Sophie Ellis-Bextor; I Like Daft Punk and Basement Jaxx But Not Underground House

Ever since her vocals transformed Spiller's previously inconsequential house record Groovejet into one of the biggest worldwide hits of 2,000, Sophie Ellis-Bextor has remained a star, rubbing shoulders and status with fellow pop queens Kylie and even Britney. And while her follow-up single Murder On The Dancefloor retained a nod to Groovejet's clubland roots (at least in its lyrics) the fledgling club-land diva clearly favoured pop fame over clubbing.

"I'm not very interested in keeping ahead of the crowd in terms of dance music," she told Skrufff's Angie Ng last week, as she passed through Kuala Lumpur for a show. "It's not really my job; I just have to make good tunes."


Skrufff (Angie Ng): Two years on since Groovejet crossed over, how do you view clubbing now-

Sophie Ellis Bextor: "I've still got a very false impression of club land given that I'm always on stage singing at people when I'm actually in clubs. I did go clubbing at one point but the kind of dance music that I like is commercial dance. I like things like Moony, Daft Punk, Modjo and Basement Jaxx but I'm not someone who's interested in underground house music; I like songs with a good melody and singing. I've been very well treated by the club world."

Skrufff: Groovejet sound-tracked Ibiza for an entire season in 2000, what did you make of the island-

Sophie Ellis Bextor: "I only went to Ibiza once actually during that entire summer and it was right at the end of the season. I played at one of the closing parties and it was cool; that was when I really realized a good DJ really is a good thing and that DJing is a genuine talent. It's not just about putting on one record after another; a good DJ can genuinely manipulate the whole atmosphere of a club and that's a really special skill. So I guess I do like good house DJs if they've got a broad selection of music; maybe it's the more provincial DJs that I find harder to like because sometimes they can be a bit too underground for me; I'm not very interested in discovering new music."

Skrufff: Who are some of the good DJs you were referring to-

Sophie Ellis Bextor: "The one I really remember is this guy called Sander Kleinenberg; yeah, he was really good. "

Skrufff: Read My Lips is very much a pure pop album; what was it about pop rather than dance music that you preferred-

Sophie Ellis Bextor: "Pop is very broad-based and given that I've been in an indie band before, I think it would've been pretty absurd if I were to suddenly turn myself into a dance / disco person because it's just not what I do. I'm a musician and, to be honest, a lot of dance music doesn't satisfy me. I get very frustrated with remixes if they don't keep the whole vocal in. A song tells a story. But it's really about having a strong melody and that's what will give a song its longevity. You can't be too interested in fashion because it will leave you behind; you have to go for style."

Skrufff: The Sun newspaper recently said you'd been spotted dining with Keanu Reeves in Australia, how easy is it to cope with the constant tabloid scrutiny-

Sophie Ellis Bextor: (waving her hand in dismissal) "Tabloid stuff is very funny, there's absolutely no truth in that whatsoever, I've never even met Keanu Reeves. I don't really know where they get these stories from but as long as it's nice stuff they're saying, I don't mind, it gives me a giggle. It's almost like I've got an imaginary press person who keeps feeding them stuff, but I haven't so I don't know. I guess they get bored some days."

Skrufff: Why do you think the British media are often so vicious-

Sophie Ellis Bextor: "Because they're not very good at dealing with success and the media in England like to feel that they are the ones responsible for building you up. Once you get very successful outside of the UK, they feel like stomping their foot like a little child and saying 'Oh but we thought we had the power and now you don't need us anymore'; so it< Tags

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