Interview: You Love Her Coz Shes Dead

It impresses to come across a band/artist/DJ who know what the hell they're doing and best of all have a better judgment on their work than we journalists do, the comparisons are inevitable as any 8-bit rodeos are immediately filed side to side next to Crystal Castles but that's not the only dimension to this duo, because it's not all videogames beeps & bleeps - there's more to their sound than what the blog say + they totally don't sample n steal other people's work and rework it to make it their own... *get a hint*!

♫ You Love Her Coz Shes Dead - Inner City Angst (EP - Minimix)
♫ autoKratz - Stay The Same (You Love Her Coz Shes Dead Remix)

From today onward, Ohh!Crapp... is showing them full support & we will be following their every move because YLHCSD have made it into our Best New Artists Of 2008 list.

Find out what they're all about, their upcoming releases, remixes, their self Uffie style comparison & what they think of Crystal Castles & all the blogs labeling them under 8-bit!
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We accustomed to 8-bit outfits named after video games n electronics as it seems to be an expected and appropriate move but it seems like you preferred to promote Necrophilia, is it the new hot thing in the chiptune community (Sex with dead people)?

Oh you filthy bastard. You are by no means the first to ask us this, and this is a common misunderstanding of our name, but hey, what's in a name? Contrary to popular belief, the bunch of words YOU LOVE HER COZ SHES DEAD is just to reflect the irony in the way that certain people in history are idolized in death, disregarding "she's" for the sake of argument: Marilyn Monroe, Kurt Cobain, Richie Manic etc etc etc.

There's nothing sexually dark about it, and thats why most people look at us as if they've just revealed that they're a dirty pervert when we respond to this question with an explanation that's considerably more 'lovey-dubby'. And just for the record, we should probably vocalize that we don't regard ourselves as a part of the chip-tune community, and we're pretty sure that they don't regard us as that. Mainly because our music is not strictly 8-bit chip-tune, but more of a crossover between differing types of recognizable electronica.

I think people relate you to the Chiptune community because it’s the 8-bit sounds that vacuums most of the attention since it's still not brilliantly over done – sort of like when Justice brought distortion to the light, at that point every other already existing good distortion involving song became noticeable. But I totally get what you're saying… you're songs are un-precisely definable coz it wander between electro, 8-bit synth & even Pop! It' kinda ironic that people who consider themselves having a strong music quality filter/radar actually need a huge neon sign with a lot of arrows and lights and lasers and fireworks around it to notice something that is already been there!

yeah, I guess when you've been immersed in something you have a hard job getting over to new listeners where you've come from, where you're at and where you're going. Having a radar/filter for new music is one thing, but if people can only draw one comparison, then a little more digging into the genre(s) is perhaps needed. If people are interested in YLHCSD they can ask as you have kindly done, and I guess that that is where the press & critics step in, to fill in the blanks; musical and non-musical. For some bizarre reason the music falls secondary sometimes, but we're getting used to it now *winks*.

Tell us about you briefly, your dead names (nicknames), how you 2 met & how you fell in love with 8-bit? What are your inspirations?

We met through mutual friends and found we had a common interest in music, and partying hard, so we put some vocals to tunes that had been developed 2 years prior, and it seemed to work so we kept at it.

Putting "Dead" at the end of our names is just shorthand for YLHCS(Dead), and since people who only knew of our first names referred to us as Elle Dead or Jay Dead so that others would know who they were talking about, it kinda just stuck. We're also referred to as 'The 'Deads' and as the initials YLHCSD.

I think we just have a love for the chip-tune style as an element in our music. We are by no means experts on the genre. Its just a sound that we grew up with I guess. Our interest hasn't much to do with the actual act of gaming either, it's much more a sonic hobby.

Chiptune has always been around but I think it wasn't creative enough, like it just always sounded like ringtones rather than music… until Crystal Castles did something about it! Now, you are a boy/girl duo who look a lot like Crystal Castles & actually make music that trots to their methods – do you think you're being noticed because of the Crystal Castles similarities? & does it bother you to be compared to them?

Well the reason we were picked up by Kitsune was for the track 'wizards', which sounds nothing like Crystal Castles in our opinion.

When it comes to 'methods' - as much as I hate to reinstate the bad press, Crystal Castles did in fact put drums etc over an existing chip-tune artist's music and called it 'Insection', so when you compare 'methods' YLHCSD frown slightly. We aren't aware really of how Crystal Castles go about making their music, but we're pretty sure we are writing in a different way. Much more isolated, rather than having a bit from over here and a bit from over there. Our chip-tune influence is our own, and we like to think we are creating a fusion of styles, where as Crystal Castles' methods seem to be either remixing existing tunes, or writing over things. We don't wish to judge their methods though.

I think people compare a) because it's safe & b) because "yes" there is a comparison, mainly because unlike the thousands upon thousands of almost identical metal, indie, and rock bands there are out there all fighting for the limelight, Crystal Castles is the only comparison out there at the moment for YLHCSD. In a mainstream public knowledge setting, the use of chip-tune influence in music is largely unknown, but it is an old thing, perhaps 20 years or more as you suggest, and what's happened is, it's been made to feel entirely new in many ways. It is perhaps because of the unfortunate lack of obvious alternative references that Crystal Castles' fans might not have to hand, that is the reason we two bands are constantly dropped into the same sentence at the moment, but Im sure that will change.

Anyway, YLHCSD don't think you should bother comparing, as there are a lot of differences, and maybe it'd be more fun to look at those. We have watched Crystal Castles shoot into the stratosphere because they are an amazing band to listen to and to watch. We aren't trying to be them, that would be pointless anyway. We are who we are. To say to us that we look like them is kind of lazy if you want our honest feeling on that, I mean the boy/girl thing isn't original, but then you can't help that either, being determined as one or the other at birth and all haha, but I'm afraid that's something we're somewhat powerless against, unless we purposely drop our tastes in clothing or get some kind of surgery. Sonny & Cher, the Ting Tings, The White Stripes, Kap Bambino.

I think if you look a little closer you'll find we really don't look much alike anyway. Ethan is Mexican or something and Alice is Canadian so some obvious differences right there. And we're pretty sure that we are a few years older than those guys, and dragged through a few more hedges backwards, in an English fashion.

Its not like we started doing this yesterday, and it'd be a shame to be viewed as copy-cats when we have a whole bunch of material, a lot of which salutes Daft Punk & Digitalism, even Uffie, far more than it does Crystal Castles. We personally have enjoyed Crystal Castles' music to be much darker, and as much as YLHCSD carries an aire of angst, we feel our tunes are quite a lot more optimistic or upbeat sounding, if the comparison begs to be made, as it seems.

Gosh, that answer just fucking shut me up in total convenience! And since you mentioned it yourself I actually thought wow 'Uffie' when I heard the 'Deadend' demo! The semi-vocoded vocals ala pop catchy not-much-repeating lyrics! But still other songs are completely instrumental... I know this is early but is the album going to be more vocal or instrumental? What are your plans for the album??

Haha, we aren't trying to shut you up, just get a couple of points across maybe. Our plans so far for the album, are to keep with the YLHCSD sound but you can expect a more streamlined sound, with a combination of more dance-floor friendly tunes, and certainly further 8-bit artiness. There may be comparisons that can be drawn, for sure, but nothing so obvious, and we think our album will definitely have it's own thing going on.

Crystal Castles have somehow managed to convert Thrash to bleepy goodness without losing its intensity & I think most of it relates to the sometimes vulgar and harsh vocals! While listening to Superheroes I noticed the yelling attitude is there.

Ok, firstly they describe themselves as Thrash as a complete joke (we think haha) and I suppose shouted vocals are more associated with bands that really would deserve pidgeon-holing as 'thrash'. Although we can't help but point out that there are quite a lot of singers in music that yell. To say that we yell so therefore are like Crystal Castles is like saying we have eye balls so we therefore are like Crystal Castles. I hope they do.

Yeah it is very pretentious & commercially promo bait embodying to call a genre something that it isn't but works for being gimmicky and sticker fun to attach to! Like a lot of bands relate themselves to unfitting genres, like Christian Dance, Nu-Rave, Surf Pop…. If you ever chose one of those sheen adding genres or made up one.. what would it be & why?

We're all up for that type of gimmicky thing, although we think thats maybe thinking a bit too hard about the way others will view you, and very much a myspace trend it seems, in fact it's such a tiny detail i can't quite believe it's being discussed. We've never given it any thought, but YLHCSD would like to take this opportunity to coin the term 'SuperDigiGiveMeABananaCore'.

I like the fact that both of you vocalize!

Thanks! Vocalize this... \m/

I know this is totally random, but what was the most bizarre reaction you received from someone who listened to your music & what's the most embarrassing thing that happened during a live gig?

We've had someone get a bit tearful on us before and say that we are the soundtrack to their lives. To which we could only respond by giving them the biggest hug. I think the most embarrassing thing that could ever happen to anyone at a gig is to realize the crowd in front of you have learnt the words to your songs better than you have. Being battered doesn't help.

It severely intrigues me - exactly how is chiptune music made? Like what's the process of making a song?

There are few methods I'm sure, perhaps one that most could relate to is using the music program on a new age Nintendo Gameboy, although our methods are our own.

I heard 'Kistune' is releasing 'Superheroes' through an EP titled 'Inner City Angst' - how did they get involved?

This is true, Kitsune met us in London after inviting us to be a part of "Paris", a collection of rare and exclusive tracks put together by Gildas & Masaya of Kitsune, our track 'Wizards' mixes out of Does It Offend You Yeah? into Hot Chip. The chemical brothers are also on there, who I used to rave out to as a young teenager, Block Rockin' Beats etc.

'Wizards' was released initially in Japan in May 2008, and the reaction was good, so it was released worldwide a month or so later, and we decided to release a 10" entitled 'Inner City Angst' of YLHCSD tunes that have been around for a while which is out 24th Nov.


01 Lo-Fi-Fnk - Want U
02 La Roux - Quicksand
03 Pnau - With You Forever
04 You Love Her Coz Shes Dead - Superheroes
05 Ted & Francis - I Wish I Was A Polar Bear (Artic Urgency Edit)
06 Digitalism - Taken Away (Instrumental)
07 autoKratz - Stay The Same (Edit)
08 Beni - My Love Sees You
09 Fischerspooner - Danse En France (D.I.M. Remix)
10 Etienne De Crécy et Monsieur Jo - Hanukkah
11 Streetlife DJs - We Love The Disco Sound (Radio Edit)
12 A-Trak - Say Whoa
13 We Have Band - Hear It In The Cans (DIY Version)
14 Heartsrevolution - Ultraviolence
15 Grovesnor - Drive You Car (Hot Chip Remix)
16 David E Sugar - Although You May Laugh
17 Appaloosa - The Day (We Fell In Love)
18 Piste Presque Fantôme
19 The Shoes - Let's Go

after 'Superheores' appears on Kitsune Maison 6 on 20th Oct. We are working now on an album, although we haven't discussed with any labels much about this so far.

What's with the superheroes obsession? Is it the latex or the bulgy crotches?

Haha, well one of does rock it up in the latex yeh but thankfully no bulge- yet anyway. The inspiration for writing music and lyrics while thinking about super-heroes is perhaps our escapism, perhaps just because it's cooler than real life, which can be really fucking boring & overly 'done' inspiration for writing.

The EP is mastered by Nilesh Patel who has worked with a variety of artists and producers over the years including Bjork, Air, Daft Punk, Moby and New Young Pony Club… how did you make the decision of choosing him? I mean obviously he's amazing for working with all the people I just mentioned but 8-bit is a something else!

Kitsune have worked with Nilesh a lot and we're more than pleased the finished tracks went to Nilesh to be mastered. It's like the final process for putting music to vinyl. On the subject of 8-bit though, Im not sure the chiptune community would much appreciate us being described by critics as such, as we just have 8-bit elements. Our music isn't strictly full-on 8-bit/chiptune. Its more of an element/crossover.

It's going to have 8 tracks right? What should we be expecting? Give us a handwritten teaser!

The 'Inner City Angst' EP has 4 tracks. It will be out on the 24th November 2008 on Kitsune, and available on digital download, the usual outlets, and on 10" vinyl. Tracks in order are 'Superheroes', 'Dead End', 'Bloodlust' and 'Wizards'. 'Superheroes' is also to be released 20th Oct 2008 on Kitsune Maison 6, and 'Wizards' was previously released on Gildas & Masaya "Paris" Compilation w/Digitalism/Hot Chip/Chemical Brothers/Little Boots & more. I guess we can tell you to expect something 8-bit/indie, with a lot of pace in places and some plod in others. Some sung vocals and also some shouted vocals which are still quite melodic actually. Its almost impossible make you hear with words - go listen!!!

How was the crowd's reaction to your 8-bit goodness pre-Crystal Castles explosion? Was it being accepted as much as it is today?

We've not always had a good reaction to our music live, bands generally earn that, and Im sure that Crystal Castles played to a few men and their dogs at times. Crystal Castles' recent popularity has now just shone a bright light on the genre, most people have heard of them on various circuits now, so I guess people are just much less "what the fuck?" when they hear us now. After recent controversy for Crystal Castles, I think its fair to say that it would be unfair to entertain the idea they started it, but they did get very popular, coz the fact is, they are good.

What does YLHCSD bring to the genre that Crystal Castles didn't?

Songs. A happier vibe. DNA.

Do you have any strange musician habits?

How long have you got?

Winning Best Electronica at this year's Indy Awards, tell us all about it!

Ok, April 25th 2008. What the fuck? We won an Indy Award for best electronica act of 2008, which is great, except it wasn't the end of 2008 yet and still isn't haha. Anyway, we aren't sure how we ended up winning that, we weren't prepared for winning and were very intoxicated by the time it got called. Everything went a bit crazy for half an hour and then one of us was thrown out for misbehaving, so a good night really.



I'm curious what's been stuck on repeat on your stereo/iPod lately?

Digitalism, never did get enough of Pogo, and still haven't

Are you currently remixing for anyone??

I have just finished autoKratz which is being released in US, and I'm currently remixing KC. Look out haha

In the next few months we will be...

We are about to tour the Czech Republic from 11th Sept next week, and then we're hitting France and Germany in anticipation of the EP release, although we plan to stay touring indefinitely for a good year or so now so expect more of that & keep an ear to the ground for the material we haven't played you yet.

& the crown for crappiest piece of shit track of the year goes to….

'Lions In Soho' by YOU LOVE HER COZ SHES DEAD

How boring was this interview to you guys?

Depends whether talking about yourself bores you or not.. so yeah haha, but well done for raising some questions that people should hear the answers to *winks*.

Shoe Em Love On Official Website/Official MySpace/Remix Myspace