Melissa McMahon, writer & columnist converses with lead singer, songwriter and fashionista Martina Sorbara of the electro-pop band Dragonette

Dragonette

The frigid cold has permeated the air of this empty, dim, run-down bar. It smelt of stale smoke and beer, and had a lifeless quality about it; the arcade machines abandoned, the single employee unloading cases of water. As I looked around my imagination filled the empty space with the crowds that would shortly swoon over the band that was soon to play. As I turned the corner though, the bar came to life with the sound of the drums- striking steadily with an impassioned pattern. On stage sporting a grey t-shirt and jeans stood bassist and producer Dan Kurtz, and drummer Joel. As the sound check began Joel begins drumming, unaccompanied, eyes closed and body swaying freely. Dan smiles, shaking his head as Martina (lead vocalist, songwriter & guitarist) jumps on stage completely bundled in winter attire. Her shoulders were raised, and her hands made cold fists by her side. She approaches the mic, takes a breath, and begins to sing a verse from their new song Animale- a track released in collaboration with Don Diablo. “Stamp your hind leg! Step behind me! Animale!” Her voice was strong- and crisp like the winter air as it resonated acapella throughout the bar.

They run through the ballad- a selection of older songs; Hello Delores, Easy, Fixing to Thrill and some new; Hello, Fire in Your New Shoes, Our Summer- all filled the space with brilliant ease. Their interactions were wonderfully entertaining. Dan looks across the stage and says most seriously, “Joel! What are you wearing?” He responds, “sex.” A laugh breaks across the room. “I don’t know how you wear sex – but I want some!” Leaning comfortably over her shoulder Dan helps his wife Martina tune her guitar, and moves over his equipment, focused, effortlessly tinkering with the technicalities of sound and balance. Even in this empty bar, they play with such enjoyment, so naturally, with so much chemistry between them. Every note, every sound within their complete control and somehow, I believe every iota of it- it is real.

Dragonette is an unerringly original electro-pop trio that originated in Toronto. Although touring frequently, the band now resides and records in London, England- composing what lead singer Martina refers to as ‘basement pop.’
Creating music is nothing new to the dynamic group; Dan Kurtz (bassist and producer) was a member of The New Deal. Martina Sorbara was formerly characterized by her solo sudo jazz- folk sound that was featured in the Women and Songs 6 series.

a part of it is exploring a different kind of sexuality and other ways to feel beautiful rather than what we constantly see as one dimension of beauty.” – Martina

That era, however, definitely doesn’t characterize them anymore as their autonomously created style has evolved into an electro-pop centered sound with some flecks of 70’s disco, dance/club and the occasional 80’s handclap. It is not solely their sound that is unique, but also their distinctively provocative lyrics. Their first record Galore, first released as an EP in 2005, then as an album in 2007 had songs entitled: I Get Around, Take it Like A Man, Shockbox, and the humorous Jesus Doesn’t Love Me (which reads: “I’ve got a little bit of dirty down in my soul. Jesus doesn’t love me anymore!”). Thereafter, their music evolved slightly to a deeper, more diversified sound with their second studio album, Fixin’ To Thrill. A rougher, edgier style featured songs; Liar, Pick up the Phone, Easy, and Come on Be Good. Finally, the most recent- Mixin’ to Thrill- is a compilation of unconventional remixes and a few fun new singles.
These themes toy with sexuality and female empowerment in a highly unconventional manner and constantly challenge commonly held views of beauty, power, society, and promiscuity. After the sound check is through, Martina veraciously explains their use of sexually driven lyrics. Seemingly astute, she comments, “a part of it is exploring a different kind of sexuality and other ways to feel beautiful rather than what we constantly see as one dimension of beauty.” She sits comfortably- winter hat still intact. Her voice is cheerful, calm and curiously high- pitched. “There’s only one aspect of beauty in the media, for the most part. I find it well, just boring. I think it’s actually just an expression of [myself] and what I like. So, the fact that I get to think it out, fill out the picture of that idea and project it on stage is just an element of the creative aspect of what I do.”
Similar to the Sinead or Grace Jones of our current time, Martina displays an enthralling androgynous appearance. With an elegant face, short hair and slim figure, she portrays an alternative sexiness naturally. In videos she has been seen in baggy jeans with a hoodie, a ruby gown, a nude colored bodysuit, and many pieces in between. This multi-dimensional sexuality could be a product of growing up with her twin brother, feeling always as one of the boys- never identifying with the ‘ultra-feminine.’ “Really [it’s] just what I’m attracted to. I don’t want to disrespect what anyone else does, because everyone has a different relationship to music, beauty, sexuality, and what is sexy and everything else. I’m simply not attracted to the ‘normal’ display of what is beautiful. I just have an attraction to a particular style of aesthetics musically, and professionally. I try to seek out more ways of displaying that.”

 

More recently, Dragonette released another EP, Mixin’ to Thrill, and they’ve begun branching out to collaborate with other DJ’s and production styles previously uncommon to the trio. “I think that the experience of working with DJ’s has kind of shown us other ways of writing pop music that isn’t formulated like 1st; chorus; 2nd;chorus; bridge-out. I mean we love pop music, and that format is great, its there because it works. It is a formula to try to get creative within. But having these songs with these DJ’s that don’t necessarily follow those formulas has sort of seeped into our brains. So we’re trying to incorporate that and see if pop can be made in a more unconventional way… I think we’re always going to write pop music because that is what we love. I mean its cool the way that world is really overlapping right now. Who knows, we could end up writing a guitar ballad record!”

 

It’s true! You never know what this band will be producing next and put quite genuinely, neither do they. “I have no idea! What I have pointed out though in our previous albums, there are very few themes connecting one song to another. The songs go all over the place and I think, even to try and describe those records after they’re made is sort of impossible for me. We have ADD when it comes to our style or our creation of music. To try and predict what the sound of our record is going to be is even harder. I don’t know, its probably going to be even more all over the place! All over different genres! Maybe? I think it would be awesome to have an overarching idea that we could follow. But, we don’t do that.”
When relaxing at home, in a modest flat in London where she lives with husband Dan is often filled with the same music. A random selection of vinyl records (usually chosen by the aesthetics of the cover, she laughingly admits), play repeatedly. “I have this Phoebe Snow record! FOR MORE PICKUP A COPY OF ANTIDOTE MAGAZINE, AVAILABLE AT STORES NEAR YOU!