Adored Dublin dance quartet Le Galaxie are gearing up for the release of their second album Le Club on Friday April 24.
In the new issue of Hot Press, Ed Power gives his verdict on its 14 tracks (hint: he reckons the band are "the complete package") and Craig Fitzpatrick catches up Le Galaxie themselves.
In flying form and confident that the latest record – and first on a major label – will bring them up a level, they discussed their trip to Los Angeles to mix Le Club with former DFA man Eric Broucek.
"We were so happy with what he'd done because he totally knew where we were coming from and obviously he's got such an amazing pedigree," says David McGloughlin. "But you want to be in the room with somebody and be able to look them in the eye. Be able to make hand signals. 'You know what could work?' – you never get to say that via email because it's all very much like giving notes to someone writing a screenplay. You give them notes and they come back with a new draft."
A trip to LA to work face-to-face was required. It proved a key decision – mixing was completed in five days.
"Which is unheard of really!" says frontman Michael Pope. "It was the most important part but also probably the least work. In LA, you really need a car to get around and we didn't have a car. So our 25 minute walk to the studio was basically breaking down everything we had to do. At night time we wouldn't even discuss it. We'd go out, have a few beers, go to Santa Monica. But it wouldn't really be a conversation until we were on our way down."
They found themselves in the odd position of working in the exact place that had been influencing the material before they'd even dreamt of seeing it for real.
"There's a two-parter on the album called 'AMLA' and 'PMLA', y'know? It is that ideal of an imagined place."
"It's like one of those intros to a film with the credits going by, cars going through the streets, people rushing to work," continues McGloughlin. "There's no pseudo-parody or direct references to films or film music but the album to us, or at least one aspect of it, was very much about the fantasy of that world that we experience through film and TV. This romantic notion we have of the place."
They say LA lived up to the fantasy.
"I'm dying to go back," admits Michael. "I've a real yearning to go there and play some shows because it just had this energy to it. It was amazing."
For more with Le Galaxie, pick up the latest Hot Press, on sale now.
To purchase your copy of Hot Press 39.07 – Dave Grohl on the cover order online direct from hotpress.com
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Le Galaxie launch Le Club in The Academy, Dublin, on Friday April 24 and Saturday April 25.