The Golden Filter "We love secrets!"
The Golden Filter follow in a couple of grand pop traditions: they are a girl/boy electro-pop duo “in a Yazoo kind of way” and they understand the power of mystique; their photo blog features pictures of feet, hair, Nick Drake and analogue synths rather than band members Penelope and Stephen. Their surnames are, of course, also hidden from view; they’re a mysterious pair. “We love secrets! Everything is so in your face online that it seemed nice to pull back and let people use their imaginations a bit. It’s more fun for us and perhaps more enigmatic to others.”
The pair met in their home city New York and bonded over a love of photography and cult movies before finding they could also write music together. They christened themselves The Golden Filter moments before uploading their first single, the disco-tinged, Solid Gold, to some blog sites which has since received support from DJ’s like Erol Alkan and Tiga. This in turn has led to them remixing Little Boots and Empire of the Sun. Though they are being courted in dance circles The Golden Filter are much more of a pop outfit though they feel the concept of pop differs in American to in the UK. “We feel like we aren’t accustomed to calling what we do ‘pop’ over here. We feel like we have a lot more in common with Flaming Lips than, say, Lady Ga Ga.” Despite hailing from NY, Penelope grew up in the hippy surrounds of Byron Bay in Australia, which perhaps explains their rather oblique lyrics about following golden foxes, knee-high stockings, vintage chess sets and the like. “During the Age of Aquarius when the hippy movement was taking hold around the world, the Byron area was where it all happened in Australia. So that energy still exists today and affects kids growing up in the area whether or not you search it out.” Not your average pop band then, the Golden Filter are a curious, sparky prospect for 2009.
