Loverboy spent the past weekend in Berlin. We went to see a DJ whose message is all about love, relationships and friendship that lasts forever. Awww…
Except Berlin was giving us anything but that during our visit. The city was tough, cold and unapologetic. We were experiencing a lot of emotions during our first day and none of them were love. That was until we hit play on ADULT.‘s new album, Becoming Undone. Intense, industrial and at times uncomfortable, this album was the perfect soundtrack for the city. We fell in love with Berlin right there on the U-Bahn.
Based in Detroit, Nicola Kuperus & Adam Lee Miller combine punk with techno and have been producing their stellar-synth, dystopic discography for the past twenty-five years. Having recorded previous work during periods of sensory deprivation in their basement and then inviting subsequent collaborators to come live with them, ADULT. found themselves making Becoming Undone during lockdown.
Loverboy spoke with Adam about playing London venues with rats, performing at Folsom Street Fair and how Nicola may or may not have made up dance routines to Mariah in high school.
Adam, you’ve made previous albums sensory-deprived in your basement and by inviting collaborators to come stay for three week residencies. During Becoming Undone you weren’t allowed to leave the house due to lockdown. What effect did this lack of control over the situation have on what you created?
That is very interesting. We never thought of that before. In the past we controlled the different variables regarding our approach to album writing, but yes you are right we did not have the control in this decision. We would say the fact that we weren’t able to leave didn’t have as much of an effect on the album (since we often write in isolation) it as was all the turmoil that was going on in the world between the pandemic and the idiotic ex president and his election lies and the insurrection on the US Capitol. There was so much uncertainty that you really had to navigate emotionally to be in the right headspace to create.
You have a rule where a song must be completed in 2-3 days or it is left as it is. With an unknown amount of time trapped at home, was this rule adapted?
Not a song – but a demo – a demo must be completed in 2-3 days. So on our album This Behavior we wrote 23 demos each one with a maximum of 2 to 3 days for each demo. But yes, you are correct, we did not do that on the new album because we knew there was more time and we also always like to have a different approach on each album so that we do not have a formula.
For me being actively creative during lockdown was very hard. My brain needed to be force-fed distractions and I didn’t care how brain-rotting, like Below Deck. Gross. Was there anything you watched/read/consumed that you now find shaming and would like to share with us?!
That’s private – haha!
Before discovering Adult. my knowledge of Detroit Techno has been Theo Parrish, Moodymann, Waajeed but I feel you are different ends of the same genre. Do your two paths cross?
Detroit Techno in the early 90s was a major force for Adam and his growth from punk rock and industrial into a new kind of sound. Early Detroit Techno is so original and so intense – it is a major influence for the both of us. Interestingly enough we just met Waajeed about a month ago and got along swimmingly and we’ve been trying to make dinner plans since, but now we are on tour!
How do all those northern UK industrial cities like Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester compare with the US industrial cities? Do you have more of an affinity for them than say London or Bristol?
There is a definite similarity with those three cities to cities like Detroit, Chicago and Cleveland. We do like playing a dirty industrial city but I have to say that in London this time there were rats in the venue so it was not posh! Haha.
You’re touring with Plack Blague at the moment. Where did you guys meet? What does his dressing room smell of?
Plack Blague is from Lincoln, Nebraska. In 2006, Ross was promoting shows there and contacted our booking agent and we agreed to play there. We got along right away and stayed the night with Ross and Loren and became good friends ever since. I think you can guess what the dressing room smells like – Roses!
Do you have fun memories of Folsom Street Fair?
Yes, we are so happy to have been invited to play Folsom Street Fair two different times. I remember the first time, it was a surprisingly very hot and sunny day in San Francisco and so everyone was lined up on one side of the street to be in the shade as we were setting up and we’re talking thousands of people and we were really nervous that people weren’t going to come out from the shade and dance. We start the first song and one guy came out who was wearing nothing but TiVos and a cock ring. He started dancing and then everyone came out of the shade and it was a great party. On the show we did in 2018 at Folsom it was really crazy because we had played a massive festival in Mexico City the night before I got no sleep flew to San Francisco and by the time we were set up behind the stage and ready to go on we only had an extra 20 minutes so it was very stressful. The band L7 was the headliner and we are both very big fans and it was really exciting to see them on the side of the stage headbanging while we perform!
Have you played other alternative queer nights?
Our very first show in San Francisco in 2001 was at San Francisco’s oldest gay bar RAWHIDE – it was great!
You are both huge Visage fans. What did you think when you first heard this? I love both!
And yes of course we are huge fans of Visage! We are not familiar with the video you sent us. Sorry.Americans pronounce adult as an adjective, Brits as a noun. I think an adjective feels darker and more fitting for ADULT. I wondered how you saw it as an adjective or a noun?It is a complete thought, thus the period at the end. We wanted something generic in nature, something that the music would fuse into the name, not that the name would somehow try to describe the sound. We also thought band names like Sonic Youth were problematic as a band aged. Then we were playing one of our favorite records – Soft Cell’s Non Stop Ecstatic Dancing – and the image on the back gave us the idea.Lastly Loverboy is named after the biggest-selling single of 2001. So we always ask what is your favourite Mariah Carey song/story/moment?
Nicola had dance routines she made up in High School to Mariah Carey.
The album Becoming Undone is out now. Order here.
