Swide Magazine by Dolce&Gabbana

I headed backstage to speak to Alisa Xayalith, the leading lady of The Naked and Famous, at Circolo Magnolia, in Milano, before the band set the stage alight with their almighty sound that got the venue crying out for more and confirmed my love for 'New Zealand's most famous band'.

 

After a moment of confusion instigated by not knowing which language (English, Italian… even Dutch was thrown into the mix) we should be speaking to each other, the tour manager directed me backstage to meet Alisa, who I was already impressed by vocally, and found myself in awe of the shy beauty.

Alisa was sitting next to a fridge stacked full of beers and a table that was awash with an assortment of soluble beverage packets. After a quick introduction we got talking. I wanted to find out about their history, styling and use of social media.

 

The guys met whilst at college, which Alisa attended after taking a gap year and figured that it was time to start thinking about putting foundations down for a future. Aaron Short and Thom Powers were taking the same course and they soon realised that there was chemistry between them and began putting some demos together, which in fact became their first E.P, This Machine, in 2008. But Alisa says that she became quite confident in what they were producing and in the end it was only Aaron who passed and she and Thom dropped out. Risky… but look at where she is now, a member of, what has been called, the most famous band in New Zealand.

The Naked and Famous lifted their name from Tricky’s song ‘Tricky Kid’, a genre that herself and Thom have a strong connection to. “I love it when artists reference other pop culture”, creating a layer to the band that can be accessed via ‘insider’ knowledge of wider art circles. “When people hear our name 'The Naked the Famous' they have lots of preconceptions of what will we look like, how we will sound”, which is true, the name doesn’t hint towards the band’s styling. Describing their sound as Electro-Rock she tells me that, “when someone from older generations asks me to describe our sound I simply call it pop music. There are heaps of genres these days and it is hard to box your sound, it was simpler back then.”

 

When I asked about their style and the image that they want to project, Alisa, after a moments hesitation concludes that it is, ‘understated and without a particular approach. On stage we perform with an insular manner, we’re not show ponies and are not about showing off.’ This is subtly contradicted when she describes the use of visuals within their videos and record sleeves, that they use graphic design as their high design aesthetic. The base of their visual work comes from their friends, Campbell Hooper and Joel Kefali, who are in fact their directors who have been working with The Naked and Famous since the first video ‘Serenade’. Alisa says that they have a soft spot for them and a whole lot of heart and feel that ‘they always get us’. The synergy between them is of such strength that Alisa and the band practically give them free reign artistically, so much so that current single ‘The Sun’” wasn’t going to be a release until the design duo urged them too. Thank god, as the video is sublime. 

 

The approach to creative process is actually more ‘methodical’, for want of a word, than I first thought for The Naked and Famous. You usually hear that people let the music come to them or that they jam together, which is something that Alisa is certain that they don’t do. Thom instigates the process by putting down some rough beats, which is then layered upon with melody and chords via Alisa, passed on to Aaron, who ‘colours’ the skeleton and then it is taken into a live rehearsal where, together with David Beadle and Jesse Wood, they see how it feels and sounds, discovering what needs to be added or removed. Alisa mentions that, although there is a strong method to how they work, they also allow an organic flow to have an input and that is common for they to help one another to get things moving forward.

 

Just before finishing up and letting her prepare to go on stage I was interested in how the use of social media has aided them on their rise to fame. She says that it has let them communicate exactly what is happening when but is mindful not to fill it with crap as she says, “social media is saturated with crap and we want to be concise. We are conscientious of holding on to something and not putting everything out there. You know, keep a bit of mystery, as it is hard to these days.”

And with a kiss on the cheek and a quick ‘Ciao’, I made my way to the stage and got ready to be blown away. From the opening bars of ‘All of this’ to the anthemic  ‘Young Blood’ and the finishing notes of ‘Serenade’, I have rarely seen an audience know all the lyrics to each song, let alone one to whom English isn't their first language, and the amount of passion that the revellers put into their appreciation of an immaculate set was something to see. And as Alisa had said, there was an insular aspect to their stage performance but it didn’t mean that we were left outside looking in, The Naked and Famous embraced us and we were more than happy to be taken along for the ride. Amazing. Oh... and whilst having an backstage drink, Alisa tells me, 'we are nominated for 6 awards at this year's NZ Music Awards', having bagged 2 for Best Producer and Best Engineers. Not bad then.

And to play you out, the song that has become a generation's anthem:

For more from the band, click here.

For more music on Swide:

 

Written by Ben Taylor 

Photography by Chiara Gambuto 

TAGS: dolce&gabbana d&g dolce & gabbana d & g luxury online magazine stefano gabbana domenico dolce music the naked and famous alisa xayalith thom powers david beadle aaron short jesse wood campbell hooper joel kefali interview back stage new zealand concert milan Circolo Magnolia chiara gambuto