really spoke to me about desire and the all consuming nature of it.
* The best “new” artist / band right now?
Nova Twins:
They have such a powerful live show and really get the whole room rocking, their debut album ‘ Who Are The Girls?’ dropped earlier this year and it is wild.
* The Libertines, Arctic Monkeys or Franz Ferdinand – which one do you prefer and why?
I haven’t ever really been a major fan of the Franz-Arctic-Libertines trinity, it always felt like a bit of a boys club to me when I was younger, but can totally get down with some early Franz Ferdinand. Their jagged danceable riffs are fun, ‘Take Me Out’ was a tune.
* Your favourite song about rebellion/revolution?
Bikini Kill -Rebel Girl.
* Your favourite song in 2019?
Queen Zee- Porno – Sadly Queen Zee are no longer together, but Dream Wife were blessed to take them on tour in 2018, and they rocked it every night. Bella and I would always dance down in the pit for Porno, very fond memories.
* Your favourite song by a swedish artist/band?
Robyn, without a doubt. I am VERY into her album Body Talk. Dancing On My Own is such an emotive moment on the record, and also one of my favorite Robyn tracks to date.
* Your favourite movie about music – and why?
DIG! – This documentary follows the friendship/rivalry between The Brian Jonestown Massacre and the Dandy Warhols in the early 90’s. It is raw and heartbreaking at the same time as being absurdly entertaining, Anton Newcombe is a legend, and also maybe a cult leader…
* The best song you’ve ever written / recorded?
I would say a lot of the songs on the new DW record ‘So When You Gonna..’ are songs I am most proud of in a way of us writing in a group, listening and responding. However, we have not been able to play most of these tracks live yet due to current circumstances in the world. For me, when a song is played live, in a space shared with others, you are all tuning into the same vibrations together, a gig is a happening. We were lucky to tour our first record fairly relentlessly, and songs took on a whole new life and power in that shared live environment. The energy of our song FUU, from our debut was always a high point at our shows, everyone kind of lets rip together and you have a whole room full of people screaming ‘BITCHES!’ over and over together. It was such a high octane moment in the set that encapsulated the cathartic solidarity of punk. So many wild and unchained memories of playing FUU live around the world. We all really miss the rock show, it is in a lot of ways the beating heart of Dream Wife, and for that reason FUU right now feels like an ode to that live raw power.
* Your favourite german song/record?
Kraftwerk – Computer World
It is iconic.
* Your favourite record of all time?
The impossible question! There are so many records close to my heart. Right now I would say the 2005 debut by CSS – Cansei de Ser Sexy. I always come back to this record, the sense of fun entwined track to track is so nostalgic for me. It makes me feel very teenage again, you can dance in really silly ways to the whole of this album, there have been a lot of good times with friends that have had this record as their soundtrack. It never seems to get old.
(Antworten: Gitarristin Alice Go)
Das neue Album von Dream Wife ist bereits erschienen:
Starkes Set! “Lady Grinning Soul” ist auch einer meiner Bowie-Favourites, genau wegen dieser Textzeilen.
ALADDIN SANE ist ohnehin eines der unterschätzteren Bowie-Alben, welches das Pech hatte, nach ZIGGY STARDUST zu erscheinen und damals im Vergleich irgendwie zu heterogen und diffus erschien, über die Jahre aber gewachsen ist.