Scissor Sisters

Pop music has exploded, in an edgy, sexy, supremely tuneful commotion – thanks to the uncommonly brilliant sounds of the Scissor Sisters. Creative sparks first ignited five years ago, when a then 19-year-old explosion of energy called Jake Shears was introduced to a multi-instrumentalist who goes by the title of Babydaddy. Both fired up by a passion for solid song writing and off-the-wall humour joined forces to write hook-studded tunes, adopted NYC as their home – and agreed on a cheeky name that has caused much confusion and provoked many blushes in turn. “None of us are lesbians, though,” say Scissor Sisters, helpfully. Scissor Sisters bring together impetuous guitar riffs, pounding synths and a whole bunch of wicked lyrics to top it all off. Their influences bounce through glimmers of vintage Bowie, Roxy Music and Elton John, to Giorgio Moroder, burlesque theatre, and rock opera. Music this flashy could only be matched with a compelling live performance. Before they were honing their studio skills, the Scissor Sisters were whipping up a storm with their shows. In fact, in Barcelona not long ago, one impressed spectator even went as far as to describe their show as “a life-changing experience.” In college, Jake majored in Fiction Writing, which is reflected in numbers like the catchy glam rock groove of their debut single, “Laura,” which weaves feature-length stories through song orchestration. Sometimes, it sounds like they’re partying hard on cheap champagne and at other times, the moods are down beat and beautifully wistful; dubbed as 'radio-friendly soundtracks for the morning after.' It was on the New York live circuit that the original duo teamed up with a third full-time Scissor Sister: performance artist Ana Matronic, the hostess of a decadent cabaret show in the Lower East Side who’d learned her magic on the San Francisco scene. “She’s tough, amazing, glamorous…” the boys rave. She first met Jake at a Halloween party, where she’d dressed as a Warhol Factory reject, and he was in the guise of ‘a back-alley abortion.’ She recalls: “We both took one look at each other and thought: ‘Hey, you’re cool!!’” Scissor Sisters went on to make their debut live appearance at Ana’s club in late 2001, and the stately lady has since been a fixture at their shows, where the trio are joined by charismatic friends Del Marquis on guitar and Patrick Seacor on drums. Lending her own crisp tones to record, Ana neatly sums up the outfit’s stance: “What we do is about people displaying their fantasies on the outside, trying to break out of the everyday, and look like their dreams.” It’s little wonder that The Village Voice acclaimed the Scissor Sisters as “a rock unit who aren’t afraid to play disco;” another surefire highlight of their repertoire has them reworking Pink Floyd’s prog rock rehab classic “Comfortably Numb” into a full-blown bootylicious disco anthem, with Jake skilfully providing Bee Gees styled vocals (“I’ve always loved singing in falsetto!”) and a “Frankie Says Relax” retro twist. Perhaps the fusion shouldn’t work, but they genuinely make the song their own, and with substantial flair! “Pop should be meaningful again – it shouldn’t be a dirty word. We’re not making fun of anything we do, and there’s no way we’re going to sound manufactured. Our songs are accessible enough to break through barriers…” says Jake. Babydaddy adds: “Of course we love the dance floor, but a nice melange of influences is always going to take you someplace new. From the very beginning, we were saying: ‘Let’s make this larger-than-life.’” And so it is. With three unmistakably individual and attitude-packed New Yorkers at the core, Scissor Sisters’ mission to inject ground shaking fun back into pop culture has just got to be big. Cutting edge has never sounded more irresistibly decadent.