MONDRIAN/SUCKING LEMONS

"Parisian band Mondrian talk us through their five favourite albums.

Beach House - Teen Dream

Another turning point for Mondrian! Despite the number of rave reviews and overrated buzz, this album remains for us one of our favorites in 2010. Raw rhythms, carefully produced synth… and a voice which takes off the songs: soft, evanescent, dreamlike. Chimeric Reine de Saba. There’s nothing to say about this album or yes, something, one word: PERFECTION.

Andrew Bird - Andrew Bird & The Mysterious Production of Eggs 

We discovered him via Bernard Lenoir’s radio show (famous in France). We got a move on to buy tickets for the Elysée Montmartre (place that lately went up in smoke, RIP). Seeing Andrew Bird live was a revelation. His unique use of the loop pedal, his charismatic will of doing everything by himself, even on stage, waahh, it impressed us a lot. We couldn’t get the ‘A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left’ riff out of our heads. Let’s call it like it was, it was a drug. From the top of our 19-year-old-ingenuousness.

Sufjan Stevens - Illinois

A big slap on our first listening. Our first EP Pop Shop is, no doubt about that (http://popmondrian.bandcamp.com/track/love-a-collision), much inspired by Illinois orchestral arrangements (this severe penchant for banjo). Folk period for us both. The Age of Adz left us quite indifferent, cold. Maybe because he strays too far from the universe to which we were accustomed to. Anyway, we’re still big fans of his early discography.

Four Tet - Rounds

For Mondrian, this opus is primordial. We created the band because of Rounds, and thanks to Rounds. Because of this album, we started writing songs on a computer and began to marry traditional sounds to electronica. Kieran managed to find a balance between pop and ambient. We’re getting close to electro/electronica with Mondrian (http://popmondrian.bandcamp.com/track/whippersnapper), we’re not sure if we’re gonna stride along the same roads as Four Tet. Maybe we’re too shy.

The Rapture - Echoes

Still influencing me. Melodically, rhythmically. An upside-down mix of electronica and dance rock. So heady and such groovy moosic. The Clash meeting Aphex Twin. I ask, request, need no more. Timeless achievement. We’d love to catch that same energy on stage. This brainf*** savagery. But maybe, we’re a little too neat for that. “Shy and neat”: a good title for a Mondrian’s definition." = http://suckinglemons.co.uk/2011/05/28/five-a-day-mondrian/