They say the family that plays together stays together. As The Ghost Of A Saber Tooth Tiger, Sean Lennon and his girlfriend,
Charlotte Kemp Muhl, do so much more than just play.
In an office high up Centre Point, the towering skyscraper in Central London, Sean and Charlotte gaze out over the magnificent view of the capital. “What is that big dome that looks like the White House?” That’s St. Paul’s Cathedral, Clash says. “What’s the one that looks like a suppository?” That’s the Gherkin. “It’s applaudable for its creativity,” Charlotte shrugs.
The architecture of London aside, Clash is surrounded by striking scenery. A successful model, Charlotte is a captivating presence; she speaks demurely of music and art with boundless enthusiasm. Sean, meanwhile, is disarmingly like his famous father – his heritage is in that long nose, and the thick glasses it holds up. Together they make the music of The Ghost Of A Saber Tooth Tiger, wistful duets of ethereal folk and avant-pop, and release it on their own label, Chimera Music.
“She and I had started this band and it just felt like I could either shop around for a deal, or just try to self-publish,” Sean says, on the genesis of Chimera. “I kind of always wanted to have my own label, because I started on the Beastie Boys’ label. They were such a cool group and they really supported their friends and they had a lot of cool bands. So the idea of having an artist-run label where it’s family-based and you put out your friends’ records, you put out music because you like it and because it’s interesting and not because you’re trying to find the next Jonas Brothers or something.”
Sean’s idealism is countered by Charlotte’s realism. “As soon as we started our own label, we realised, wow, we have this newfound respect for the big labels,” she admits, “because we were having distribution meetings at nine in the morning, and then running somewhere to design packaging and make business cards and then choose what kind of eco-friendly paper to print the CD package on, and then run over to this meeting over here and make T-shirts for the band,” she pants, tired at the thought of such a gruelling schedule. It’s a wonder then that close business relationships and being bandmates on tour hasn’t impacted on the romance between the pair – which blossomed after they first met backstage at Coachella.
“There’s a lot at stake in terms of your emotional state,” Sean says on the matter. “If you’re feeling unhappy or you’re quarreling, everything can start to slow down.” Fortunately for us, things are going very smoothly in the Lennon/Muhl union. Their debut album as TGOASTT, ‘Acoustic Sessions’, is a beguiling mix of trippy Gainsbourg-esque folk, with Sean on guitar, Charlotte on a range of instruments, and their voices sweetly wrapping around each other like two lovers under the sheets.
It’s Lennon’s fifth album, and goes to prove him as an artist in his own right, regardless of his surname. But what a legacy that must be. Was it always assumed he would be involved with music, Clash asks, or did he want to avoid doing so under the weight of expectations? “I don’t think anyone assumed it, but I always was doing it. I just was always playing music,” Sean says. “And I’m sure it was because my dad was a musician and then he passed away, so there was this big hole in my life and music was something I associated with him very strongly, so I think I was drawn to music in a way sort of searching for some connection with my father who wasn’t there. It was kind of a way for me to become intimate with him.”
As our interview ends, the pair make their way to the window again, enquiring after the names of London’s parks they can see. They are adorable together: wide-eyed, playful and utterly beautiful. That Lennon’s quest for intimacy led to this coupling confirms love really is all you need.
Words by Simon Harper
Photo by Jesse John Jenkins
