Say Lou Lou are a Swedish-Australian rising pop sensation formed by twin sisters Miranda and Elektra Kilbey. Their sound is dreamy electro pop or as they describe it: “organic ethereal music landscapes with flowing instruments and vocals”. Their career really got fired up after uploading ´Maybe You´ on Soundcloud in 2012 and it was picked up by acclaimed French label Kitsuné, who signed the single to the label. The girls like to hold all the aces in their hands though and have founded their own record company á Deux.
Even though Miranda and Elektra are in their early 20´s, they have smartly captured the magic and charm of the golden 70´s era in their music. Also the fact that they have lived their lives between two continents, have definitely influenced their sound. You can hear the Scandinavian melancholy and on the other hand feel the burning hot Australian sunshine in their songs. Say Lou Lou´s new EP ´Everything We Touch´ is out now and you can be expecting their debut album later this year. For the live shows, head to Standon Calling festival in Isle of Wight in the beginning of September.
Hi there, how are you and what are you up to today?
We’re good! We’ve been around buying stage gear (not the fun stuff) for festivals this summer, cases, keybord stands etc, we’re off to Roskilde festival in Denmark tomorrow!
To those not familiar with you, how would you describe your sound?
Would say it’s alternative pop, with ethereal soundscapes and vocals, but also with a touch of disco.
What are the 5 albums and artists that have influenced you the most?
Kate Bush – Hounds of Love (+The Kick Inside, Never For Ever)
David Bowie – Hunky Dory (+Space Oddity)
Emiliana Torrini – Love In The Time Of Science
Jeff Buckley – Grace
Goldfrapp – Supernature
What other artists do you really like at the moment and why?
We love Chromatics, or pretty much all of the Italians Do It Better projects. There is just such a sexy, nonchalant feeling about the productions that is really irresistible. Yumi Zouma is super cute too, and we like what Future Islands are about, especially the singer.
What are some of the key pieces of gear you use to write your tracks?
Keys and logic. Or just a guitar. Or both, it changes all the time.
What’s the best gig you have ever done and why?
When we played our headlining gig at Concrete in London last year, it was just so much fun, there were so many lovely and supportive people there and made it feel like the best night of our lives!
What’s the worst gig you have ever done and why?
Probably one that was in the early early days, like the third gig we ever did. We had lots of trouble without monitors and all the instruments and the vocals kept going out of time. The vibe in the room was just horrible and we cried afterwards. Gaah.
What are your opinions on the following genres?
Classical
Beautiful. Chilly Gonzales <3
Blues
The mother of everything we are doing today in music.
Soul
Sexy, and groovy. It’s the beginning of so much, and if you look at what’s big in 2014, electronic soul is huge.
Hip Hop
Some hip hop is amazing, soulful and empowering. Some commercial hip hop, not so much.
Folk
Every culture around the world has their own folk music, so hard to give an educated thought on all of it. but modern folk music; great stuff. Joan Baez, Tim Buckley, Simon and Garfunkel, Joni Mitchell.
Dubstep
Not huge fans. there’s some post-dubstep stuff that’s alright.
Trap
No thoughts come to mind.
Your latest single ´Everything We Touch´ was released in the beginning of June. What kind of feedback have you got from your fans and media?
We’ve gotten great feedback, some of our fans love the more mellow side of us and some like the uptempo better. So it suited some of them more than others, but we enjoy having two sides to what we do.
If you weren’t a musician what would you be?
No idea. Studying something in the arts or social sciences probably.
CATCH SAY LOU LOU PERFORMING AT STANDON CALLING
SAY LOU LOU – EVERYTHING WE TOUCH from Patrick Meller on Vimeo.
