The Bizarre Obsessions Of Phoenix

20 April 2013 | 12:15 pm | Alex Wilson

These quirks are all part of their plan for perfection

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In a recent interview with Phoenix guitarist Laurent Brancowitz, we got an insight into the crazy and obsessive world of the French band. Bear in mind, this is the guy who bought the mixing console used to record Michael Jackson's Thriller. From a Christian music store. Via Ebay.

On musical equipment:

“We used the same drum machine as Prince, as an homage, you know. We love doing that. All our music that is filled with little things like that, little connections, the memories and little things we love… We love to use cheap instruments and beautiful instruments. The extremes are more interesting than everything that is in the middle, so on this album we have the best and the worst.”

On clothing:

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“Thomas [Mars, vocals] is an obsessive. When he has a shirt he likes he has it duplicated. He has dozens of the same thing, it's more that than being a very dirty person, he is a perfectionist.”

On being perfectionists:

“We always try to make perfection, but we never get there. We love things that are opposite; like the clockwork mechanism of a perfect song, but also the charm that is something you cannot describe or understand... We have this goal and desire, and without this desire, life becomes very boring, so we are frustrated but at the same time we know if it was good already it would be very depressing.”