Coming on Strong

LIMITED IMPORT VERSION! At the tender age of 7, Alexis Taylor began listening to Prince and dancing on his bed to the sounds of Dirty Mind and The Black Album, a habit which has continued into adult life. Meanwhile, Joe Goddard began heavily grazing on hip-hop records in the early 1990s, a diet which consolidated into an unusually passionate relationship with records by the Souls of Mischief and Madlib. The duo collided during an impromptu wrestling match in the school playground, and the result was 'Hot Chip'. Soon enough, the funk began to tell, and with the addition of artist Owen Clarke (who used to dine with Alexis during 'packed lunch') on synthesizer, Felix Martin on drum machine and percussion, and Al Do-it on pretty much anything he could lay his hands on, Hot Chip have embarked on a new era of sonic exploration. The band like to think of themselves as a modern day pop group with the spirit of Brian Wilson, the passion of Public Enemy and the niceness of the Neptunes. Hot Chip have a sound balanced between the soulful and the experimental, and they try to have a sense of humour too.