Between indie and electronic: The British band Metronomy was founded in 1999 by Joseph Mount. The then 16-year-old teenager experimented with electronic music and began writing his first songs. Mount is best known for his remixes. He remixed songs by Britney Spears, Lykke Li and Gorillaz, among others. Together with his cousin Oscar Cash (keyboard, melodica, saxophone), Anna Prior (drums), Gbenga Adelekan (bass) and Michael Lovett (keyboard, guitar) he finally celebrated his success and played the first big shows. Her last album SMALL WORLD was released in February 2022.
We meet Joseph Mount digitally in his hotel room in Lisbon. He is tired and sleepy because his flight was delayed, he reports. However, when it comes to music, he suddenly seems wide awake. He is very happy to finally be able to play live again with his band in front of a large audience. However, the global pandemic threw Metronomy a bit off. Laughing, Mount explains, “It took us a couple of gigs to remember how to do it. When we play we really feel like everyone is happy.”
“Sometimes I find it a shame that people focus so much on the new because that means sometimes you miss out on cool stuff from older people.”
In addition to their music, Metronomy are best known for their brightly colored and modern appearance: the looks for their stage performances are always colorful and radiate a feather-light pop optimism. In an interview with The Guardian, Mount noted that he doesn’t like hearing people define Metronomy as a “modern band”. We asked him what bothers him about it: “Because we weren’t the main person being talked about, I felt like people were prejudiced by our associations. But I think being a new, exciting, modern band is really cool. Maybe there’s something bad about the fact that eventually you’re not that interesting anymore. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being modern at all, but I sometimes find it a shame that people focus so much on what’s new because sometimes it means you miss out on cool stuff from older people.”
SMALL WORLD – Between pandemic and production
Does Mount mean Metronomy with this statement? Probably yes. Mount is 39 years old. The other group members are also of a similar age. Mount and bassist Adelekan are also married and have children – the two-year forced break therefore benefited their respective families. In the production of their current record SMALL WORLD, Metronomy didn’t let the pandemic stop them. The idea for the new project came up in advance. Mount says, “I wanted to make a record that sounded a little more alive and organic and had more instruments. And then, when everything stopped, the original idea became a very intense idea because it was implemented in an isolated environment.” The album was produced in 2020, during the great lockdown in the UK. “I tried to be influenced by what happened, but not to make a record that’s kind of dark. I tried to make an upbeat record at a pretty difficult time,” Mount continues.
SMALL WORLD: An answer to the question “What’s the meaning of life?”
The album, which contains a total of nine tracks, stands out in Metronomy’s entire discography. For the first time the songs sound less electronic and much more natural. The individual instruments can be heard clearly, the rhythm is much slower than usual and the lyrics are also full of emotion and seriousness. Titles like “Life and Death”, “Loneliness On The Run” and “I Have Seen Enough” already point to a concrete direction in terms of content. SMALL WORLD is about the memories, experiences and realizations of Mount’s life. It seems like in every song he answers the question What’s the meaning of life? come closer. He sings a lot about life, love and death.
Mount explains that he has now reached a point in his life where he has experienced, questioned and recognized a lot. He says: “At my age I stand between many things. I still have my parents, but also children. I’m aware of the whole clichéd cyclical nature of life – it’s being shoved in my face. I am aware of this and I am interested in it. And I guess the last few years have been a really weird time to be human and experience all the crazy things that are happening in the world. I felt like it was important to me at that point.”
“It reminds me of my childhood”
This natural and “organic” record – as Mount himself defines it – doesn’t deviate from the context of the album cover either. Of all seven albums to date, SMALL WORLD is the first with a cover that is photographed rather than illustrated. The work is graced with a beautiful green landscape – a clear body of water surrounded by sprout plants and trees. Mount reports that the photo was taken by his mother, who is a photographer: “It’s kind of a public garden, very close to where I grew up. And it was a very nice, well-kept place. It reminds me of my childhood and how things like this exist for a period of time and then change. If you go there now, it’s changed a lot.” This transience can also be heard in Metronomy’s songs. In “Life and Death” he sings: “It was fun, what I did/Got a job, had some kids/See you in the abyss”.
Metronomy mix up
Metronomy released the song “Love Factory” from the same album as a decoupled single and as two other remix versions that were created in collaboration with the two DJs Otik and Chloé Thévenin. The two mixes of the song are hardly comparable to the original version – new tunes, new beats, new effects. Mount finds it fascinating how a song can sound so different and he admires the DJs who pull this off: “Good remixes can take the song in a completely different direction. I like that people who remix music focus on something that you might not have heard in the song. I like to be surprised.”
“I’m really looking forward to the Germany tour”
His great joy on Metronomy’s Germany tour is also surprising. In the midst of festivals, it should also be Germany’s turn at some point. However, the planned shows had to be rescheduled several times. He explains with a laugh: “We have all these festivals and suddenly we have this tour of Germany, which I’m really looking forward to – it’s going to be exciting and beautiful. The tour kept being postponed and postponed and postponed. It’s nice to play at festivals and hang out in different areas. It’s a chance to see friends. We always see a lot of bands that we’re friends with. But I’m really looking forward to the Germany tour.”
Metronomy are currently in the UK. Her tour in Germany will start on August 1st. Starting in Hamburg, Metronomy will play its way through to Heidelberg. All information and dates can be found below.
Watch Metronomy’s Joseph Mount interview on ME Talk here:
Metronomy on Germany tour 2022
01.08.22 Hamburg, Mojo Club
02.08.22 Dresden, riding arena STRASSE E
08/04/22 Berlin Columbia Hall
04.08.22 Diepholz, Appletree Garden Festival
08/05/22 Cologne, Carlswerk Victoria
08/09/22 Munich, Backstage Werk
08/10/22 Heidelberg, hall 02
Further information and tickets from the organizer.
Listen to SMALL WORLD by Metronomy streamed here:
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