Posted August 28, 200620 yr Scissor Sisters return to their roots Source: Music Week http://www.musicweek.com/images/features/Scissor_Sisters1.jpg When it came time to commence writing for their new album, Scissor Sisters decided to go back to where it all began. The New York five-piece, who were crowned the biggest selling artist in Britain in 2004 with their eponymous debut, set up camp in Babydaddy’s New York apartment and got to work..... “The mental environment was quite different coming off this long, two year, very exciting trip, so we wanted to get back into the right headspace,†says core writer and bassist Babydaddy. “The previous two years there was a sense of always having somewhere to be, and all of a sudden, there was a big empty canvas. We went right back into my apartment in New York - well, it was an apartment upstairs from my old one - and just started to pull the basics of songs together.†The sessions provided the fuel for what eventually became Ta-Dah which was later recorded at a rented studio space in Manhattan. “We were a few months into the process and felt that we had found our momentum,†says Babydaddy. “It was time to separate from the living environment!†The follow up to Scissor Sisters 3.3m selling debut has much to live up to. Through a string of hit singles such as Laura, Mary, Filthy/Gorgeous, Take Your Mama Out and a cover of Pink Floyd’s Comfortably Numb, the New Yorkers were selflessly adopted by the UK public, their ascent culminating with a win at the Brits at which they were walked away three awards for International Album, International Group and International Breakthrough Artist. It was the icing on the cake for the band which had spent duration of 2004 ceaselessly living and touring the UK. Two years on, and anyone doubting about the group’s ability to top their achievements with album two only has to look to lead single, I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’. The track, which features a guest appearance from Sir Elton John on piano - “He just popped in one day when we were recording,†says Babydaddy – proved a first listen favourite at the band’s unannounced Scala performance last month and has since shot to the top of the UK Radio Airplay chart ahead of its September 4 release. Good signs indeed. “We want to go everywhere with this record and they’ve made an album that will enable us to do that,†affirms Polydor A&R man Seb Chew, talking about the label’s aspirations. “They have made a more global sounding record and from a production point of view, have moved forward in leaps and bounds.†Chew, resident YoYo DJ, signed the band to Polydor in 2003, A&Ring both their debut and the forthcoming follow up. He says the recording process for album two proved relatively effortless. “It has all flowed naturally. They took their time,†he says. “We all wanted to push the sound on from the first album while keeping a Scissor Sisters sound, and I think we’ve managed to do that. We wanted to make a record that was more grown up but not at the expense of a sense of humour.†The core songwriting partnership in Scissor Sisters revolves around Babydaddy and frontman Jake Shears, both of whom will “tinker about†in the studio before bringing in other members to flesh out and develop the songs. Babydaddy says for Ta-Dah, they had several reference points in mind. “I think we were looking at key points from every decade, driving us to where we were,†he says. “We looked at a lot of magical pop rock from the seventies, the catchy pop of the eighties and the obscure depth of the nineties. We never want to forget where music is evolving from. Jake turned me onto to KLF and Dee-Lite and I turned him on to some stuff he’d never heard before.†Ta-Dah is a predominantly self-produced affair however it is not without a few big name guests. Confessions On A Dancefloor mastermind Stuart Price contributed to the production of Kiss You Off and famed David Bowie guitarist Carlos Alomar – who, among his achievements, co-wrote Fame with Bowie and John Lennon, and discovered Luther Vandross - features on two album tracks. Price also appears on the lead single, contributing a remix of the track under his Paper Faces pseudonym. “He was in LA working with Madonna and we were feeling a bit stuck with this particular song so he popped in,†says Babydaddy of Price’s contributions. Keen to progress the international prospects of the band, Universal will release the album internationally on September 18 and the band is dedicating alot of time to their home market with a string of live dates confirmed across the US over the coming months. Following their headline slot at Bestival on September 10 they will return to the states for the V festival where they will perform alongside Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Killers, The Who and The Flaming Lips among others. “We certainly want to take this album forward internationally,†says Chew, who has little doubt about the band’s ability to do just that. “They are very open to everyone’s thoughts and criticisms but they don’t have to be told what to do to be Scissor Sisters.â€
