The Klaxons

Doing drugs is not necessarily a cool thing.

Its funny how life goes around in circles. If some geezer had suddenly started selling glowsticks on the street a year ago, he’d probably have been booted into the nearest mental institute. But if that same guy had stood there now, he’d literally need a lightsaber to fend off the army of fluoro crazed kids mobbing him for the latest fashion accessory.

Thanks to New Cross “new rave” specialists Klaxons, glowsticks are not only officially cool again, they’re also the ultimate weapon of choice in the fashion industry. “It’s mental there are things in women’s fashion magazines saying they’re the accessory of the year. I genuinely don’t understand it,” shrugs bemused band leader, singer and Klaxons bassist Jamie Reynolds. “Still I’m glad they’ve replaced mobile phones at gigs and people are not stood there taking pictures anymore. At last it seems like people are genuinely enjoying themselves again.”

It’s just over 14 months since Reynolds and his fellow fluoro-clad compatriots, Simon Taylor (guitarist) and synths man James Righton, have gone from playing packed out beer-sodden pubs to party scenes of mass hysteria at Reading and Leeds, all of which were last seen during the heady days of acid house. To add to that they’ve turned a joke phrase into a global phenomenon and rubbed shoulders with the likes of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Thom Yorke on Later… With Jools Holland. All this and they’re still to release their debut album ‘Myths Of The Near Future’.

Like all good bands, the Klaxons certainly know how to party. And anyone who witnessed the carnival scenes at Leeds last August will know exactly what it feels like to be part of their mental brigade. Everywhere you looked fluoro-clad kids were waving glowsticks in the air as if their life depended on it while deafening air horns were going off left, right and centre. All around teenagers were either dancing or creating their own stages to party on. And it’s all because of three guys who’ve taken it upon themselves to fuse wailing sirens and mashed up drum beats with fuzzy guitars.

“Leeds was definitely a high point. It was absolutely bonkers,” Jamie enthuses. “There were people swinging from the ceiling on ropes, going crazy and there were glowsticks everywhere. That was undoubtedly the best thing that happened to us all year. It was a case of, ‘Shit this is now a massive party. Let’s just completely have it.’ I didn’t stop for a second to think about it, I just found myself lost in that atmosphere.”

And that’s the crazy thing about Klaxons, you often find yourself getting so sucked into the party vibe that you almost forget there’s a band playing. Then again this hasn’t always worked in their favour. In the early days Jamie, James and Simon were often so fucked when they arrived onstage that it got to a point where they literally couldn’t pick their instruments up off the floor. “We did this party and when we got up there, we genuinely couldn’t play our instruments,” admits Jamie. “People were really excited to come and see us as a band and there we were like a bunch of fucking idiots unable to play. That was the point when we thought, ‘Hold on a minute it’s not about us. We’re here to give people a good time.’”

We have a responsibility to let people know that doing drugs is not necessarily a cool thing.

Unfortunately situations like this and throwaway comments about drugs suddenly saw the New Cross trio being brandished with an image they weren’t at home with. “We have a responsibility to let people know that doing drugs is not necessarily a cool thing,” Jamie says defiantly. “We find it really upsetting that we have this sort of connection. At the end of the day we’ve got a fanbase under 18 years of age so we don’t want to be advocating the message that doing drugs is a good thing.”

Throwaway comments aside, one phrase that did ultimately work in their favour was the term “new rave”. Coined as an in-joke with his mate, the last thing Jamie expected was for it to be taken seriously let alone pioneer a new wave of indie dance bands. “What I meant by it while at the same time laughing and having a joke was that basically right now there’s this definite attitude where people are more than willing to go out and just have a good time while they’re watching a band,” Jamie explains. “It’s not about standing there po-faced. It’s not about us being onstage, it’s about us interacting with the crowd and between us and the crowd, coming up with the biggest party we can have.”

With ‘Myths And The Near Future’ literally days off before its official UK release, the New Cross trio’s messianic armada continues to grow at an alarming rate. God only knows how far the Klaxon fever will spread by the end of 2007. “I don’t know how it all happened,” reflects Jamie. “I just think people have been excited by our records and excited by our live shows. The horns and glowsticks came out in the first couple of gigs. They were there from the start. But now it’s something that has expanded way beyond our control.”

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