“In our search for perfection, we want to create something that is aurally exciting and will touch people’s hearts” : TLOBF talks to Ladytron

For Ladytron, timing is everything. To celebrate the band’s ten-year anniversary, a ‘Best Of’ compilation was released earlier this year- even if that meant that their fifth full-length, Gravity the Seducer, had to be pushed back.

“You’re always itching to get new stuff out there,” explains singer Helen Marnie. “But we needed distance between the release of the Best Of and Gravity the Seducer.”

Best Of 00-10 acted as both a compendium of the band’s best work to date and a cornerstone for which they would take a sharp turn at. Band mate Mira Aroyo explains the release as Ladytron “wiping the slate clean.” Marnie expands, adding that with the new record, “we all knew we wanted to create something a little different, something fresh with a cinematic feel.

“All the Ladytron elements are present in Gravity the Seducer, but the instrumentation and production is different, creating an atmospheric air. We’d spent so much time touring and trying to recreate that sound on record with our previous album that this time we didn’t feel we needed to do that; we felt freer to just do whatever we wanted.”

The shift is apparent, but as Marnie said, still fairly subtle with Ladytron elements forming the building bricks of which Gravity the Seducer stands on. The attention on the cinematic atmosphere has taken the music away from the dance club and more to the movie screens. Each song sounds tailor-made for a moody thriller but using the same melodic tools that made their sound so recognizable. “I think there’s enough in there to please most people, old and new,” Marnie says. “Our fans are pretty cool, they should get it.”

That being said, Ladytron would love to score some films in their future but aren’t fixated on that as a goal when creating music. “We’ve never been particularly radio friendly, at least not on mainstream or commercial radio,” Marnie explains. “We’ve always skirted the charts; I’d love to have a huge hit, it would be a dream come true, but after years of relative anonymity I’m not sure I could handle the attention that would come with that.”

Bassist Reuben has called Gravity the Seducer “the most perfect work we’ve done.” Perfection, though something every musician strives for, is not what Ladytron tries to obtain. “Whenever we release something, we generally think it’s the best thing we’ve done otherwise we wouldn’t release it,” Marnie says. “Perfection, of course, is not possible, but it must feel as perfect as possible to us; in our search for perfection we want to create something that is aurally exciting and that will touch people’s hearts.”

Even though it’s been three years since 2009’s Velocifero, Marnie and co. didn’t allow the high-speed pressure of the internet age to affect the band’s own pace. “Yes, it has been a while since our last studio album however we’ve still done quite a lot in that time,” says Marnie. “We finished touring Velocifero in September of 2009 and we took some well-earned time off after that to regain our sanity and return to normality; it’s important to have space, something which we’d had little of before then.

“Everything has a date and time. We always do what feels natural to us – pressure can lead to flaws and so we just put things out there when we feel they’re well and truly ready.”

Along with recording, members of the band have also been on the road, DJing as opposed to playing live which Marnie says can’t be compared. “DJing is a completely different animal compared with playing live,” she explains. “Surely, there is nothing better than singing your heart out to your own songs! I’m lucky enough to get to do that.”

And that is just what Marnie will do this autumn, hitting the road again to promote Gravity the Seducer – doing it in their own stride, at the right time.