Alphabeat are back with a new sound. Lead singer Stine Bramsen tells MATTHEW JENKIN why Lady Gaga chose them to support her in concert and why they love nothing more than a pie and a pint.
EXPLODING on to the UK music scene like a cheese fuelled rocket to the moon, Danish band Alphabeat have won the hearts of pop fans and critics alike with their catchy, feel-good melodies.
After the success of their first album This Is Alphabeat, the Danes are back with The Beat Is... — a joyously camp homage to 90s dance — and will be supporting Lady Gaga when she plays at The O2 in Greenwich on Friday.
To catch the eye of one of the most influential pop stars since Madonna is nothing to be scoffed at.
Lead female vocalist Stine Bramsen said: “Lady Gaga has said we’re one of her new favourite bands. I think it’s quite a good match and we have the same audience.
“I’ve definitely been thinking about my costume because she does take it all the way and is quite extreme.
“I don’t want to stand there looking like I want to be her but I will definitely try and step it up a bit.”
Their breezy, bright sound and clean-cut good looks has led to inevitable comparisons with fellow Scandanavian dancing queens Abba.
But Stine is quick to distance the six-piece band from the classic 70s group.
The 23-year-old said: “Abba are good at making pop songs and in that way it’s a great compliment, but I don’t really think our music is that similar apart from being the same genre.”
Indeed, their music is more retro electro than sunny disco and their new album owes more to groups such as Snap and Blackbox than the famous Swedes.
Before Alphabeat stormed the UK in 2007, they were already a massive hit in their homeland.
Stine says it wasn’t easy moving to London and stepping back into obscurity.
She said: “It was like starting over but we needed to because Denmark is so small.
“We got the offer to support the Spice Girls back then as well but we decided that wasn’t the right thing to do.
“We wanted to take it one step at a time, playing the small venues first.
“We didn’t want to be just known as the band who supported the Spice Girls.”
Turning down the feisty fivesome allowed the band to carve out their own niche in a market where one flop single can mean the end of your recording career.
Alphabeat show no sign of fizzling out and Stine says they remain focussed on writing memorable pop songs.
In the mean time they are more concerned with enjoying the simple pleasures of living in London’s East End.
Stine said: “We try not to live in the most trendy areas because we love the pub culture. We love going for a pie and a pint.”
Alphabeat’s new album The Beat Is... is out on Monday and the single Hole In My Heart is out now.
Alphabeat, supporting Lady Gaga. The O2, Greenwich. February 26. 0844 847 2517.
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