It seems that avant-garde electro act Xiu Xiu (pronounced shoe-shoe) will never stop causing intrigue, confusion, and above all else, controversy.
Frontman Jamie Stewart has always been one for creativity and individuality, but since their provocative music video for “Dear God, I Hate Myself” that features band partner Angela Seo voluntarily throwing up on both herself and Stewart, who is busy dancing and eating a chocolate bar out of frame, the duo have seldom had a quiet moment in their careers.
Their recent trend of producing a major portion of their sound using handheld videogame software, and another major portion in a home studio with outdated programs and a range of obscure instruments, it’s no surprise that Australia is more than excited to see what Xiu Xiu have planned for their national tour, brought about by Perth’s This Is Nowhere Festival which took place over the weekend.
“It really shows how much useless shit is written on the internet” Stewart begins in response to the majority of harsh critiques on the music video for “Dear God, I Hate Myself”.
“I was never really affected by people’s incorrect interpretations for the video, but one thing that upset me was how such a large corporation such as YouTube took it down almost immediately, but ignore videos that are a hundred times worse.”
A common misconception about the elusive video is that Seo performed the way she did involuntarily, under the control of Stewart. In fact, it was quite the opposite, with Stewart stating that “It was more of Angela’s idea. The overall themes of the song were based around body image and bulimia which was definitely more in her court. She was very upset when she heard that I was getting a bad image and that people were misconstruing the song and video.”
In past interviews, Stewart has been known to exclaim love for two things: Pop music, and The Smiths’ lead singer Steven Morrissey, but the adoration for the former seems to now be nonexistent.
“I love Morrissey more and more every day, but my love for pop music has completely evaporated. I cared for the commercial side of it so little that I couldn’t even be bothered to create an opinion of it; the part that captivated me most was the way that pop producers could create a three minute piece that was so simple and bare-boned, but still managed to hold the attention of so many people. My evaporation of my love for pop music wasn’t gradual – I actually think I woke up one morning and realized I was over it, simple as that.”
For those familiar with the overall claimed ‘anti-pop’ nature of Xiu Xiu, it’s obvious that it would be a hard feat to fall into the mainstream. But, what if it miraculously happened?
“First of all, I don’t think we’re completely anti-pop. I mean, we’re anti-pop in terms of how we are in the way that commercial radio hasn’t really touched us, but I’m sure there are bands with a more anti-pop sound out there than us,” defends Stewart.
“If we were presented on commercial radio miraculously, though, it would be a positive thing for us,” he continues. “Of course, we make music for people, so we would be very happy if a larger number of people were enjoying our music.”
With each song of Xiu Xiu’s extensive discography containing a completely different set of instruments to the next, and only two people to play them, packing for a tour must be an arduous task for both Stewart and Deo.
“Yeah, there are a lot of things that we have to take into account, but probably the biggest one – and the most boring – is how restrictive airline companies have become” Stewart explains.
“It wasn’t long ago where you could bring literally eight bags onto a flight, only for them to say ‘don’t do it again’ half-jokingly with a wink. Recently, an airline refused to let me take the smallest bag I could possibly buy on board with me, which caused serious issues. Basically, we try and take as much as we can for our shows without going overboard.”
“On that same topic, it hasn’t really changed the quality of our shows all that much. Back when we did bring a lot of my home studio halfway across the world and packed the stage with it, it made for a really tiring show. It’s sometimes really frustrating when you’re so tired that not only can you not produce this active intensity, but you can’t even focus on concentrating all of your remaining energy on silent intensity – you’re essentially out of it.”
Final words from Stewart are humble and encouraging, simply stating that he is “very excited to come back to Australia” and that he hopes to leave after his four date tour with more stories than he came with.
Xiu Xiu play Good God in Sydney on October 17, followed by Brisbane’s Powerhouse on October 18 and then finish in Melbourne on the 19th at The Gasometer. Check the band’s website for full details.
Dear God, I Hate Myself from Steven Whore on Vimeo.
