Alphabeat are known for their energy packed live shows, charismatic and enthusiastic members, and sometimes frustratingly catchy songs – I frequently find myself muttering “fascina-tion” without even realising it. Although the image of Alphabeat has changed since their British debut single in 2007 ‘Fantastic Six’ – from as many bright colours as they could lay their hands on to, a somewhat more “serious” monochrome look in their newest single ‘DJ’ – their sound has always stayed the same, because it works. They have a unique ability to bring a retro 80’s charm to modern day pop, and they do it well. You don’t have to be an eighties baby to appreciate the upbeat style of their music.

We caught up with Stine and Anders, the lead singers of Alphabeat before their concert at Koko in Camden, as part of their The Beat Is… Tour. Here’s what they had to say on their style, being in a band and the difference between UK and Danish fashion.

You just finished touring with Lady Gaga and now you’re headlining your own tour, is there anyone you’d really like to support or to support you in the future?

A: Supporting someone is not something we’ve really been seeking that desperately. We’ve had some offers,  but we decided to make a record instead because that was what we really wanted to do. The Lady Gaga thing was really cool, but now we’ve done that there’s nowhere else really to go from there. There’s always loads of bands that we want to go on tour with us, but it’s difficult – if we want a Swedish band to play with us there’s a lot of cost to get them out to all our gigs.

Your songs are so catchy – they stay in your head for days, what songs do this for you?

S: I had hurtful by Erik Hassle on my mind for two months or so, I just loved that song. I listened to it five times a day. Then there’s the songs you hate but you still have on your mind! Like I Got A Feelin’ by Black Eyed Peas, I really hate that song but it’s always in my head!

If you only had £100 to your name, what would you spend it on?

S: A trip back to Denmark! (Anders laughs and agrees)

You have a very distinctive style, where do you draw your inspiration from?

A: At first when we started out it was just about putting on as many crazy clothes as was possible, we didn’t think too much about it. And that was quite fun to do, to just go completely colour crazy, but now when we look at old pictures, we were so messy you couldn’t really work out what it was we were doing. There’s six of us in the band, and we really want everything to look sharp and neat and easy to understand, so we try to be simplistic with everything we wear on stage.

S: But we’re not fashionista’s, it’s not like we look in a magazine or see a celebrity and we try and imitate that, I guess we just have a sense of style. Well, hopefully!

What was the last thing you bought?

A: I bought a camera!

(At this point Mike and Anders continued to have a lengthy discussion about photography and camera’s, while Stine and I rolled our eyes and laughed…)

A: …the link between the professional one and… and this is very very boring!! But I love the camera!

S: Well the last thing I bought were cotton pads, but that’s pretty boring too, so I guess the last big thing was these boots! (She sticks her foot up in the air for us to see)

What do you feel is the major difference between UK fashion and the fashion in Denmark?

A: In Denmark it’s quite simple, very minimalistic – whereas over here it’s a lot more rough

S: The indie thing isn’t as big in Denmark, it’s about shapes – like having a big cardigan

A: And very solid colours, that’s very Scandinavian, Denmark, Sweden and Norway are very similar. That’s something we’ve gone for with our stage clothes – everything’s a lot more basic.

What are the best and worst parts of being in a band?

A: Let’s start with the best! If you’re in a band I presume you like to play music, and when you’re in our position it’s really cool because we don’t have to have a job or anything on the side

S:  When your hobby becomes your job, I guess that’s the best thing

A: And there’s not many people from Denmark who are able to do that, it’s just big popstars – and not many bands go outside of Denmark either, so I think the main best thing is that you get to see loads of places that you wouldn’t be able to see – We’ve been to New York, Dubai, Texas and London

So what’s the worst part?

S: Again, that your hobby becomes your job! Sometimes you forget to appreciate what you do and forget why you love doing it in the first place because it becomes so stressful. You can’t really plan anything either, that’s probably the biggest thing.

What annoys you about eachother?

S: There’s something Anders is that annoys me, I don’t know the word of it in English though!

A: When I’m not mentally present during a conversation

Distant?

A&S: Yeah! Distant

S: Sometimes it causes unnecessary little discussions if Anders hasn’t listened to what I said!

So, you’ve been a massive success over in Denmark and here in the UK – what’s next for Alphabeat?

A: We’re gonna work our butts off this summer – then probably take the band on vacation

S: Hopefully! Then we can come back with fresh minds

A: We would like to do a new album, but I don’t think we’re gonna sit down for six months and be like “we’re gonna write this album NOW!” We don’t want to force the new album to be made, it has to come naturally.

Alphabeat’s latest single ‘DJ’ will be released on 31 May 2010, available to download on Itunes.

Written by Bee Pahnke and photography by Mike McAdam