Interviews

Joy Zipper

Alex Worsnip 15/06/2004

US indie act Joy Zipper have produced one the albums of the year with 'American Whip', which GodIsInTheTV called "quirky, catchy, and sugar-sweet...the perfect soundtrack for 2004 as summer approaches" on its release. We caught up with one half of the band in the form of Tabitha Tindale as they prepare to go back into the studio...

GodIsInTheTV: 'American Whip' has been delayed for a while. Can you tell us why?
Tabitha: "Our label, 13 amp (headed by David Holmes), was originally funded by Ministry of Sound. M.O.S and 13 amp parted ways just as American Whip was supposed to be released so we had a choice: either stick with Ministry or stay with 13 amp and pray that another funder would come along. We chose the latter. We've been really close with David for a long time and fully believed the right choice was to continue on with him. It took a few months but Mercury came along and picked us all up. Mercury needed some time to get the album out. i think this is a much better year for A.W. so it all worked out. We always knew it would".

GodIsInTheTV: Do you feel there was a marked change of direction between your first album and 'American Whip'?
Tabitha: "Absolutely, we're always going to have a lot of the same elements but it's always important to grow. Our first album was recorded on 8 tracks in our bedroom and the writing was more stream-of-consciousness. American Whip was more thought out. We spent more time working on the song writing and it was more thoughtfully recorded".

GodIsInTheTV: You've been in the UK recently, but do you have any plans to return soon for those who might have discovered you in between? Please?
Tabitha: "Haha. Yeah, we're actually coming back in two weeks to start recording our next album. We're doing it at a studio in Hackney called Toerag with Liam Watson. No immediate plans for a live show but we are scheduled to do the V festival in August. I can definitely see some shows popping up before then. Recording is going to be the main focus now though".

GodIsInTheTV: What new music are you enjoying at the moment?
Tabitha: "We liked the new Bonnie Prince Billy album, um, to be honest we listen to a lot of old stuff, this is always a tough question".

GodIsInTheTV: What was it like working with David Holmes and Kevin Shields? They seem rather eclectic choices; how do their styles differ?

Tabitha: "David has a lot of energy and has always exposed us to great music. He's a really big inspiration in that way. He's very encouraging and has been behind us since the beginning; we totally trust his ear. Kevin was also great. He's really into equipment and precision. We learned a lot working with him: very interesting person and also very inspiring. It's hard to say how their styles differ; we actually produced the album ourselves and then David came in at the end and laid the drums down and added some little extras; Kevin mixed the album with us. We're kind of control freaks and they totally understood us, because they are too!"
GodIsInTheTV: Does working as a boyfriend-and-girlfriend duo mean a musical understanding between the two of you? How do you work through the creative process together?
Tabitha: "It seems to work really well because we've been together for so long. We have a lot of the same musical references which makes it really easy to communicate ideas. The creative process is always different from song to song. It's a secret".

GodIsInTheTV: Are you happy to continue as you are, or do you look for major commercial success?
Tabitha: "We just want to be able to make enough money to keep doing this. We can't try for commercial success but if it happens then I'm sure we'd enjoy it. As long as we stay true to ourselves and the music it'll all work out".

Many thanks to Tabitha for her time