PNAU or never! Josh Brown Life is currently pretty sweet for Nick Littlemore, the shaggy-haired frontman of Sydney-based dance outfit PNAU. He is a man in extremely high demand. When not busy packing out dancefl oors across the globe to the groovy tunes of his group’s hugely successful recent eponymous album, Littlemore spends his time collaborating with a diverse range of artists. Emerging Kiwi new wave sensation Ladyhawke, phenomenal Sleepy Jackson vocalist Luke Steele and the Rocket Man himself, Sir Elton John, have all crossed musical paths with Littlemore in the past year. Littlemore somehow managed to find a tiny slice of time in his busy schedule to write to BMA about lyrical meanings, touring and relocating to the UK. Commencing triple j’s Hottest 100 this year with a bang, Wild Strawberries is a psychedelic ode to, er, well, it’s not very clear. With hard to decipher lyrics like “I’d rather go and pick some of those wild… strawberries! Come pick ’em up”, Littlemore offers an explanation behind the meaning of the song. “It’s a fun song about finding something that changes the way you see things,” Littlemore elaborates. “To enter a new space like playing on the fields of the nephilim [offspring of humans and sons of god mentioned in the Bible, according to Wikipedia. WTF?]. Most of our songs are based in reality but get twisted somewhere along the way and always with a hint of sexuality or humanity,” he continues. One of the most popular tracks from 2007’s PNAU, Embrace teams Littlemore and partner Peter Mayes with Pip Brown, otherwise known as New Zealand’s own electropop star Ladyhawke. The result is a match made in heaven. With its booty shaking-inducing beat and soaring chorus, Littlemore tells me that Embrace is a song about love. “It’s a duplicitous song – (about) both the love for a friend and the greater love for the world outside,” he offers. “In those moments when you seek the night out and your energy levels rise from nowhere to take you on a flight beyond imagination.” All Aussie Pnau fans will be sad to hear that Littlemore and Mayes have now relocated to the other side of the world and have set up shop in the UK. “London is our home now,” Littlemore confirms. To avoid homesickness, the pair packed “our cases full of cuddly koalas and seafood.” Who knows how they managed to slip that past Customs! “Over here we can drive to the top of the UK and then drive to France the next morning,” Littlemore says when asked to expand on the benefits of living in the mother country. “The world over here is much closer together than what we have experienced in Australia. There are more people over here so there are greater collections of things like art and artifacts,” he says, revealing his fondness for European culture. “Also shows that won’t come to Australia are on here every other week.”
“Being around real artists (like Elton John) is like going to university. 'Caus in this biz, you can't train in an institution, it's all street knowledge.” Another advantage to living in the UK for the Pnau boys is being in close proximity to one of their biggest fans, Sir Elton John. John reportedly became a fan of the band after hearing tracks from PNAU. He then proceeded to sing the album’s praises to many in the UK music industry, including the Scissor Sisters and Lily Allen. Littlemore is humbly appreciative of the support from one of the UK’s biggest recording artists. “All I have seen from Sir Elton is support and kindness,” he says gratefully. “The will to create is extremely strong within him and we have been lucky enough to learn much more about this enigmatic man,” Littlemore reveals. “Being around real artists (like John) is like going to university. ’Cause in this biz you can’t train in an institution, it’s all street knowledge.” The future is looking bright for Littlemore. His chilled out and dreamy collaboration with Luke Steele, Empire of the Sun, is fast gaining momentum and Pnau have been playing to packed crowds the world over for most of this year. Littlemore will also perform in Canberra under the Pnau moniker as part of the insanely awesome Foreshore lineup in late November. As for the future, Littlemore and Mayes are currently working on material for their next album. “It sounds like Burt Bacharach. All lovely piano and melancholy,” he confides. “The music will reach the people when the time is right, that’s all I can say,” he adds mysteriously. If the sound of songs like Wild Strawberries and Embrace is anything to go by, Pnau’s performance at Foreshore will be anything but melancholy. Expect a dance riot! PNAU play at Foreshore on Saturday November 29. Joining them will be The Presets, Sasha, Above & Beyond, Dukes of Windsor, Galvatrons, 16 Bit Lolitas, Skool of Thought, Mission Control, Kazu Kimura, and many more. Final release tickets are $89.95+bf from Ticketek, moshtix, Landspeed Records, Parliament Clothing and www.inthemix.com