Interview

Hooverphonic sounds cinematic

By Joseph Boo
Staff Writer

Asking the members of Hooverphonic what their favorite movie is opens a floodgate of responses from David Lynch to German Expressionist films, but one movie was cited over everything else.
"The one movie I really like is `The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover' by Peter Greenaway," said Alex Callier, Hooverphonic bassist and chief songwriter. "It's really different and twisted, and there are many levels to that movie. I saw it three times before I caught everything."
Hooverphonic's passion for movies shouldn't be surprising. The band started when Callier met keyboardist and engineer Frank Duchene at film school in Belgium. Its hit single, "2 Wicky," also appears on two soundtrack albums, Stealing Beauty and I Know What You Did Last Summer. And its sound has often been described as cinematic.
"It wasn't a conscious attempt to sound cinematic at all," Callier said. "It's just part of our many influences."
Besides the movies, Hooverphonic has cited influences as varied as the Cocteau Twins, the Byrds, metal, surf music and even KISS. The many influences for Hooverphonic have melded into a smooth trip-hoppy sound that has won over a lot of fans in the short time the group has been together.
Signing a major record deal with Sony after only one performance, Hooverphonic found itself opening for Fiona Apple, and the sultry single "2 Wicky" was ubiquitous on KROQ this summer. Its sound has often been compared to seminal trip-hop artists Portishead and Massive Attack, but Hooverphonic refuses to be typecast into a comparison.
"Hooverphonic have their own sound." Callier said. "I don't like our sound being compared to other bands. We all have our own sound. The only thing similar is the use of electronics and female vocals. We might use the same samples, like Portishead used Isaac Hayes' Walk On By and we use it in 2 Wicky. But I'm sick of people comparing us to other bands."
One of the big differences between Hooverphonic and other groups is that most of the songs are written on acoustic guitar. "We played acoustic on MTV Europe and a couple of concerts in Belgium," Callier said. "It proves we are song based, and record people will hear us and say, `Damn, they can really (play).' There are a lot of people who doubt us, saying, `Nice album, but electronic bands can't play live,' but if you go to one of our concerts, you can see that we can really rock `n' roll."
Probably the most heralded aspect of Hooverphonic's music has been the vocal work by its lead singer, which is most surprising considering the fact that the band has gone through three lead singers in its short history. The most prominent singer for Hooverphonic was the second one, Liesje Sadonius, who often drew comparison to Julee Cruise and appears on its latest album A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular and the song "2 Wicky."
"We were fed up with her," Duchene said. Callier added,"She just got tired of touring and wanted to go back to Belgium and walk her dog. But we're still good friends." Replacing Sadonius is Gykee, a sessions singer who is singing on Hooverphonic's tour of the States.
"There was some initial pressure replacing her, but reactions have been positive," Gykee said. Besides the tour, Gykee appears on its upcoming released album, which will also have Callier and Saldonius doing some vocals.
Success seems to have come suddenly for Hooverphonic, but Callier makes reminders that all the band members have toiled in other bands before Hooverphonic, and they shaped their sound through constant sessions together. This all paid off with a successful single, album and tour. Things are looking up for Hooverphonic, and it is well on its way to turning its career into a blockbuster of its own.