Interviews - Old Interviews - Sneaker Pimps American Soft Shoe 1997

Sneaker Pimps' American Soft Shoe
By Clare Kleinedler

If it's all about timing, then the British trio the Sneaker Pimps'll be huge.
Their first US tour came at a time when Americans are ready to embrace new sounds.
Well, it's not just about timing.  Luckily, the Pimps have talent, too.
Trip-hop and ambient dance music has finally hit America's shores an entire year after the genre made a name for itself in the UK. Following in the footsteps of mellow-groovers Tricky and Massive Attack, the Sneaker Pimps are geared up and ready to make some waves here in the US.
It's a beautiful sunny afternoon in San Francisco, and the Pimps' (an affectionate abbreviation used by their fans) singer Kelli Dayton is basking in the warmth of the poolside rays at the infamous rock-star haunt, the Phoenix Hotel. Although her voice is a bit hoarse from the previous night's gig, Dayton is in good spirits. The tour the band is currently doing is their first stint in the States, and so far it has been an incredible success.

"It's been great. We really couldn't believe it," says the Tinkerbell-sized Dayton. "So many British bands that have come here have been turned away, but it seems that people are really happy that we're here. It really is unbelievable." 

The Sneaker Pimps have come at just the right time. Sick of the generic pop styles that dominate the charts, Americans seem to be opening up to different genres, as is evident from the growing popularity of techno and ambient music.

"I think it's the time for this kind of music to happen in America," says Dayton. "Although I'm the first person to dive into the mosh pit for Sonic Youth, I think [people] have progressed into the appreciation of actual music and they're being a bit calmer about the whole thing and taking it easy."

Dayton and her cohorts, keyboardist Liam Howe and guitarist Chris Corner, have perfected the art of "taking things easy" with their debut album, Becoming X (Virgin Records). Co-produced by Flood (U2, Depeche Mode, PJ Harvey), the record is a mix of dream-like melodies and slow rhythms. Although a lot of similar trip-hop music has been labeled as "repetitive," Dayton's honey-glazed vocals give the tracks an uplift. "6 Underground," the first single, blends a surreal electronic melody with Dayton's strong vocals. "Low Place Like Home" stays very much in the trip-hop realm with synths and a steady drum beat, while "Post-Modern Sleeze" explores the straight-up blues guitar aspect of the band. The Pimps' heavy emphasis on clean piano chords also distinguishes their sound from many of their peers.

The bandmembers' varied musical tastes come through in the music. While Dayton cites The Cramps, Sonic Youth and the Pixies as influences, Corner and Howe would rather listen to artists such as Nick Drake, Scott Walker, Afrika Bambaata and Shirley Bassey. While their musical likes and dislikes is the topic of many arguments, they all agree it is the main source of inspiration behind the Sneaker Pimps' sound. 

"We're always sort of fighting, so we come up with good results," says Corner.

So it doesn't come as a surprise that the Sneaker Pimps came together because each felt the need to "help each other improve," according to Howe. Back in the early '90s, Howe and Corner played together as F.R.I.S.K., pushing their musical concoctions on unsuspecting club-goers in London. F.R.I.S.K. eventually manifested into Line Of Flight, another DJ outfit that saw the release of one EP in September of 1993. Frustrated with the incognito lifestyle of being DJs, the two decided to embark on a different kind of project. 

"We had started off in an almost hobby mentality because we didn't have any pretensions to become rock stars, and I suppose at some point we changed our minds," says Howe. "We thought, 'Enough of this anonymous dance music stuff! Let's make a band.' We wanted the longevity and poignancy of songwriting."

Dayton was busy gigging around London singing with her band, Lumieres. Howe and Corner happened to see one of her gigs, and after Dayton expressed admiration for their band, the three formed the Pimps. Shortly after, the trio were signed and in the studio laying down tracks for the debut.

According to Corner, the songwriting process remains "traditional" even for a band like theirs. The two start off with basic guitar chords and go from there. But the road from the bare-bones track to the finished product is an extremely complicated journey. 

"We do things in quite a collaborative sense and the excitement of doing it is that everyone, by nature of being different, is pulling things in different directions," says Howe. "The excitement is getting a hybrid which is functional, or actually makes sense, even though it contains contradictions within it. With your average rock bands, it's like, 'Oh, let's write a ballad' or 'Let's write a song about poverty or something.' It seems like a very simple, one-dimensional affair. But we make it our business to be non-single faceted, to the point of confusion or irritation." 

Confusion and irritation, according to Howe, is also influential to the lyrics.

"Bitterness is a main influence. It's like making a film or writing a book... most of it is social commentary. You have to be sufficiently motivated or upset with the world in order to want to make something about it. Discontent, anger or jealousy... there are a lot of emotions that promote that kind of social critique."

Trip-hop has been criticized for being "too dark" and "boring." Even though the UK initially embraced the genre, the term 'trip-hop' has become a dirty word, according to Howe. Although the band brush off the criticism, Dayton finds it a bit frustrating. 

"If people think that it's boring, then that's their opinion. As long as they don't say 'that kind' of music when they talk about it. There is no 'kind' of record. That's when we stop listening... when people say things like, 'Well, I'm not into that kind of music so I won't listen to that band.'"

The feeling at tonight's gig at Bimbo's in San Francisco is not at all doom and gloom. The place is packed, and the atmosphere is the perfect setting for the Sneaker Pimps. The tables are glowing with the soft light of candles and the iridescent chandeliers reflect the maroon colors of the plush carpet below. The Pimps take the stage, and immediately the crowd quiet down and pay close attention. Dayton, wearing a short black wig and striking eye makeup, croons to the audience as she seductively slithers around the stage. The low thuds of the bass and eerie sounds of the keyboards seep out of the speakers that hang down from the ceiling, creating the quintessential Sneaker Pimps experience.