In for the Kills
Sun Herald
Sunday March 27, 2011
Uber-cool Alison Mosshart talks about muso pals from her two separate bands as she prepares to lose herself at Splendour. The official announcement for Splendour in the Grass is still to come but S can confirm the whispers are true: the Kills will be among the headliners at Woodfordia at the end of July.The achingly cool rock duo, who are Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince (both pictured), say they'll also play a Sydney sideshow during their two-week trip to Australia.Mosshart, who says the band's forthcoming album, Blood Pressures, was one of their "easier" studio efforts, says she only wishes they were able to visit Australia more often."It's always been really fantastic to play there but it's a shame you guys are so far away; we'd come more often otherwise," she says over the phone from her hotel room in Paris, where the band are on promotional duties. "I have a lot of good friends there."Mosshart, 32, apparently makes friends wherever she goes. The American singer met her British bandmate (and the rumoured fiance of supermodel Kate Moss) at a hotel while on tour with her former band, Discount. The pair had reportedly overheard each other jamming in the hotel, liked what they heard and began swapping their music via snail mail. It was such a remarkable connection that Mosshart eventually moved to London to launch the Kills with Hince. That was 12 years ago."We've lived out of each other's pockets for so long and we know each other so well that it's like, I don't know what was before and what is now," she says, before adding the pair have nothing but admiration for each other."We bring songs to each other that are half-finished, you know, and usually he doesn't play me anything until it's almost practically done ... then it just blows my mind."The notoriously reserved Mosshart, who sounds more comfortable and confident after a three-year hiatus since the last Kills album, is also famed for her close friendship and musical partnership with former White Stripes frontman Jack White. The pair make up one half of rock supergroup the Dead Weather. "I'm sure I'll do another Dead Weather record," Mosshart says, adding that she was deeply saddened by the White Stripes' recent split."Whether it was on the boil or not it's hard to say because they hadn't played or written songs in a long time but it's the passing of an incredible band," she says. "Jack is still a busy man,though; I speak to him all the time."Fans of the Kills' previous three albums will be interested to hear the band have shaken up their live show. There's more up on stage, such as the keyboard (which they both play throughout a gig) and an added drum kit. Performing live is the most important part of being in a band, Mosshart says. The duo are still driven to master their live show."What happens to me on stage is fascinating," she says. "There's moments where I know I'm totally lost and I don't know where I am."
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