This is an excerpt from the interview in El Mundo. You’ll find the Spanish version as it appeared in the paper in the photo album - Tour Spain 08.
1. When did you first meet each other?
We met through mutual friends approximately 6 years ago. After hanging out and talking about music and the world at dozens of parties, we decided to form our own band 2 years ago.
2. Is Monkey Cup Dress your first band?
Monkey Cup Dress is not our first band all in all, but it's our first band together. Our baby! Apart from Monkey Cup Dress, Sidse plays in A Kid Hereafter and with Franka Abrahamsen and Line plays in Spektakel and Cody.
3. Where does the name Monkey Cup Dress come from? Does it mean something special to you?
In the 60ies and 70ies there was a movement in the art world called "Art To Wear". Its aim was to bring art out into the public sphere and every day life. The artists were craftsmen, who a.o. created wonderful, and eye-catching garments: Art to wear. Among these creations was a Monkey Cup Dress. A dress adorned with monkey cups, which are carnivorous plants. The flowers are shaped as cups, from which monkeys are said to drink water. We really like all the associations that this name brings, whether or not you're familiar with the story behind it. It’s feminine and raw, funny and linked to serious artistic moods.
4. How would you describe your music?
Difficult, that one! Well, some of the words that spring to our minds are: honest, simple, strong and fragile, feminine, dynamic. We're opting for a no-nonsense approach to song writing: If it feels right, we'll play it ... if our modest skills allow us to!
5. It's not very usual to see a band play with two ukuleles, what's the reason for using them?
We'd been carrying our heavy instruments around (guitars and cello) for some time, but still wanted to add new sounds to our music. And since Line feels comfortable with 4-stringed instruments, our eyes fell on the ukulele. Small, handy, charming. It really was love at first sight. We had a review this summer claiming that "the ukulele was back in rock'n'roll". We couldn't agree more.
6. How do you write the songs?
The song writing process varies. Sometimes one of us brings a complete new song, lyrics, music, everything. Other times we write together, this is how we wrote "Honolulu" with the two ukuleles. And finally we sometimes send stuff back and forth, adding to one another’s ideas and work.
7. Are you going to release an album soon here in Spain?
There are no specific plans, but we're working on the album and would love to put it out here, too.
8. You're playing here next week (8th-17th of November), what can you tell us about those gigs?
Fikasound organised our tour here in Spain, and we're very grateful for their terrific work. They're really ideological and music-loving people. We haven't been to any of the venues before ourselves, but we're curious and excited to meet a Spanish audience. We hear so many nice things about them in Denmark.
9. Would you like to play eventually with a whole band or do you stick to the "less is more" approach to music?
Good question. We would like to maintain our core, Sidse and Line, and keep playing in this constellation, too. This is where we develop our musical ideas, and the 'less is more'-approach is both powerful and flexible. This is important to our sense of 'band identity'. But that being said, we love playing with Peter Bruun, our drummer and 'multi-man', and we're at the moment looking for other musicians to bring into our growing family. Of course, this is part of our plans for future recordings, too.