What inspired the name of your band Robots in Love?
Elenor: I previously went by the name Sobriquet, which was difficult for people to remember, so I wanted something more descriptive of the music. Because I produce emotional music using a computer, I thought the name Robots in Love portrayed that.
Elenor, your musical journey has taken you through various bands and projects. How has your experience in bands like SOULSCRAPER and THE CRYSTALLINE EFFECT influenced the sound of Robots in Love?
Elenor: The main thing I've loved about all the bands I've been in is the honesty. I often listen to old tracks. The Crystalline Effect in particular has songs which can really help you through rough times.
With Robots in Love I've kept that honesty, intensity and authenticity in the music and lyrics. My favourite thing is to begin a song with sparse atmospherics to create a mood then build it to an epic cinematic finale.
Alex, as a multi-instrumentalist, what unique elements do you bring to Robots in Love's live performances that combine both live instruments and electronic sounds?
Alex: My multi-instrumentalist role is more engaged in the studio, although I perform backing vocals as well as drums when performing live. The electronic drum sounds are cherry-picked for the live versions, so some parts are removed, whereas things that need to sound particularly electronic (like glitched sounds or electronic hats) are left in. For some songs, egUnbreakable, my live drums parts act as another layer to the electronic sounds that are already in the music, which helps to fill them out and give them more energy. It's also a really enjoyable challenge playing certain rhythms that are more in tune with what a drum machine would play - you have to adapt them a little bit, and think outside of the box that you would normally stay in when playing in a more conventional rock band for example. When performing backing vocals live, I use a number of different vocal techniques that either compliment or contrast with what Elenor is doing with her lead vocals.
Tony, coming from a background as a session musician, how do you approach blending your bass lines with the electronic elements in Robots in Love's music?
Tony: A good question so I'll start at the beginning. I cut my musical teeth in an analogue world and watched the advent of the digital world to where today it's the norm. This is my first foray into this style of music and I'm embracing it, in fact I love it! Needless to say there are defined parameters: keys, chords, scales, but like a click track the electronic tracks are a tool that don't intimidate me and the possibilities are endless, blending with them and enhancing them is my goal, adding live drums, guitar and bass I find gives the tracks a human feel, so my approach to this is firstly listening to and understanding the parameters I've got to work with then applying brush strokes whilst focusing on the tracks. It can be challenging but I like a good challenge, ultimately we want all the parts to sound perfect, it's not necessarily easy at times but as I mentioned earlier not being intimidated by the tracks and approaching the music with an open mind works for me.
I have to say watching Elenor and Alex tapping away on their computers then firing memory sticks at each other then downloading things is truly fascinating, they're both gurus at it, I marvel at their abilities, truly impressive. Alex is quick, Elenor a little more methodical, they're both incredibly talented and clever. I love what they do, Robots in Love is a lot of fun and I enjoy it immensely, I feel very lucky and privileged to be a part of the chemistry.
Elenor, your music has been described as "darkly beautiful electronic music." What inspires the emotional depth in your songwriting?
Elenor: When I start a song I don't know what it's going to be about. I just begin the music and as it takes shape I get a feeling from it and words flow. It's amazing because emotions can totally bypass me and go straight into a song and then they become something you can delve into whenever you need to. The song "Do Not Open" by The Crystalline Effect describes that process. Not all the songs are sad. For instance "Alien Love" rhymes the word frottage with corsage and when that popped into my head I thought it was hilarious.
Tony, having toured with a variety of musicians, how does your diverse background inform the collaborative process within Robots in Love?
Tony: A very good question. I feel very privileged to have played with some amazing musicians including Robots. How does this inform the collaborative process? I suppose an understanding of music helps but also an appreciation of everyone's creative abilities, a song is the sum of its parts, we all strive for the best and want the best.
I don't dwell on the past, it's the now I focus on but in saying that, naturally my past influences what I play, what I say and how I approach collaboration. For me the biggest things are encouragement, listening, humility and most importantly fun, so I feel my experiences have given me these abilities which I do my best to bring to the table ... along with some beers and a whiskey or two hahaha.
Brett, as a former London-based guitarist, how does the music scene in different locations influence your songwriting and performance style?
Brett: I'm a bit of a chameleon when it comes to playing style in many ways, I've played with quite a few different bands and done a wide variety of recording sessions over the years so it's really important to be able to kind of mould your playing to suit the gig. My main London band was more indie-rock & the scene at that time was largely built around those kinds of bands, The Libertines and Arctic Monkeys were just breaking out so that's what kinda sound was pulling the crowds. We were a bit more melodic and influenced more by Pink Floyd and The Beatles which was great as we liked big, adventurous sounds and as a guitarist that's more interesting to me. I love playing with the delay effect and like to use sounds that don't necessarily sound like conventional rock guitar so Robots is perfect as I've had lots of experience playing with synth-based music and love blending the guitar sound textures to add to the overall dynamic, rather than say just doing loads of big chords and widdleywiddley lead breaks (although that's fun when it's called for!).
Elenor, you've collaborated with various artists and bands. How does collaboration influence your creative process, particularly in Robots in Love?
Elenor: I love collaborating, I have worked on probably around a hundred tracks with various people, sometimes as a vocalist, sometimes as a producer, sometimes as a remixer. I love the spark of ideas jumping between people.
Alex is super fast at coming up with ideas. I was playing the initial version of "Wolves Cry" to the band and when it came to the middle section, I had a riff in there and I said I thought it needed to have a real trance sound. The song is not trance at all but it seemed to me as if it should have an uplifting trancey middle section. A couple of minutes later, whilst everyone's still talking about various parts of the song, Alex hands me the memory stick with a sublime trance riff. He'd created the perfect sound and played my riff except changed one chord which made it perfect. I love that sort of thing.
How do you balance the live energy of drums, bass, and guitar with the electronic elements in your music, both in the studio and during live performances?
Elenor: This is what we do best. The songs begin with electronics then as we add drums, bass and guitar it becomes more and more intense. In the studio everything is precisely in place, whereas when we play live we can experiment. In our song Remorse Is Cancelled, the live version has an ending which slows down and becomes ever more dramatic with each smash of the cymbals and clang of the guitar and bass.
Tony: By listening ... Hahaha to be honest it takes a little time, as long as the tracks can be heard clearly for me is important, I can relax with Alex cause he's an amazing drummer whom I love playing with. If we're grooving then everything else falls into place naturally, it's a wondrous thing, it's great to be a part of the collective.
For the band: What do you like about live performances?
Elenor: It's exciting coming up with new words or melodies on the spot and I love running and jumping around on stage. The best moments are when the crowd joins in singing or punching the air. That's when it feels like the camaraderie within the band has spilled over into the audience and we're all in it together.
Tony: I love the energy, the show lighting, sound, the crowd, it's the ultimate high, and I get to take my clothes off ..... Hahaha I jest.
Alex: I really like that our live performances are always different to the studio versions of the songs. It's a good opportunity to bring out the rock side of the music a little more, and add in some unexpected musical elements that help to elevate the songs.
Brett: I always love live gigs, every one has its own quirks and each venue has its peculiarities to deal with. We like to put on a show too so sometimes the stages can get a bit cramped!
Describe what’s unique and wonderful about your music for a new listener.
Elenor: I think the way Robots in Love go about creating songs is unique. Firstly I come up with an idea and produce a basic track with vocals, then I hand it over to Alex and he consolidates whatever is there, by adding extra drums, strings, brass, impacts, whatever it needs. Then he adds something incredible, like an amazing guitar lead break, in fact my favourite lead break of all time is the one he created in Unbreakable. It opens up a whole new universe. But wait there's more. Then we play it live with the bass and guitar and Tony and Alex do vocal harmonies. And it's complete magic.
Tony: How does one become unique? I feel anyone who stands up and plays their music is unique, it's hard to do. Our music delivers an honest energy, and passion. Elenor presents some truly wonderful melodies, great chanting and sometimes haunting lyrics, totally incredible, we also incorporate some fantastic riffs and rhythms, all in all listening pleasure I feel.
Alex: We aren't confined by genre boundaries, or a particular style other than the combination of our individual styles. You never know what you're going to get next with us - it could be something slow and moody, or something fast and upbeat. Even we don't know until we do it, but you can guarantee it's going to sound like Robots In Love!
Brett: It's high energy music ultimately with a lot of dynamics, so whatever genre you want to put it in to me doesn't really matter. It has the intensity of great rock, balanced with the subtlety of blissed-out synth-pop and the rhythmic kick of full-on club beats and each track has its own twist on those elements.
Links :
Band Camp : https://robotsinlove.bandcamp.com/album/unbreakable
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robotsinlovemusic
YouTube : https://youtube.com/@robotsinlovemusic?si=_lNUMwJJ7LPZzn6x
