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The AMORETTES: "White Hot Heat"

The AMORETTES -  Kick arse rock n roll from the U.K.? You betcha. Not your ordinary Brexit rather than a power-trio from West Lothian, Scotland. The home of 'the highlander' and haggis, and just for the record, their country voted to stay. "White Hot Heat", produced by Luke Morley, songwriter and lead guitarist with UK Rock act, Thunder, and engineered by Nick Brine, with credits that include Bruce Springsteen, Coldplay, Snow Patrol, The Darkness, Oasis, and many more. It truly sounds like a million bucks and I quote, 'We've been introduced to an entirely new way of breaking down our songs and working out structures. Plus, it was incredible to watch Nick at work too. Fine tuning the mixes with such speed and dancing behind the soundboard. Having the legendary Kenny Dagleash in the studio was very therapeutic too; except when he watches you eat and tries to steal all your food from your hand. I think that overall, this is the most exciting album we've ever made. Find out more about the album. Here's the impressive drummer and professional arse kicker, etc:  HANNAH McKAY

Your forthcoming album is to be entitled 'White Hot Heat' can you explain the meaning behind this?

White Hot Heat started out as a song title. It was a track we only ever demo'd and when we were discussing ideas for album title, someone suggested it and it was one of those moments when we all agreed straight away. We thought it sounded really cool, and loved the way it stood out. The way I see it is Game On was Sh*t Hot this one is Wh*te Hot. HA, sorry....

Kindly tell us about the writing process and what you're trying to capture with the new album.

I guess this time around we really wanted to stretch ourselves and try aim for a little more musical variety. We had a bit of help along the way this time as Luke Morley from Thunder and Ricky Warwick from Black Star Riders offered to co-write a few tracks. So overall its a nice blend of the raw rock n roll Amorettes sound, with some touches of The Almighty and Thunder thrown in too.. There's a lot more melody on this album, even some poppier elements and certainly more variety with tempo. It's a nice mix. You've got some more AOR style tracks and a couple of flat-out punkier tracks. I think it was the album we needed to make at this point in time. We needed to push ourselves just that little bit more.

Do tell us something about "Pervert Alert". Not your ordinary kind of title?

I think Pervert Alert takes me back to some of our earlier stuff from Haulin Ass, especially lyrics wise. We had this really cool kinda surf style Kick and Snare rhythm that we are adamant we wanted to use somewhere. I think it adds a nice bit of variety and nice change in tempo. This track has been going down really well with the crowd the few times we played it live. It has a nice sing a long chorus. As far as what the song’s about, you would assume its based around girls getting unwanted attention from sleazy guys, however, it's more general than that, and could be turned around to a guys point of view also.

Would you say that rock/metal fans or critics/journos are sexist?

Generally, I think its not as bad as it used to be. I think females playing in rock bands is becoming more and more accepted these days, and its not such an alien concept anymore. We might get the occasional sexist comment, more often in a Facebook comment, and very rarely to our face. It can be extremely subtle a lot of the time, sometimes, someone might say something to you and you just think there is no way you would be saying this to me if I was a dude. Personally I don't let any of it get to me and there's not a hope in hell it would stop me doing what I love. I long for the day when this is no longer an issue.

Are you supposed to "Let The Neighbours Call The Cops"? What's it about really?

Neighbours is about letting loose, raising a bit of hell, playing your music full blast, and not giving a damn if your neighbours don't like it. We have all been there at some point. This track was co-written with Ricky Warwick, and I can tell you that we just finished filming a video for this which was a lot of fun. Cant wait for you all to see it.

Did your record label try and interfere with anything: regarding sound and songs on your new album.

Not really. We have a really strong relationship with Off Yer Rocka, and they are great in the fact that they trust us to deliver the best album we can. Every album we have put out we have tried to better ourselves and raise the bar each time.

What kind of 'sound', production wise, did you have in the back of your mind prior to recording?

I think we are always eager to capture our live sound as much as possible. You only ever want it to sound as big and powerful as you can. Luke really made us strip our playing down, especially me. At first it was quite hard to take, as it's not always fun having someone telling you to change the way you play. As time went on it really made so much sense. When we heard the songs back, the drums were so much more driving and powerful, so the less is more approach is very true. There’s definately a lot more melody on this album, with some nice Queen style vocal harmonies here and there. We’ve all grown as players with Luke’s help and input. It was nice to push the boat out a bit and put some little surprises in there.

What kind of input did the producer have during the process?

Luke's role as producer was to oversee the whole recording process, and help to create a sonically strong album. He would basically guide us, chip in with ideas and stop you if he thought something could be better. It was a new experience for us, to be honest. We learned a lot from him, he has a great ear for melody, and we knew we were in good hands with a guy who has been making music for years. Luke had seen us live a few times and knew what we were all about as band. He was a great producer, very easy to work with, very clear and had artistically loads of great ideas. Being a guitar player himself, he really worked closely with Gill, and she really stretched herself and played some great guitar on this album. Initially, he really honed in on the rhythm section. Taught me that most of the time less is more. Sometimes when you go in the studio you just want to impress and chuck i n your best playing here, there and everywhere. He taught me to play more for the song, and really break it down and think about my parts much more.

Are you fed up with people referring to you as the "girl-band" instead of three musicians?

Its something we are trying to phase out. I guess for some it is an obvious selling point for the band. A lot of people are intruiged by it and will check you out purely for the fact you are female. It almost makes you stand out before you have even done anything. "Female fronted group" is also pretty common tag right now to. On a few occasions we have been told "we dont play like girls".. I never quite know what to say to comments like that. I guess especially with rock drummers people have this image of female players being weak and lacking finesse . I just play like I mean it, and play for the music. We are a hard rock band, and my job is to drive it.

Have you always been the 'Rock Kid' or do you have the dark hidden secret as Spice Girls fans?:)

Its not even a dark hidden secret. Every girl loved the Spice Girls at some point. I remember we used to dress up as them as kids. I dont really believe in " guilty pleasures" when it comes to music. Well... perhaps Beiber being the exception.. but if it sticks in my head and puts me in a good mood, I will like it. You should see some of the stuff on my ipod..... but yes Motorhead, AC/DC I have a special place in my heart for. Rock drumming is too much fun and is the best workout you can have.

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Thanks for reading, check out our facebook and website for updates and last but not least keep it hot, keep it heavy!!!!
Hannah McKay /Amorettes

Interview by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
Photos from the band's websites  

theamorettes.co.uk 
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