Interview - Alphabeat

At the time of this interview, Alphabeat were so unfamous, we were even given one of the main vocalists to speak to. Now they're proper Radio 1 A-list, fun pop stuff. Stine wasn't one to string out a conversation (well, she was on here way out) so this was over and done with in super-quick time.

Words - Suzy Sims
Previously published on Native.tv http://www.native.tv in November 2007
(c) Niche News & Publishing Ltd

STINE BRAMSON - ALPHABEAT

Alphabeat – they’re from Denmark. We’re trying to think of some decent Danish pastry jokes but are so far unsuccessful, so let’s move on. In music/toy terms, if Mozart is one of those delicately painted mini cottages and Battles are something complicated in Meccano, then Alphabeat are huge bright stacks of Duplo blocks. They’re loud, fun, colourful, camp Europop. Doing not-too-badly for themselves in their home country (their debut album has gone platinum), they’re still complete unknowns here. Popjustice say they are “the best band in the world ever,” and while we suspect they might have been slightly brainwashed, we’re sensible enough to take a step back and say if you like gloriously cheesy, uplifting pop, then you’ll enjoy them. If not, you won’t. So there. We phoned up vocalist Stine Bramson for a quick chat.

Hello Stine, how are you?
Hello, I’m all right thank you.

Where are you at the moment?
I’m at a house in Stratford.

What have you been up to today?
Today we’re just actually waiting to have a ride to Nottingham, and then I get picked up in half an hour, so I have a friend over.

You go in half an hour and I’m busy talking to you! I feel really bad now.
[laughs] That’s all right.

You don’t have packing or anything to do, do you?
Yeah I do, but it won’t take long.

How’s your UK tour going, you’ve done a few dates now haven’t you?
Yeah, only a couple but it’s going well. It’s fun to come out and see different places, meet new people and show our music to people who don’t even know us yet.

Are they headline shows or are you supporting someone?
Most of them we’re supporting someone. Yesterday we played in Brighton where we were the only band, obviously no-one knows us so not many people came! It was a club night.

I’ve heard you’ve got quite a good live show, what do you get up to onstage?
We love performing live and it’s kind of the main thing for us to do that, and therefore our live show are always quite energetic because we love being up there sharing our love of pop music with a good audience.

You play quite good party music I think.
[laughs] Yeah.

What makes a good party for you?
Well obviously happy dancey music, and some good friends and some new interesting people around.

You were on tour with Mika weren’t you?
Yes, a couple of dates.

How was that?
That was fun, it was a great chance to come out to a big audience in other countries. Definitely a good experience.

Are you big fans of Mika?
I don’t know, we’re fans of good songs, and he definitely does some good songs.

I heard you’re not very big fans of the Spice Girls. It’s been reported everywhere that… I guess everyone’s been saying that to you haven’t they?
[laughs] Yeah. Well personally I have been, when I was a young girl I was a great fan of them, but it’s not a good mix for us to support Spice Girls at the moment. That would put us in a box that we don’t want to be in.

That’s fair enough. Go back to how you started, because I don’t know much about you. You used to be called Sodastar, didn’t you?
Yeah, that was a long time ago. I guess three years ago?

How did you all meet?
All the boys met in high school and started playing indie rock and stuff like that together, and slowly they realised that wasn’t really what we were good at. They decide to have a keyboard player and me, a female voice joined the band, and suddenly we were playing cheesy pop music.

You’re quite big in Denmark aren’t you, you’ve had quite a few singles out there.
Yeah, it’s going pretty well there. Going platinum there.

It must be really weird to be quite well known there and then to come over here to start from scratch again.
Yeah it is, but it’s also like a challenge to try a new country and come out to the small stages again and kind of really convince people that we’re out to do something good.

Have you got an album out in Denmark?
Yes, it came out in March and it’s doing pretty well.

You’ve got a single out at the moment over here, ‘Fantastic Six.’ Are you the Fantastic Six?
[laughs] Yes. It is kind of a joke about us being superheroes and saving the world.

It sounds good fun.
Yeah. It is fun.

But you don’t have any superpowers?
No, I’m afraid not.

Are there any other Danish bands we should listen out for?
I think Junior Senior is a bit known here. I like them, and also Private.

Can you teach me a random word of Danish?
Pæne kjole! – Nice dresses.

Is it Copenhagen you’re actually from?
Not originally but we’ve lived there for two and a half years.

I don’t know much about Copenhagen. What’s it like there?
It’s a really nice city. It’s a great size, not too big so you can bicycle – is that what you say, bicycle? – everywhere in the city in 20 minutes. Everybody has a bike there.

Is it quite different being in London, have you been in London long?
We’ve been here for one and a half months. It’s really difficult to get used to all the transport problems. You really have to pull yourself together to go somewhere.

Are there many other Danish people in London who you’ve been meeting up with or anything?
I have a few friends here but not many, I don’t know that many.

What plans have Alphabeat got for next year?
Well we’ve got our album release and of course promotion around that. Hopefully a lot of good gigs with people who will know us a bit more than they do now, so there’ll be more people [laughs]

There will be loads of people, don’t you worry.
Let’s hope so.