Blackbird Spyplane

Blackbird Spyplane

Dress like you're a dulcet-toned dance god crushing the stage

Hot Chip's Alexis Taylor comes through talking physics-warping confidence, King Lear Fool swag, vibrant home décor, and more unbeatable topics

Jul 12, 2022
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— Jonah & Erin


Alexis Taylor — this man has given us kilotons of musical joy as the charming, dulcet-voiced frontman of Hot Chip, UK dance-pop goats whose music we’ve been grooving upon ever since I (Jonah) saw them play way back in 2005 on a wild SXSW bill with M.I.A., LCD Soundsystem, and Ratatat — mamma mia whatta show.

Any given day you are likely to hear some Hot Chip slapper or other playing on the SpySpeakers here, and as I write this paragraph their phenomenal 2015 track “Huarache Lights” is playing on repeat … If you’ve never heard that, or “Boy From School,” or “Need You Now,” or “Look Where We Are,” you are in for ‘nuff treats, and more where that came from !!

On Aug. 19, Hot Chip are putting out their 8th album, Freakout/Release. The lead single is “Down,” built around a sample of the obscure late ‘70s Chicago funk act Universal Togetherness Band, whose name is sick and whose chunes and general vibe are extremely tight…

The follow-up single, “Eleanor,” just dropped last week and is BRIGHT and VERY FUNKY, too.

On top of all that?? Alexis is a delightful fit-assembler, so the other day we hopped on the SpyPhone with him, dialing in from the cribbo in London, to talk about how confidence warps physics, getting spicy with yr garments from the “stage” to the “streets,” keeping the home décor harmoniously cacophonous, and much more.

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