INTERVIEW - The Puppini Sisters by
The Puppini Sisters have set the London music scene alight this year with their quirky 40s-style pop music, influenced by the likes of the Andrews Sisters, but covering songs by the likes of The Smiths and Kate Bush. Their debut album Betcha Bottom Dollar is released on 31st July, so we caught up with them to find out what makes them tick...
Q - What made you decide to make this kind of music?
A - Marcella saw the film Belleville Rendez-vous about 2yrs ago. It is a French-Canadian animation that involves three singing triplets who are loosely based on the Andrews Sisters. They sing music from the 1940s and are dressed accordingly. The film really captured her imagination through both the fabulous look and sound that it had. After Marcella had left music college she really missed singing harmony in the jazz choir. After seeing the triplets in the film, it was the catalyst for the idea of the group.
Q - Your songs have been described as tongue-in-cheek, is that fair, or do you want to be taken more seriously?
A - We have no problem being called tongue-in-cheek. When we are covering songs such as Wuthering Heights we are paying homage to them with and wink and a nod. We aren’t trying to be Morrissey or Kate Bush, but we are giving a re-interpretation on their songs, that does have an element of humour to it. Of course we take what we do very seriously. Behind the fun and theatre of it all, a lot of hard work goes on behind the scenes. Each of us are trained musicians so we write all of the arrangements for the group. The music is credible and speaks for itself, and on stage we have a great deal of fun with it.
Q - Do you prefer singing the classic songs or the cover like Panic and I Will Survive?
A - We like singing both. Some audiences respond to the classics more than the others, like the pensioners that have come to see us perform at The National Theatre Foyer in the past. They love the fact that three young girls are singing the pop songs of their era- which in turn for us is so rewarding. The traditional songs are great to sing too because they have such great melodies and harmonies. On the other hand, doing the covers is great fun, not only to arrange but to perform. We get such a kick out of seeing people's faces as the penny drops and they realise we’re covering Morrissey or Kate Bush!
Q - How did Benoit Charest get involved? Were you fans on Belleville Rendez-vous?
A - After Marcella introduced Kate and I to the movie, we too were instantly hooked. We thought it was wonderful and fell in love with the soundtrack that Ben had composed. When we were planning to record our album at the end of last year, we were thinking of who we wanted to produce it. A few names were suggested, but we all wanted Ben to give it the feel that we so loved in Belleville Rendez-vous. We thought we’d try our luck, so the record company got in touch and he agreed! It was a dream come true for us.
Q - You’ve become very popular on the London circuit over the last year, so who is your most famous fan?
A - London and Soho especially, have really been our playground gig wise. We saw Kelly Osbourne at one of our gigs and she was jiving away while we sang. We’ve also heard rumours that Kate Moss and friends are fans of what we do. We did a radio interview with Russell Brand not so long ago, and he liked what we do too.
Q - Have you been surprised by the amount of attention you have been receiving on the radio and internet ahead of your album release?
A - Yes in a way, although we’ve been gigging so much and for so long that we might feel a bit offended if nobody took notice…
Q - Do you hope to inspire a resurgence of old-time music? If so what other bands (old or new) should we be listening out for?
A - We’re not aware of any other bands doing what we do, although there are quite a few DJ’s playing old time music to fashionably attired revellers. There are also a few dance groups that specialise in anything from the 1920s to the 1940s, like the Bee’s Knees and the Beau Belles. We would be really happy if what we do inspired more groups to look at the old sounds for inspiration.
Q - What are your hopes for The Puppini Sisters future? Do you think you can avoid becoming just a ‘novelty’ act? Is it a concern that the covers of pop songs might give that impression to people?
A - Being a novelty act needn’t be such a terrible thing. Many of the greats started out that way, including Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, and then went on to become legends. It all depends on whether what you do is good or not, and we think that what we do is highly accomplished and artistically sound. Also, we are writing original material for the next album, so we are not worried about that at all.
To celebrate the launch of their debut album ‘Betcha Bottom Dollar’ on July 31st The Puppini Sisters will be doing an instore performance, 6pm – HMV, 150 Oxford Street way down there in London.
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