Why You Won't See the George-Half On Stage

The British combo AlunaGeorge was one of 2013’s buzz acts. Singer/songwriter Aluna Francis and producer George Reid premiered with Body Music, a slinky post-dubstep mutation of ‘80s synth-pop, ‘90s R&B and noughties two-step garage – and hit Australia for the inaugural Listen Out. Now the futuro duo behind Attracting Flies are already back with the discofied Supernatural, the first taste of their sophomore. And their band will perform it this summer at Beyond The Valley.

Reid doesn’t actually appear live with AlunaGeorge – though he does tour. “I’m not on the stage,” Reid confirms. “I’m just part of getting the music ready for the live shows and [I] make sure it’s all sounding how it’s meant to sound. I’m very proud of the music that myself and Aluna make and so it’s important to me that we get it sounding right at the shows, as much as we do on the recorded versions of the songs.”

Francis, her heritage Indian and Jamaican, was born in Wales, but grew up on both sides of the Atlantic, settling in London. She worked as a reflexologist and fronted the vaguely trip hop outfit My Toys Like Me. In the interim, Reid played guitar in the math rock group Colour but, being fixated on Flying Lotus, switched to electronic production. He met Francis in 2009 after approaching her band to remix a song. They bonded and began developing a progressive pop paradigm referencing ‘90s R&B auteurs like Timbaland as much as IDM’s rebels. AlunaGeorge uploaded their first track, the forgotten glitchy romp Double Sixes, for free. Their breakthrough, You Know You Like It, was released on Raffertie’s micro-indie Super – and then the cred New York label Tri Angle (apparently impressing Grimes). AlunaGeorge, now sorta like Janet Jackson fronting The xx, eventually signed to Island Records. Anticipation for their 2013 debut would be such that the pair were shortlisted for the BRIT Awards Critics’ Choice and The BBC’s Sound Of 2013 poll. Body Music was unveiled mid-last year – and garnered reassuring reviews. The LP contained, brilliantly, a ‘bonus’ cover of Montell Jordan’s new jack swing anthem This Is How We Do It.

AlunaGeorge’s sound has morphed into something modishly amorphous – it’s retro and futuristic, soulful and electronic. Mainstream commentators classify them as ‘electro-pop’ as it’s seemingly safe. Others defiantly call it ‘R&B’, AlunaGeorge a reincarnation of Aaliyah with Timbaland. Nonetheless, every write-up positions AlunaGeorge differently, the music subjective for the writer or blogger. AlunaGeorge don’t know whether they belong to a new ‘post-genre’ movement or not, Francis admits. “I think we are lucky in the way that, from the beginning, we experimented with a lot of different types of music and, at a certain point, we did find what our sound was – as a sort of streamline. Now we can continue to kind of do whatever we want – and, for some reason, just whatever’s fashionable at that time can tie in with that. Because we didn’t box ourselves into a type of music, we’re free to flow with whatever’s inspiring us.” Reid figures that often when artists seek to recreate a music, they “fail” – albeit in a good way. “I think that’s happening with a lot of people – they’re trying to emulate a lot of records they love and end up nowhere near what they’re trying to do, but you get your own thing as well doing that.”

"At a certain point, we did find what our sound was"

For Francis, what distinguishes AlunaGeorge in contemporary electronic music circles is the fact is that they’re self-contained. “There’s a lot of, like, producer-and-singer kind of combos that are quite short-term. So you might just have a producer who gets a singer in for a day, and then the next singer – or a singer who then gets a producer in for the day and the next producer…” she says. “Because me and George have that continuous process behind us, I think mainly it’s just really enjoyable, the whole writing process, for us. It isn’t about finding the next ‘cool’ person to work with. We’ve learnt to really treasure that and not just take it for granted, in some ways.” Their dynamic has changed little since Body Music, Reid holds. He produces the beats and Francis composes the songs, but they share the credits. “I think on the outside, myself and Aluna might be running a slightly slicker show, as it were. But when the doors shut and it’s just the two of us in the studio, everything’s exactly how it’s always been. It’s just the two of us making music and generally having a laugh! ‘Cause when you see each other every day, especially when you’re doing something creative, it’s hard to sit down and just go [drawls] ‘So, man, let’s make some really good music’. You just have to have fun with it and something will happen.”

Ironically, AlunaGeorge’s greatest hit was that collaboration with Disclosure, White Noise – a UK No. 2 (their own biggest single, Attracting Flies, only just made the Top 20). Francis had encountered Disclosure and deemed them “cool guys”, but was “pretty reluctant” to team up in the studio – despite Reid’s encouragement. Such scenarios are “scary” for her. “When me and George work together, we don’t really have that pressure – we have tonnes of days where we don’t do well and we just eat a sandwich and make a bad song. So I was like, but what if I have one of those days? That’s embarrassing!” White Noise (auspiciously) blew up just months before Body Music was issued, bolstering AlunaGeorge’s pop profile. Yet they’re selective about collaborating. Early on, Francis led a vocal rendition of Rustie’s After Light off the acclaimed Glass Swords. More recently, AlunaGeorge hooked up with Baauer on his post-trap banger One Touch – also featuring Mike WiLL Made-It’s rap protégés Rae Sremmurd. Remix efforts are likewise rare. Reid lately transformed Coldplay’s Magic, layering on stalactite synths. AlunaGeorge subsequently supported the rockers in London.

AlunaGeorge’s stunning latest single, Supernatural, is distinct from anything on Body Music – it’s a bit New Romantic disco, a bit early ‘90s house, and a bit balletic Goldfrapp. The two are surely aware that the illwave Banks and co are biting their steez, necessitating a reinvention. Regardless, AlunaGeorge stress that Supernatural isn’t a ‘lead’ single. “We’ve kind of stepped off the track of traditional releases, to be honest,” Francis says. “The really highbrow, crazy thought process behind this was: Just put it out and see how it goes [laughs].” They were listening to the LP, largely mixed and mastered, and fancied sharing a song, Reid adds. “The label were happy enough to back that idea, just as a little reminder to everyone that we’re still hanging around, making music, really.” Indeed, the album won’t drop until 2015. AlunaGeorge are doubtful if Supernatural is representative. Francis says that two tracks, including the single, are more uptempo – even “disco”. “The thing is George has got this incredible penchant for all things funky…” Reid interjects, “Basically, this is the only way I was able to slip funk into the new album in an accessible form for Aluna to take – through disco,” he chuckles. “There’s a couple of tracks with this kind of influence – [but] we haven’t got anything that sounds exactly like Supernatural on the album.”

Ask AlunaGeorge what they’re currently vibing to and their responses are suitably unexpected. “You know what, I bought three whole CDs yesterday,” Reid joyfully announces, as if it’s show and tell time. “Who knew people still bought CDs?” A couple are replacements, he concedes. Reid picked up Blur’s ‘best of (for a mere £3, he exclaims), Daft Punk’s Discovery (“just an absolutely classic album from them”), and Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter IV. Meanwhile, Francis has fully embraced Flying Lotus. AlunaGeorge’s soulstress had long suspected that the alt-hip hopper was “maybe slightly too clever” for her – but, having streamed his jazzadelic opus You’re Dead!, she’s “jumping on George’s bandwagon.” “I locked myself in the studio, turned all the lights off, and put the big screen on and watched the videos and listened to the album in full. It was really incredible – it was a really enjoyable way to do it, ‘cause [Flying Lotus] did say, like, if you listen to it, you’ll have to sit down and concentrate and not do anything else in order to get the value of the album. So I did as instructed – and he was right.”