Interview with Dee Plume

In a frank and joyous interview, Dee Plume talks about her new EP, life after Robots in Disguise and just stuff. Like a boss.

Dee Plume/Psycho Delia of Robots in Disguise fame has a new single out. We are celebrating with an interview! The only bit which didn’t actually happen is the bit where Mookychick says @dee_plume we actually love you and Dee Plume says okay. Moving on…

Look here now. If you had this many hands you would be this happy too.

Psycho Delia is your new project. Did it start on the live circuit or in the studio?

DEE: It started in my house in Hackney, years ago, with my friend and videomaker Elisha Smith Leverock. We set up as DJs – Psycho Delia & The Ward – and wrote a few songs including a tune called “I Like To Stalk You”, must dig that out 😉

Then, with Fay Milton (Savages drummer) we became Psycho Delia V The Ward on guitar & drums respectively, just as I was making the last Robots In Disguise album. The first few singles I’m putting out – “2 Degrees Of Separation”, “Short Arms Short Legs” and “The Ooo & The Eee” – have Fay on drums. When performing live I play with Paula Faircloth, another short-armed drummer.

Listen listen listen. Read read read. Buy buy buy.

You’ve been in Robots in Disguise for a mad long decade. How does it feel to go solo?

DEE: Yup, it is mad to have spent a decade together, especially since we were a pretty explosive combination personality-wise ;0

Energy between people is what makes things happen. Me & Sue have ended up with incredible creative shorthand. I love the music we made together and we were always getting into ridiculous scrapes (and sometimes falling out with people/each other; not so good!) but we made each other laugh a lot.

It feels great though to finally be going solo, v. freeing. I feel more like a woman now as opposed to a girl, coz I’ve taken control of what I’m doing, instead of giving up my responsibility to others.

It affects the music I make coz I’m not relying on complex production or a backing track live, so the songs have to come across simply on the guitar/vox. Also as a co-producer my sound is much more DIY, although I am working with Robots producer David Alexander and Chris Tate from TrashMoney who are both super!

Pat Grimm’s art direction on the video for 2 Degrees of Separation is outstanding. Did you get creative input into the visuals?

DEE: Pat Grimm is a visual genius. She designed all the makeup and costumes, then directed and edited the video. It was a very hands-on affair with both of us making the props and costumes, even as we were shooting! It’s a DIY collaboration whose modus operandi has continued into my next video for “Short Arms, Short Legs”, directed by Verena Jabs where we painted my lounge pink/yellow, turned it into a bar and created my puppet friends.

Dee Plume painted her lounge pink and yellow for the video. Love.

Can you tell us about the upcoming EP?

DEE: “Short Arms, Short Legs” has just been released as an EP with two remixes and a French version of the song with its new title “Bras Courts, Jambes Courtes”. It’s really single-after-single at the moment. I plan on releasing “Now I’m A Square” or “Don’t Fuck Your Producer” next – I just need to get a video made, coz I want all the songs to have one as I love bringing them to life visually. If anyone out there is interested making a video email me at deeplumebiznez @ gmail.com.

Buy “Short Arms, Short Legs” on Amazon or wherever is good for you

What’s been inspiring the lyrics?

DEE: My life as per. “Short Arms, Short Legs” is what a boyfriend said I should call my band when Fay Milton was in it, coz that’s what he said we had! “2 Degrees Of Separation” is about rejecting being connected to an ex’s new love interest/s when you find yourself superior, a ha.

“Now I’m A Square” I wrote about Sue because, like everyone else in the music in the Western world, we partied together and then she went straight edge. Then the song then became more about me as I stopped partying and started relating to people sober. They’re all about MEEEEEEEEEEE ;0

You’ve got a new collection with Tatty Devine. Do the clothes feel like an extension of the music?

DEE: I love collaborating (especially important after going solo). Harriet and Rosie saw the “2 Degrees” video and suggested making some speech bubble necklaces with words from the song, so that took the project in a different direction again!

As far as clothes go, I have been screenprinting my own Psycho Delia merch which has been steadily selling. Which is cool, because I made nada putting out my single, as everyone is listening to it on Spotify as opposed to buying it from I Toons ;0

I’ve also been wearing a lot of catsuits designed by Mary Benson in my “Short Arms” video and at gigs, as introduced by my friend the stylist Alex Moonage.

Dee Plume in her super spangly catsuit and the weird thing is she is NOT EVEN COMMITTING A ROBBERY. No really. Women in twinkly catsuits not even committing robberies and not even calling themselves Catwoman and dressing like a cat and drinking milk? Out of bowls? Not even? WORLD GONE MAD.

We hear Sue Denim makes DIY lip balm. What does she put in it?

DEE:? Damn fine balm!

Any other live tour dates coming up in the UK?

DEE: Not ATM, we are currently playing in fans’ homes in the US 😉

MOOKY NOTE: Okay, look at that. Artists like Dee Plume (and Amanda Palmer) are now playing in the homes of fans. We should probably give them some money or something. If we can give a few pounds for a cup of Starbucks coffee that cost pennies to make, we can probably spare a pound or so for an EP that cost NUFF MONEY to produce and also the obligatory pound of blood, sweat and tears. Go, have a play on the official Psycho Delia website and become a Facebook fan and even if you can’t afford the music, have a listen on soundcloud.

Hair so nice and squirly. As featured in the “Short Arms Short Legs” video.

Finally. Is there anything else we should have asked you but were too selfish to do so?

DEE:A ha ha. Am I happy?

We don’t know the answer to that. But considering how many peeps Dee Plume name-checked in this video, and how generous she was in making sure we had linky-links for them all, we figure she’s pretty good at making anyone who collaborates with her happy. So go now, prosper, o children of the urban corn, and listen to the music. Calloo-callay!

Short Arms Short Legs hooray

One video, a million different costume changes and if you can count more you’re welcome. Fantastic ingenuity at play.