Sleigh Bells photographed 10.30.09 by anthoNYC

Derek Miller and Alexis Krauss have managed to cause quite a bit of noise on the internet, having gone from amateurly recorded obscurity to booking sought after gigs and rolling with the likes of M.I.A. and Spike Jonze.

Sleigh Bells: What is the method to their mayhem? Who are they? What kind of music is this? These were all questions that plagued us and we decided to get to the bottom of this two weeks ago, the day before Halloween. We met up with the duo at Derek’s Brooklyn apartment and left no question unanswered.

Alexis and Derek are two really cool kids who make kick ass music and know how to rock any stage, just read on to find out for yourself! Make sure you check out Sleigh Bells this Saturday night at Webster Hall with Kap Bambino and again on November 19th at Le Poisson Rouge [tix]!

Pictures I took at their CMJ shows can be seen here: Hype Machine/Babelgum at Santos AND Quiet Color‘s Anti-CMJ Showcase at The Market Hotel.

MP3: Sleigh Bells – Beach Girls [EP Version] or zShare

> Where are you both from?
AK: I’m from NJ, the Jersey Shore.
DM: I’m from Southern Florida.

> How long have you been in New York?
AK: I’ve been here for about 7 years.
DM: I’ve been here since March of 2008, pretty new.

> How did you meet each other?
DM: My restaurant where I worked up until 2-3 weeks ago.
AK: He was my waiter, I was out to dinner with my mom. He was talking about why he was here and mentioned that he was looking for a vocalist and my mom nominated me. Sent him an email then we met up. So yeah..that’s the short version.  [all laugh]
DM: I just started talking to her mom who also grew up in South Florida, and she was like ‘So what are you doing in New York?‘ I told her that I was looking for a female vocalist or a girl to work on music with.

[ Audio: How they met and the reason behind having a female vocalist on Sleigh Bells. ]

> Did you always have it in your mind that you wanted a female vocalist?
DM: Yes, for like almost 5 years.

> Any particular reason?
DM: I just prefer female vocalists, it’s just more interesting for me.  A lot of times I’m just less interested in what guys are singing about for some reason. I’m much pickier with guys, I guess it just depends on the genre. In hip-hop they’re usually less vulnerable sounding, but if it’s something rock oriented then feelings get involved. I just get a little weird like…guys talking about their feelings. [all laugh] I don’t wanna sound like an asshole but it’s just harder to get into it.

> I read that you’re a teacher is that that true?
AK: No I’m not teaching anymore, I did a program called Teach for America for 2 years.

A lot of times I’m just less interested in what guys are singing about for some reason… I just get a little weird like…guys talking about their feelings. – Derek Miller

> What did you teach?
AK: I taught fourth grade bilingual [Spanish.]  Most of my kids were new arrivals to the country so I was in the Bronx. I did that right after I graduated, then met Derek in the summer between my two years. I kinda made the decision in January of this year that I was not going to go back, but instead pursue other things and just work on Sleigh Bells full time.  And here I am.

Sleigh Bells at Market Hotel 10.23.09

> That’s awesome! I actually learned about you from a friend who put on the Hype Machine showcase at Santos…
DM: Abbey?

> Yeah, do you guys know her?
DM: Yeah we just met Abbey through Sasha Frere-Jones (Music writer for The New Yorker) who is friends with her. He was pretty much our very first interview, first dude we talked to, first guy who contacted us and was into the band. So yeah we met up with him and he asked if we had any reference photos for the New Yorker. We were like “We don’t have anything, we just have an  illustration of Alexis with a bandana that wont help.” He was like “Maybe my friend Abbey can come,” so she came to a show and that’s how we met.
AK: She’s been amazing, she’s been there like every step along the way…
DM: She’s super-cool.

> So we’re among friends! When she first told me about Sleigh Bells, I was like “is it S-L-A-Y Bells or…?” [all laugh]
AK: That’s a popular question!
DM: That’s the first thing people ask and they’re kinda let down when I’m like “Sorry it’s S-L-E-I-G-H.” The joke is when  you say it, phonetically it sounds like S-L-A-Y. That woulda been too much.

> How many shows have you played together so far?
AK & DM: 6 or 7…
AK: We didn’t start playing until I finished teaching until…we started practicing all through the summer. Our first show was September 2nd at Union Pool. It was nice, a benefit show with the Midnight Masses.

[ Audio: Sleigh Bells on CMJ ]

> Having just started in September, were you a little overwhelmed about being a buzz band at CMJ?
DM: Honestly I wasn’t thinking it in terms of…I know with CMJ that’s the purpose, we just randomly booked these shows. Abbey offered us to play the Santos thing–
AK: A week before.
DM: I was just like “Oh I guess all these bands are playing CMJ. We’ll play a show or 2 shows.” I didn’t think it’d be significant, it sounds like bullshit..if that was the case I’d tell you but it really seemed like it’d come and go. Our friend Kristen put on the ABC Amplified thing. It’s not like we were there playing the Fader Fort, they were just smaller, off to the side showcases not the big time showcases.
AK: I definitely did not go in thinking “buzz band.” We literally got those shows a week before and we were shocked like “what!”

> Did you see any shows at CMJ or did you just play and that was it?
AK to DM: You went to some shows…
DM: My friends from Florida are in Surfer Blood, so I saw them a couple of times.

> They played a million times!
AK: I think 2.5 was like the average shows per day. But yeah, just the bands we really played with, I didnt really go out. I was simultaneously planning this teaching workshop so I was a bit stressed out. It’s kind of the last thing you wanna do after being in a venue all day.

> I was curious after hearing your songs, are those mastered tracks or rough cuts?
DM: No, we actually just put up a thing on our MySpace. There have been so many people asking if they could buy them somewhere or if they’ll be on iTunes. They’re not now and will never be for sale because they’re just demos, they’re not mixed properly. I mixed everything on headphones which is rule #1: You never mix on headphones. I don’t even own monitors. So yeah we’re gonna definitely re-record everything plus a bunch of new songs for a full-length. Either late this year or early next year.

> We saw M.I.A. and Spike Jonze at your show. How did you get noticed by such renowned creative luminaries?
DM: Our friend Molly wrote for Spike Jonze’s blog for Where the Wild Things Are, and wrote about the music there. So that’s how Sasha got it and then Spike Jonze got it as well from her and played it for Maya. And then Maya wrote us and then since we’ve just…

> You just got an email from her? Was it all in CAPS like her blog? [all laugh]
DM: Yeah! [laughs] She’s a friend now, she’s just cool. It’s just very odd because it was not expected and I’m just a huge fan.
AK: It’s crazy. She’s so likable and you get this comfortable feeling around her, she’s a friend.

> Yeah she’s very friendly. Before we talked to you at Market Hotel I told her I was going to interview you guys.
AK: Yeah that’s who she is consistently.
DM: She’s definitely a very real person.

…Every time I’m singing on a track or anytime I do something I’m no longer me. I’m more of a character of myself. – Alexis Krauss

> So what kind of music did you listen to before pairing for Sleigh Bells?
DM: We definitely don’t have a reference genre, whatever I can dig up from whatever decade that sounds good…that’s the only criteria.
AK: It’s pretty diverse. I was on a whole soul, 60′s kick.
DM: I listen to a lot of Motown, current stuff, hip hop. Probably the same thing a lot of people are listening to now, people are no longer restricted to regions because of the internet.

> Ring Ring has a lot of soul elements, but then Beach Girls …I just love that song! –
AK: We’ll play it next show! [all laugh -- I previously bugged them for not playing it at Market Hotel.]
DM: There’s going to be a new version. It’s definitely going to have all of those same elements but I have all these other ideas…it’s just going to be so heavy and so great. I’m putting these horns on it, it’s still going to have those lazer annoying [white noise] but I’m really stoked to do that one.

> How true to the current sound do you plan to be?
DM: We’re going to retain a lot of the blown out aspects of the sounds for sure. Musically or instrumentally and vocally it’s going to be a lot cleaner, I don’t want the vocals to be quite as distorted.
AK: Because that was done out of necessity, we really want that sort of shiny clean feeling.
DM: I had trouble mixing it. With Crown to the Ground for example, the music is so distorted and the vocals were so clean that it wasn’t sitting in the mix. A quick solution was to put some distortion on the vocals so it would gel, but that’s just sort of a cheap fix. The answer is just mixing it correctly.

> Did you have any formal training in production/recording?
DM: None whatsoever, I don’t and still don’t know what I’m doing. The vocals for Infinity Guitars [were recorded with Alexis] yelling into the internal mic [points at his laptop.]
AK: Very bare bones. [laughs]
DM: With a lot of bands the method is supposed to be a statement but not for us, those were just the resources we had available to us. I just can’t wait to get into the studio and see the songs through.

> Going back to Beach Girls, when I listen to it I can barely understand anything you’re saying. Was that intentional or was that too done out of necessity?
DM: The delay just added an eerie quality to it that worked, but yeah I wish that people could could hear the lyrics
AK: There’s a story to it..
DM: There’s a narrative and it sounds vapid like “Did I forget my sunglasses? Got ‘em!” But the story is this: She’s at the beach and it’s horrible. There’s like kids drowning and getting nosebleeds. I keep using David Lynch as a reference for that because it’s slick and shiny like Blue Velvet or something. Thinking of the opening sequence. But it’s just…something’s really –
AK: OFF! [all laugh]
DM: This is a weird reference but like the Soundgarden video Black Hole Sun. The smiles are really fucking big.
AK: Yeah I totally pictured that with Beach Girls.
DM: You can’t hear the fucking lyrics so it’s our fault, I like that one live when the bass drops I’m like “YEAH!”

[ Audio: Sleigh Bells' Alexis discusses her singing background ]

> It comes back like four times in that song! Alexis, what is your experience like being onstage?
AK: I spent a lot of time doing session singing so I used to think of myself as an actress when I would sing. I almost like thinking of singing as being that, every time I’m singing on a track or anytime I do something I’m no longer me. I’m more of a character of myself. I feel like I could turn it on *snaps* whenever.
DM: As opposed to it being deeply –
AK: Some people are like “Oh but you should [take it deeply]“ but that’s just my experience with being a singer. My dad is a full-time musician so I started doing theatre at a young age. I had tons of vocal lessons but because my father is such a good pop and R&B soul singer, it was important to me that I didn’t become a Broadway-singing voice. I’ve been singing pop since I was 13 and for me it’s just been my sound and what I like singing. This neighborhood breeds so many projects and you just get too many people who have no idea how to use their voice –
DM: Having to switch from shouting to singing falsetto, it wouldn’t work without someone who knew what they’re doing.
AK: That’s another thing I love about his ideas because it’s incredibly versatile, as a singer I get to explore different options.
DM: Blushing.

The only other band I was in was this girl teen pop group, it was my 13-16 year old life! – Alexis Krauss

> Do you plan on touring more, or are you gonna focus on making new music?
DM: The next month or 2, we’ll just play around here a bunch and write new songs. We’ve talked to some people about touring next year already but nothing’s confirmed. It’s great to have people come [to our shows] because they want to hear the music as opposed to just our friends.
AK: We feel like we got that at The Market Hotel, it was really exciting.

[ Audio: Sleigh Bells discussing performance styles and the necessity to be versatile ]

> The Santos show was really different than The Market Hotel one.
AK: [The Santos show] was super fast and it was 3:15 PM, it was mostly industry people. I mean you have to be able to do both be able to give a good show either way, but when you have that interaction and energy we had on Friday night it brings it to a whole new level.

> Your performance was so different, you were like going crazy!
AK: You just get this like [flails around]
DM: We kept saying it felt like a hardcore show. She grew up going to hardcore shows and I played in a hardcore band forever. It felt like very natural, kind of like what I imagined it to be. With the first show we were so stiff and it was just terrifying really.
AK: We’ve come along way! [laughs]

> Were you in other bands before this, Alexis?
AK: The only other band I was in was this girl teen pop group, it was my 13-16 year old life! [all laugh]
DM: Awesome actually, for real.
AK: From there I went onto college and started doing session singing, but I really built my performance chops doing weddings. I worked for a big wedding company as cliche and funny as it sounds, with a big band. I sang everything from standards to Beyonce to AC/DC. A huge range and I’d just get out there and have fun. I also used to perform with my dad and his bands.

> Last question, do you plan on touring Europe?
AK: We’d love to!!
DM: We’re talking to booking agents but I’m not sure what we’ll end up doing.

> London will love you guys!
DM: Oh really? I can’t wait to go back to the UK.

> Have you ever been?
AK: No I haven’t unfortunately, can’t wait.

> Well I think that’s all we have for you. Is there anything you’d like to add…put out there?
DM: Just the thanks for coming, thanks for talking to us.