After Hours: Pin Me Down

For this edition of After Hours, we managed to track down NYC based Milena Mepris, one half of Transatlantic duo Pin Me Down. Ultimately a side project for Bloc Party guitarist Russell Lissack, Pin Me Down have been making waves with their current single ‘Cryptic’. Shedding the angular restrains of Bloc Party, Lissack has forged his distinctive guitar parts with infectious 80′s beats and Kim Wilde-esque melodies. Check out their myspace why don’t ya.. ‘Cryptic’ is released on June 2nd via Kitsune.

Who’s your favourite new band at the moment? Tell us a bit about them.
Milena Mepris: I quite like Santogold – she is based near us in Brooklyn and, for a while, we were sharing a drummer with her. Santi’s music is great – a mesh of a ton of genres – everything from electronic and hip hop beats to pure pop to ska guitars. She’s got a great ear for melody, a malleable voice, and a lot of personality. I think she will do really well.

What’s been the best album you’ve heard in the last 12 months?
Well, my friend gave me several Spoon albums and I am pretty obsessed with their back catalog, especially Girls Can Tell. I think their songwriter and frontman Britt Daniels is an absolute genius in the way he can spit out a song about anything. ‘Me and the Bean’ is amazing, it’s all about having a crush on your neighbour and ‘Fitted Shirt’ and ‘Lines in the Suit’ are incredible songs about everyday items and actions. This record gives me faith that humankind will never run out of songwriting material.

What was the last book you read? Would you recommend it?
I read The Neon Bible by John Kennedy Toole, who wrote A Confederacy of Dunces. The Neon Bible was Toole’s first novel that he wrote when he was just 16, about a young, impoverished boy growing up in a small Louisiana town during WWII. I’m pretty fascinated with the South and religious revival shows, so I enjoyed the novel.

What was the last film your saw in the cinema and was it any good?
I haven’t actually been to the movies in a while, but when it was still cold in New York, I saw Eastern Promises in the theatre and it was fantastic. I love David Cronenberg’s movies as well as the actor Viggo Mortensen and now I can no longer imagine Viggo as anything other than a Russian gangster with slicked back hair and prison tattoos.

If push came to shove, what’s your all-time favourite song and why?
Russell would never agree with me, but I’d have to say ‘A Day in the Life’ by The Beatles off of Sgt. Pepper. That was one of the first psychedelic songs but it conveys so much honesty and truth about the whole time period (the late 60s) and what was on young people’s minds. The vocals are so sad, but so beautiful.

MP3 / CD / Vinyl: what’s your format of choice?
Vinyl

What’s the best TV show you’re currently following?
I’d have to say the US version of The Office. I always loved the UK version of the series, so I was really sceptical of the American version, but it’s really hysterical and now they’re into their fourth season, so there are things happening in the show that are unique. Steve Carrell as Michael Scott isn’t as mean as Ricky Gervais’s David Brent, but the show has its own quirks and most of the secondary characters are fall-down funny.

What one piece of criticism has stuck in your mind and was it justified?
I’m not sure what you mean… criticism about Pin Me Down or criticism in general…? Art criticism for example… ha ha… Sorry I went to a liberal arts school.

Musically I do a lot of work in different genres and people have always advised me to make sure my records are of one piece, one thought, one trajectory, instead of being all over the map. We tried to do that with the Pin Me Down material – make sure all the songs have a underlying theme that unifies them. I hope that our listeners will think we’ve succeeded.

What one thing has caused you to waste your free time in the past 6 months?
Lame boys and stray cats.

Do you follow any type of sport? If so, who’s your “home team”?
Umm I’m kind of silly and I like to watch tennis. I like the Williams sisters and always root for them, I also like Maria Sharapova and Jelena Jankovic. Basically the louder the grunts, the more I like the players. I also recently got into American football, but don’t know too much about it.

What’s your poison?
Red wine and sometimes chocolate

We’d like you to make us a mix-tape. Pick five tracks with a theme of your choice.
The Pin Me Down debauchery mix – limited to sex, drugs, rock and roll, and impure thoughts only
“Bizarre Love Triangle” New Order
“Fans” Kings of Leon
“Jessie’s Girl” Rick Springfield
“Kryptonite Pussy” Yo Majesty
“Gin and Juice” Snopp Dogg
“Never Let Me Down” Depeche Mode
“Go Your Own Way” Fleetwood Mac
“Wake Up” Lo-fi Fnk
“Go With the Flow”/ “Make it wit Chu” Queens of the Stoneage
“Little Red Corvette”/”I Would Die 4 U” Prince
“Across the Sea” Weezer