“We played the John Peel stage at 5pm and I was still in my pyjamas.” - Stella Mozgawa the situation. It was really entertaining at the time. We had a really early press interview and I just did it in my pyjamas and I didn’t get out of my pyjamas for the rest of the day. We played the John Peel stage at like 5pm that evening and I was still in my pyjamas. I guess I was pretty hungover and couldn’t really be arsed getting changed and the general Warpaint aesthetic at that time was pretty comfortable. But I can’t pull it off as well as Jen can! How well do Warpaint cope with the mud? Pretty good. There seems a pattern of: confusion, acceptance… like the five stages of grieving, except there’s a long, extended period of humour in there as well. Levity, I think. But we’re always pretty well-equipped, thanks to our British managers and label. They know what’s up. We just kinda
turn up like, “Ohhh sneakers no?! OK.” Isn’t it once every four years they take a year off where they have to excavate the bodies and the money from the mud? Full excavation. You’re a band who are well used to the festival circuit. Do you have your festival packing down now? Are there any essential items? I’ve got better at it I think. Water and protection from the elements generally. And a tiny backpack! I do love tiny backpacks. Big fan of the tiny backpack. I think it’s coming back in fashion which is great for me because I’ve got about seven of them. There are a lot of things that can go a bit pear-shaped at a festival, like the weather, getting lost, alcohol-related mishaps… have you had any especially bad moments? The one that comes to mind is a festival in Germany. We’d just met the Bright Eyes crew, we were doing the same festival circuit. We were both playing the same festival the next day so some of them just stayed on our bus and we stayed up all night. We arrived at the festival five minutes to showtime which is a big no-no. It was really, really stressful, especially for our tour manager at the time. We found a way to park the bus really close to the stage and literally rolled out of bed onto the stage. At the time it seemed like fun but looking back it was just wildly unprofessional! We have never done that again and we will never do it again.
Are there any acts you’d like to see step up to the headline slot? I think The xx should just headline everything. I think they just bring the most joy, the most complexity, the most heartbreak, the most positivity and honesty. I think they’re the most important pop band at the moment and I think they should be exalted as much as possible. I’m just about to see their new show for the first time at Coachella so I’m really excited about that. Legends! Who else are you hoping to catch this festival season? There are a lot of people who I haven’t seen play who I would like to see play. I’ve not seen Floating Points. We are seeing him or them in some capacity at Coachella. Shura, who I did a remix for a few years ago, she’s playing Coachella and a few other festivals we’re doing so I’m excited to see her show. I really want to see Frank Ocean and I’m really excited to see New Order, I’ve never seen them. DIY
BE THERE:
Warpaint play Shaky Knees (12th - 14th May), Hangout (19th - 21st May), Governors Ball (2nd - 4th June), Glastonbury (21st - 25th June), Down The Rabbit Hole (23rd - 25th June), Roskilde (24th June - 1st July), Vida (29th June - 2nd July), Mad Cool (6th - 8th June), NOS Alive (6th - 8th June), Bluedot (7th - 9th July), Melt! (14th - 16th July), Lollapalooza (3rd - 6th August), and Outside Lands (11th - 13th August).
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