Electric Picnic: Cover Star St. Vincent prepares for Stradbally

Hot Press last spoke to art-pop star St. Vincent during her stay in Dublin for two memorable Olympia shows last October, but the artist also known as Annie Clark has been keeping very busy since. Indeed, on the day we catch up with her ahead of her keenly awaited Electric Picnic performance, Annie has just dropped her remix of the Maroon 5/Cardi B hit ‘Girls Like You’.

The singer had tweeted her appreciation of being given the opportunity to revamp the track, and expressed particular excitement about being able to incorporate several J Dilla samples into the reworked version.

“I had the best time doing it,” enthuses Annie, speaking from Montreal, which is the latest stop-off on her Masseduction tour. “Right now, most of pop music is hip-hop, and the production in that world is very exciting. So I got to make beats and be a producer and I loved it. Getting to include the Dilla stuff was brilliant too – Donuts is one of my favourite records ever.”

Earlier in the summer, Annie also put out a new version of the Masseduction track ‘Slow Disco’, refashioned as ‘Fast Slow Disco’. Reportedly, the singer was prompted to revisit the tune after Taylor Swift suggested an up-tempo version could have serious hit potential.

“It’s a weird one,” chuckles Annie. “It is true. Taylor really liked ‘Slow Disco’ and said to me and Jack Antonoff, who worked on the album, ‘Please do a pop version.’ And we went, ‘That’s actually a great idea. This song could really harken back to late ’80s Madonna.’ It was that meatpacking district, gay disco vibe. So that was where we took it.”

That aesthetic also informed the video for the new take, which found St. Vincent romping in a gay disco with a bunch of leather-clad men.

“It was based on an idea I’d had for a long time,” she explains. “I think I read this article in The New Yorker about the obscenity police and how they would go around breaking up people kissing in public spaces – teenagers and so on. But it was a funny thing, because they were tagged as the obscenity police, even though no one had really defined what obscenity was! I’d been thinking about that as a video idea for a long time.

“So this one came about and was kind of based on that. And I said, ‘Let’s make it all gay bears.’ Also, with so many videos featuring female pop stars, they’re the object of desire. And in this one, I’m like the only object not of desire! I just like the idea of going to a party where you’re not totally invited. I had a great time making it and it made me laugh. It also harkened back to my early shows where I would stage-dive and be really physical.

“I think with some people who only know certain of my records or videos, they don’t know how aggressive my shows can be. And it was the most fun video I’ve ever done. I had so much pubic hair stuck to me! The guys were so great – they were drinking white wine at 3am and we were listening to Skinny Puppy, dancing and moshing. It was so much fun.”

Of course, Electric Picnic traditionally brings down the curtain on festival season in Ireland, and Annie has certainly been getting in the thick of the action throughout the summer. Indeed, she recently tweeted about catching Nine Inch Nails at Roskilde and sustaining a blow to the nose in the mosh-pit.

“Oh hell, yeah!” she says. “I had the best time at NIN. I was moshing pretty hard – head-banging – and I hit my nose on someone’s back. I hit it pretty hard and I was like, ‘Uh-oh, I’ve broken my face.’ My nose started to bleed a little. I didn’t actually break it but it was swollen! It was funny.”

Annie is suitably startled when I tell her NIN rarely play Ireland, but happily takes on-board my suggestion to have a word with Trent Reznor if she happens to run into him. Elsewhere this summer, St. Vincent also raved to the BBC about Kendrick Lamar, citing K. Dot as the artist who currently excites her most musically.

Interestingly, at the Olympia last year, Annie played her shows solo and explained to Hot Press that Kendrick’s stripped-down live approach was a major part of the inspiration. However, of late, she has again taken to playing live with her full band.

“Yeah,” nods Annie, “we’re doing a full audio-visual rock show; it’s totally different to the other one. This is a rock show and the reception’s been great – the crowds have been brilliant. No complaints.”

Another vital element in St. Vincent’s live show is her incredible guitar-work. She is one of the best players I’ve seen live, with a ferocious shredding style reminiscent of Prince at his most kinetic. Recognising her unique ability, the people at Ernie Ball guitars prevailed upon the singer to design her own instrument, which has become a firm favourite amongst her peers. Most recently, Jack White used the model during a Stateside TV appearance.

“Yeah, he played it on Saturday Night Live,” notes Annie. “He was also on the cover of a Canadian music magazine holding it. The fact that some of my favourite guitar players are picking up the design and liking it is so exciting. Omar from At The Drive-In and The Mars Volta has been playing a white one for a while, and Tom Morello has been playing one too. I’ve also seen a lot of guys in country picking it up, and some of the people in Katy Perry’s band.

“Metal-heads have been playing the black one as well. I’m thrilled – I made a guitar for players, and if great players want to use it, that means I did something right.”

Finally, the last time we spoke, St. Vincent filled us in on her Irish roots – so as she gears up to head to Laois for the Picnic, we look forward to welcoming her back to her spiritual home.

“Absolutely,” she beams. “My people!”