My experience of Brazilian troupe Cansei De Ser Sexy ended with drunken singer Lovefoxxx throwing her mic stand into a sweaty, ravenous audience who were begging for an encore. “I’m sorry I am very drunk tonight – I can’t help it, it is true! Thank you England for your beer, your mushrooms and your hot hot boys!” Several hours earlier, not knowing quite what to expect, the story begins with a cautious handshake from bass player Ira, one fifth of CSS’s female contingent, and an interview strained over the noise of sound-checking in Portugese. Later on stage she and Lovefoxx are joined by fellow femmes fatales Ana, Carolina and Luiza – together they are spunky latino chicas embodying the very spirit of the band. Moustachioed Adriano, like an older brother, is clearly the brains behind the operation as co-singer/songwriter, producer and master of all instruments. If the sound of their sassy, fun electro-pop hasn’t yet won you over, take a harder look at the cheeky lyrics. We challenge you not to be intrigued by a band singing about Paris Hilton, art tits and art holes with a straight face…
How did CSS meet?
We got together in September of 2003, we were just a bunch of friends, we used to see each other every night. We used to have other bands and then I started calling everyone and asked to start a band, to start rehearsing. Anything, just for the music that we like not any kind of music specifically. So we just started getting together and rehearsing at Adriano's studio, he had a rehearsal space in Sao Paulo. We just used to spend four hours doing whatever. That was the beginning.
What is it like to perform in Sao Paulo?
Actually there's not that much of a scene. There's some small clubs that we used to play a lot and most of them are smaller than the places we are used to playing in Britain. People there go crazy and we have lots of friends, lots of teenagers. I suppose the best gigs for us were gigs that were not nightclubs but some venues that were close to the subway and finish early so people could take the train and go there and go home. There's a place called Hangar110 and it's a really traditional punk place from the 70s that still has a good sound system and furniture. It’s a really nice place, there are some good people. We used to play there, some of the best gigs that we played in Sao Paulo.
Where does the name Cansei De Ser Sexy come from?
The name came from Lovefoxxx, she was checking the email and then she saw this thumbnail kind of thing that Beyonce was tired of being sexy. She thought it was the stupidest thing for her to say - she loves it, she is sexy, period. Lovefoxxx thought it would be this retarded name. Then we were like, “let’s do the worst song ever and lets do the worst things ever” and then it kind of stuck.
Your backgrounds are in art, cinema, graphic design and fashion. How does art differ to making music?
It really works when you are a small band and you have to do everything for yourself. If you were an independent band in Sao Paulo, your record label doesn't take care of anything for you. Even after we were signed we still did pretty much everything we needed to do. Lovefoxxx designed the graphics for the album and I take care of the graphics for the T-Shirts that we sell at gigs. Luiza is our director, she takes pictures of all the tours. She is making a video diary, filming everything like memories.
How do you write music together?
Well we have a weird kind of way. Mainly Adriano writes the melody and Lovefoxxx does the lyrics. At rehearsal we always change everything, moving with the music. It is half a work by Adriano and Lovefoxxx and half a band thing. Everybody puts in everything we like to the music. We all like so many things - each of us have different things. Adriano, he is older than us so he likes lots of older things, but Lovefoxx likes new things, she's always looking for it. I really like post punk 70s bands. I don't know, all of us have different tastes.
How did SubPop find out about you?
When we were signed to our Brazilian label our international manager took care of it. He sent our record to several labels in Europe and the US - the most enthusiastic one was SubPop. We were really happy, we love SubPop and we like their work. It was like a dream come true. They are really special people too, we really like them as friends.
How do you like the UK?
I love the UK. I love London, and also Glasgow. I went to Scotland once when I was a teenager. I went to Edinburgh, never Glasgow. But when I went there it was so good, people there are really friendly. It is warmer and more human than London. But I love London. London is a really interesting scene. It really has a weight of tradition. My other favourite place in the world is New York but it doesn't have this tradition, so I really like to go to London to see this.
How do you keep your spirits up on tour?
We like nice food, we like to go to restaurants a lot. We drink a lot too! We try to keep a good mood and try to make fun with anything. We are really goofy!
Of the songs on the current album, which songs most sum up CSS?
I don't know. I really like ‘Alcohol’ – the song. Hahaha also to drink yes, but the song ‘Alcohol’. One of the most representative in my opinion is ‘Alala’. It is a weird song, like loud and almost a noise. When you listen to it live it is almost a noise. The guitars are really edgy.
‘Let’s Make Love (& Listen to Death From Above)’ is released on 14th May.
Words: Charlotte Dunckley