StyledOn Meets The Suzan
Tap It!
By Emily Kropp
in Culture Features
on November 01, 2010
We got up close and personal with our latest girl crush and music obsession, The Suzan – and you'll want to too!
Last Thursday I had the chance to sit down with Japanese girl rockers The Suzan at ACE Bar in the East Village for a quick chat and some fun and games. They seemed ready to get things started and get the standard questions (“Who are your influences?” “What was your inspiration?”) over and done with, and who could blame them? With the recent CMJ music festival behind them and only one more performance in New York before heading back to Tokyo, they must have been exhausted. Their debut release on Fool's Gold Records, "Golden Week for the Poco Poco Beat," is in stores now, but the girls have more work to do once they get back to Japan, adding a few bonus tracks and making some tweaks for their home-town audience.
When I took a detour from the more standard line of questioning and asked if the girls would be dressing up for Halloween, Nico piped up and said she was thinking of going as Beyonce. I suggested that Rie, Ikue and Saori go as Jay-Z, Kanye and P. Diddy, respectively – and by the laughs I got for that one, I could tell they were starting to relax a bit. The rest of our evening consisted of a skee-ball and darts lesson, where-d’you-get-that outfit crushing (the ladies favor American Apparel and H&M), and more Beyonce jokes.
The Suzan’s debut album is the kind of addictive pop-rock you can’t get out of your head in a good way, including xylophone ditties, old school electro-organ riffs, cowbell, and lots of other juicy, underused sounds, thanks in part to their producer Bjorn Yttling of Peter, Bjorn and John. Their first single, "Home," was a big hit during New York Fashion Week, making appearances on multiple runway playlists. They’ve also turned out a couple of very smart, impressive covers in the last few weeks, including Kanye’s “Paranoid,” and The Strokes’ “Take It Or Leave It” (download both below). The girls named 70s punk, indie all-stars like Elliott Smith, and the Beatles as favorites, but when I asked who they would most like to work with one day, they immediately said Kanye. With their talent, enthusiasm, and style savvy, Mr. West would be lucky to count them among his cohorts.
Download:
The Suzan "Paranoid" (Kanye West cover)
The Suzan "Take It Or Leave It" (The Strokes cover)
Pick up "Golden Week for the Poco Poco Beat" on iTunes or Amazon.com.
Getting fierce with The Suzan outside of ACE Bar.
What music are you obsessed with lately?
2 Comments
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MarielleMurphy • over 1 year ago
totally diggin' this. you rocked it girrrrrl! -
hannpark05 • over 1 year ago
I'm loving their Strokes cover--this was a really fun read!