Hot Chip's Alexis Taylor is going it alone

Alexis Taylor is an artist who can’t sit still. Since breaking through with his Grammy and Mercury-nominated band Hot Chip a decade ago, he has continually pushed his musical boundaries, dabbling in electro-pop, dance and improvised beat-driven pop.

But he is now reining in his sound with a warm and reflective album of keys-led tunes he describes as “pianissimo”.

I caught up with the enigmatic artist, producer and DJ who is taking his music on the road with a show at Oxford’s Art Bar this Tuesday, and asked him what it was all about.

“It involves synths, drum machines, drums, bass and guitar — and memb-ers of Hot Chip,” he says. “But, despite what that suggests, it is quite different in sound and mood from Hot Chip. It is more sparse and not housey at all. It is on the whole a more intimate affair.”

The album, which also betrays Alexis’s playful sense of humour, is called Await Barbarians. “The title comes from Cavafy’s poem Waiting For The Barbarians,” he says. “The poem is about being in anticipation of some-thing which provides meaning, but never comes. My song Without a Crutch alludes to this poem and this idea, but states that I am not in anticipation of such things; it is about the rejection of this notion. The record as a whole isn’t deliberately themed around one subject but it reflects on disassociation, dreams, music, love.”

Will it appeal to fans of his chart-loving band, who have had hits with the songs Over and Over, Ready for the Floor, Boy from School and One Life Stand, and who’s 2006 Mercury-nominated album The Warning was named Mixmag’s album of the year?

“The music could appeal to anyone with ears,” says Alexis. “But the only crossover with Hot Chip is the singer and the songwriting of one of the members.”

The record is dreamy and unclutter-ed. Does it, I ask, mark a return to old fashioned, less electronic, songwriting?

“None of my own songwriting has ever been much to do with electronics, beyond drum machines and electric pianos,” he answers. “Having said that, the last record I made — Nayim From the Halfway Line — was fairly synth and synth-drum heavy. But like this one, those elements are blended with acoustic drums and other non-synthetic elements.”

The album sees Alexis playing every instrument — with the exception of strings. Is it a matter of trust, control freakery or just creative integrity? “I just felt like it really,” he answers. “It didn’t make sense to me to open this particular set of songs up to others.”

He admits to being bored of over- produced music and videos. So are we seeing a quieter Alexis emerging? Well, kind of. “I do like quiet music,” he says. “But listened to loud on good speakers or headphones!”

Chipper: Alexis Taylor

Refreshingly, and kicking against the trend in this age of Spotify and YouTube of listeners picking and mixing single tracks, the album is designed as a single body of work to be consumed whole.

“Albums are very important to me,” he says. “I listen to albums and get great pleasure from some of them and I will continue to make long playing albums as long as I am able to.” Though, he concedes, “You can pick and choose songs, of course.”

The lyrics stand out as works of poetry in themselves. So what comes first: words or music? “I tend to either have dreams with the words and melodies together (such as on the tune Elvis Has Left The Building) for the start of something, or I have scraps of lyrical ideas and I set them to music,” he says.

Despite the success of Hot Chip — with five albums under their belts (and another in the offing), Alexis has always challenged expectations, often striking out in less chart-friendly directions – whether that be through his work with John Coxon and Pat Thomas in the improvised jazz project About Group, with German producer Justus Köhncke in the duo Fainting By Numbers, or through his own solo releases — such as 2008’s Rubbed Out. Along the way, he has collaborated with some of the finest artists in the business. So, who has been most inspirational? “Robert Wyatt and Robert Wyatt again,” he says without hesitation.

“The man is so bright, so generous and so musical.”

His last visit here, in October, saw Alexis playing a show at East Oxford’s Pegasus youth theatre with veteran Trinidadian steel pan player Fimber Bravo.

“Oxford is somewhere I always enjoy visiting and have seen some good bands there before, like Royal Trux in 1999 or so. I have had good times playing and recording there too.”

The city was also the scene of one of his funniest touring recollections, courtesy of Hot Chip bandmate Joe Goddard. “Joe once threw a towel that was wet with sweat at a promoter in Oxford by accident,” he smiles.

Despite touring under his own name, Alexis insists it is not a solo tour. “I don’t look at it as a solo effort. I recorded this solo but I am touring with a band. As Willie Nelson said: ‘The life I love is making music with my friends, and I just can’t wait to be on the road again!’”

And while certainly not a Hot Chip show, fans may strike lucky with a gem or two from the past. “I sometimes play Hot Chip songs, yes. Usually the quieter ones.”

So what is he most proud of? “I am proud of the music I make with Hot Chip, About Group, and solo,” he says. “But I also felt proud of my daughter as she sang a song about plants at her school recently. She was great!”

Alexis Taylor
Art Bar, Cowley Road, Oxford
Tuesday
Tickets: £10 wegottickets.com