We catch up with the London punks off their tour with the Gossip - with their new single Major Move for giveaway
Made up of one screamy lady (Akiko Matsuura of The Big Pink and PRE) and guitarist Simon Petrovitch, Comanechi known for their DIY art punk rock aesthetics are back following the release of their debut album Crime of Love in 2009. Since then, the Hackney band have embarked on a world tour, supporting the likes of The Drums, Dum Dum Girls and The Gossip.
While we were writing and recording our new album I also built a house in a metal shipping container out of stuff I found in skips
2012 sees the arrival of their new member and new single ‘Major Move’ on Fast Weapons, taken from their forthcoming album due this Autumn. The b-side features a cover of The Crystals ‘He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss) as a classic Comanechi punk version, recorded in one take. Check out Major Move, up for exclusive download for 24 hours here.
Dazed Digital: What have you been up to over the last couple of years?
Simon: Writing and re-writing our new album. We had a false start when we thought we'd written some seminal masterpieces. We ditched most of that stuff after trying to play it live. It's the acid test for us - if you can't look forward to playing the new tracks there's a big problem. Then the writing flowed and we hit our stride with a clutch of classic Comanechi songs.
Akiko: While we were writing and recording our new album I also built a house in a metal shipping container out of stuff I found in skips.
DD: How does the new stuff differ to the old?
Simon: We learnt how to play in time with each other. Also - the new songs have more vocal melodies so it's not 100% screaming. About 50% screaming and the rest melodies. We had time to add bass lines and overdubs so there's more going on but we kept the feel raw - there's no high end production… or strings. Live, we introduced our new drummer Charlie when we supported Gossip.
Akiko: He looks like a young Leo DiCaprio.
DD: What are you working on right now?
Simon: We're close to finishing the new album - one more session and final mixes. Nathan from Gossip is putting it out on his label Fast Weapons. He's been so supportive and bouncing ideas off him.
DD: What's next?
Simon: Massive arena tours with corporate sponsorship from Garden's world so I can get a free subscription and free compost for my vegetables.
Akiko: Huge freebie product tie-ins with Ray Ban and free stuff from Wickes for my container flat.
Comanechi will be playing The Lexington, London on the 19th July and are supporting The Gossip on tour