Dean and Britta/Interview

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This interview was conducted on November 9, 2007

WMG Abby: Why choose just Dean and Britta for your group name?

DEAN: Because we are not really a group, we are a duo, who sometimes perform as a group.

BRITTA: Because "Britta Phillips & Dean Wareham" was too long and music stores had difficulty filing it (which made it difficult for people to find).

WMG: How's it like being independent artists?

DEAN: There are certainly nice things about being on an independent label instead of a major. Nobody asking where the hit single is all the time. And we retain ownership of everything we do now.

WMG: What does your music sound like?

BRITTA:' Our music is beautiful, sad, strange, and sexy.

WMG:Who are your main musical influences?

DEAN: It's hard to tell at this point, after making records for 20 years. Hopefully you reach a point where you just sound like yourself.

BRITTA: They vary. At times I only listen to cinematic composers like John Barry and Morricone. At other times I'm into country-pop stuff like Johnny Cash & June Carter, Lee Hazlewood & Nancy Sinatra, Buddy Holly....or disco and electronic (Giorgio Moroder, Eno, Madonna)....or soul-pop (Dusty Springfield, Nina Simone, Sam Cooke)...or folk (Donovan, Dylan, Judy Henske). And we like to sing duets sometimes (Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin).

WMG: Has there been any changes in your lives recently that had you decided to pursue music?

BRITTA: Well, both of us have been making music for over 15 years now.

WMG: How do you deal with popularity now that you have a growing fan base?

DEAN: It hasn't been a problem. Maybe once in a while some drunk guy asks too many questions.

WMG: What was it like releasing your first album: L' Avventura?

DEAN: It was liberating making it as a duo, instead of as a rock and roll quartet.

BRITTA: It was very exciting, but we were not able to do a tour then because we had to record another Luna record.

WMG: How did you create the right sound for the record?

DEAN: Sometimes we used candles, and sometimes we used electricity.

BRITTA: Dean's guitar-playing is always recognizable and defines much of our sound. Tony Visconti wrote some gorgeous string arrangements (I helped with one) and did a beautiful job mixing "L'Avventura." The OmniChord was also a big part of the sound of this album.

WMG: I really enjoyed your song "Ginger Snaps". Tell me how did you get the inspiration for that song?

DEAN: I sampled a drum beat from someone else's song, and started playing around with the Q-Chord (like an Omnichord). It's a good songwriting tool. And then I made lists of strange noun-verb idioms, like ginger snaps, Niagara falls, kitchen sinks. Somehow it turned into a coherent song.

WMG: Any particular favorite from all the songs you have written?

DEAN: "Tugboat," "Moon Palace," "The Sun Is Still Sunny."

BRITTA: I haven't written nearly as many songs as Dean, but my favorite songs that I've written are "Your Baby," & "Singer, Sing. My favorite songs that Dean has written are "Ginger Snaps" and "Words You Used To Say."

WMG: How would you deal if you were criticized by another musician?

BRITTA: That would depend on who it was and if I respect them, musically. But I'm very happy with what we are doing, so, while criticism might annoy me or hurt my feelings a little, ultimately, it doesn't really matter much.

DEAN: I criticize other musicians all the time, so I couldn't object. Our music is not for everybody so many people are allowed to dislike it.

WMG: Any gigs going on?

BRITTA: We will be on tour from November 23 to December 7th. Mostly in Germany, but also, Paris, Denmark and Switzerland. The dates are on our websites: www.deanandbritta.com & www.myspace.com/deanandbritta We will tour the US again in February 2008.

WMG: Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?

BRITTA: Still making records. Perhaps I'll also have my own clothing line and own an apartment in NYC and Berlin.

DEAN: Professor of Musicology at the New School in New York, teaching a seminar on Magic and Coincidence in Indie Rock.

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