Dragonette

In June I interviewed Martina Sorbara of Dragonette for V-Rag, British Columbia’s largest LGBTQ arts and entertainment monthly. You can click that link and check out the q&a as it printed in this month’s addition – but below I have included the unedited article, with a few questions and answers that didn’t appear in the mag due to space restrictions.

Dragonette are: Dan Kurtz, Martina Sorbara, Joel Stouffer.

If you haven’t heard of them, you’ve almost certainly bobbed your head in blissful ignorance when one of Dragonette’s tunes played on the radio over the last four years.

The new-wave synth-pop hipster darlings originated in Toronto before relocating to London to lay down their 2007 debut album, Galore, which was critically praised as “The Killers fronted by Gwen Stefani”. Their 2009 follow-up Fixin’ to Thrill garnered increased attention and better chart performance, and solidified Dragonette’s place at the top of the heap among the kind of cutting-edge lesser-known homegrown bands that snobby futurists and digital boomers enthusiastically embrace and hope never break the Top 40.

Indeed, Dragonette didn’t score a chart position outside of Canada or the UK until the smash collaboration “Hello” with French DJ Martin Solveig, which went to number 1 in several European countries, peaked at 8 in Canada, and saw Dragonette finally entering rotation on U.S. airwaves.

The hit track has given Dragonette fuel to boost their steady ascent out of counterculture and into a warm worldwide reception, but they don’t forget to give back to their fans – Dragonette will perform at the closing ceremonies of the 2011 North American Outgames in Vancouver this summer.

Frontwoman Martina Sorbara says the LGBTQ community has always shown support for Dragonette.

You’ve played Pride events across the globe and now you’re closing the North American Outgames in Vancouver. Why are queer people so fond of  Dragonette?

I don’t mean to generalize, but aren’t the gays known for their good taste?

How are Canadian gays different from London gays?

They have a distinctly different accent.

It seems sex has a big part to play in your music, but what would you say motivates and inspires the songwriting?

When writing lyrics for a song I am always either trying to find themes otherwise not sung about, or else I like to try and take a very common theme and unravel it in a way that people can see/hear it in a different light.

 How does your take on sexuality differ from how other mainstream female-fronted pop acts or singers use it?

I’m not actually interested in conveying sexy or sexuality per se. What interests me is showing people that there are more sides to the feminine than mainstream media generally puts out. I guess some people call it feminism, which is not a term I mind at all. But I just see it as being true to what attracts and inspires me visually, artistically and emotionally.

“Hello” with Martin Solveig blew up into Dragonette’ best-charting and, arguably, most popular song. You’ve had other relative hits – do you ever feel pressure to replicate big successes?

There can be the nagging feeling while writing music of “wouldn’t be great if I could just spit out another  X or Y radio hit?” But ultimately my creative is most excited by surprising itself. And there’s not much surprise that comes with writing the same song over and over again. So if that kind of thinking occurs while trying to write a song, we do our best to banish it.

Will you keep working with Martin Solveig? What’s next?

We have a few more songs on his record and, who knows, maybe he’ll turn up on ours.

How do you spot a Dragonette superfan?

By their wild eyes and sweaty palms.

Would you tell us about your favourite moment with a fan?

Well, last week a fan of ours let me squeeze her brand new fake boobs. Very exciting. But not, perhaps, as special a moment as being given homegrown purple fingerling potatoes. 

What might fans be surprised to know about you?

I lost my virginity at 21.

 What do you do to stay sane on the road when you and your bandmates are living in close quarters?

We find excellent interesting places to eat. And the good thing is we all like each other, and we all like eating.    

Dragonette seems effortless in its ability to pluck tropes from other genres, incorporating country twang or Bollywood-style instrumentals into previous releases. It’s a pretty exciting sense of limitlessness. How are those ideas born? And, how do you know they’re good?

I think we just like to see what whacked out ingredients we can make taste good together. And whether other people like it or not doesn’t effect whether it gives you that satisfying feeling. If I get that ‘uh huh’ feeling then I’ve succeeded, because that’s all I’m ever really looking for: Uh huh.

Alfred Hitchcock was often baffled by the symbolism people would dig out of his work. You’ve said the “Fixin’ to Thrill” video was just “funny shit” you could get away with. Are you frequently surprised by the meaning people find in your music and videos?

There’s actually lots of personal meaning and metaphor intended in the “Fixin’ To Thrill” video. I think the ‘funny shit’ remark was referring to the fact that it was just my friend and I coming up with ideas and having exactly zero regard for whether other people could follow our drift. But on the other hand, I love and cherish the thought that there could be as many interpretations of that video as there are Youtube hits on it.

Favourite musicians growing up?

Sinead, Kate Bush, Zappa, Bjork, Cyndi.

What do you miss about Canada?

As it’s summertime, I find myself missing lakes and cottages and big Canadian shield rocks and chipmunks and raccoons and wild blueberries.

Getting back to gays, a huge Dragonette fan begged me to pose you this question. Marry, fuck or kill: Britney Spears, Cher, Lady Gaga.

Marry Brit Brit, just cause you know at least there’ll be drama. Fuck Gaga, ‘cause if we got married I think we’d turn into one of those couples that accidentally dresses alike every time they go out. Kill Cher, ‘cause I didn’t realize she was still alive.