Foto-© Sandra Ebert

Als die Mitglieder von Adult DVD erstmals mit Synthesizern experimentierten, ahnten sie nicht, wohin sie dieser kreative Ausflug führen würde. Heute steht die Band aus Leeds bei Fat Possum Records unter Vertrag und veröffentlicht am kommenden Freitag mit ihrem selbstbetitelten Debütalbum eine Platte, die elektronische Euphorie mit kantiger Hardcore-Energie verbindet. In Eigenregie in den The Nave Studios in Leeds produziert, kreist das Album um die Idee, loszulassen und das Leben nicht allzu ernst zu nehmen.

Dabei verwischt Adult DVD immer wieder die Grenzen zwischen Fiktion und Realität, ohne den Blick für das Wesentliche zu verlieren. Aus dem Spannungsfeld zwischen Alltagsbeobachtungen und dem Chaos des modernen Lebens entstehen Songs, die gleichermaßen schräg und nahbar wirken. Auch live hat sich die sechsköpfige Band längst einen Namen gemacht: Mit turbulenten Shows und einer mitreißenden Bühnenpräsenz zählt Adult DVD zu den spannendsten neuen Acts des Jahres. Wir trafen Sänger Harry Hanson von der Band beim Haldern Pop Festival vor ihrem Auftritt.

Can you give me a short description of Adult DVDs origin story? I suppose you all grew up together in Leeds?
Yeah, well I’m the only one from Leeds but everyone lives in Leeds and then we met there. I used to work at a venue behind the bar and that’s how I met Greg and then we started making music together and then before we knew it, there were six people.

Did any of you have a formal musical education, or was it more a case of learning by doing?
Yeah, I mean, three of us got a degree in music production.

So you studied in Leeds?
Yeah. I didn’t really use mine too well, but Danny and Jake are very good at it. I’m an idiot with it, but I passed. Just.

How did you experience the music scene in Leeds?
Leeds is great because it is super small and there’s a lot of venues for how small the place is. Because of that, there’s like a real community. There’s lots of different music and a lot of people supporting each other. So yeah, it’s great for music, definitely.

Do you think growing up there shaped your sound in any way – that would’ve been different if you, let’s say – formed in London?
Yeah, I mean, I’m from Leeds and I’ve lived in here all my life, so I don’t actually know any different. I know London bands, I know bands from all over. And I think Leeds has a sound. I think now there’s a lot more electronic music coming out of Leeds. So yeah, I guess that’s influenced all that, for sure.

Your self-titled debut album is coming out September 25th on Fat Possum Records. Do you think listeners will be surprised by any aspect of the album?
The album is kind of split into two because our music generally is that kind of guitar and kind of dance music. It’s one extreme to the other on the album. We have more time and more tracks to really go into the dance or more into the indie (side). I guess people will be shocked by that, but it definitely still sounds like Adult DVD. I think it’s just a continuation, really.

You’ve described the album as being about taking life less seriously and wanting to make music for people to enjoy and have a laugh. Why was this important to explore on this album?
I think because our music is not very serious and we’re not very serious people and when we play live it’s not very serious. I think an album should reflect that (…) I mean music’s escapism, isn’t it? So, I think people should just come and let loose and enjoy the record as they do when they come and see us live.

Do you think humor and satire can sometimes be a more effective way of commenting on society than just stating cold facts?
As in how we make stories and stuff, you mean? Yeah, definitely. I mean, we can poke fun a lot easier, and then no one knows; no one gets too offended.

Do you think there’s something distinctly British about your sense of humor? Have you observed any differences in how audiences abroad connect with it – or is it roughly the same?
Yeah, I’ve had to do like American interviews and had to do Japanese interviews and because I’m quite sarcastic and dry humored and so (..) they just nod politely, which is sweet.

Your lyrics often focus on people living on the fringes or characters with unusual habits and ideologies. What attracts you to those kinds of outsider stories?
Because it’s the best business model we could make because we can never run out of ideas, we can always make money, we can always write songs. That was a joke, by the way.

Are any of the album characters based on real people you’ve met?
Yeah, definitely, but they don’t know they’re about them.

How would you describe your album to someone who’s never heard your music?
I think if you’re going to listen to the record, just don’t expect it to be a serious thing. Don’t deep it. None of the lyrics are written from our point of view. So, if I sound like a ******** on the record, that’s not actually my opinion.

On your song Coffin Dodger you talk about attending your own funeral. Bit morbid, but as someone who has also thought about that – what would be on your own funeral playlist?
I think it’d just be a straight up rave to be honest. I think you’d have Prodigy, Chemical Brothers, Paranoid London, just a lot of acid house, but like at the wrong times, like you know, when the coffin’s getting brought down. 160 BPM.

In World’s Best Boss, you list all the things you would steal from your non-fulfilling job. From all the things you listed, I would probably steal the ‚comfortable compostable Friends themed matching mouse mat and coaster with next day shipping‘. What would you take from that list?
Definitely the electric soft top rose gold Fiat 500. I think it’d be hilarious to drive one of those around. It also doesn’t mean I have to put any equipment in the car because it wouldn’t fit.

Which song from the album are you most excited to play live?
Rolling Face is out next week and we’ve been playing that for a while. That’s my favorite song of the record. I’m really excited for that to come out. Playing that live has been nuts.