The world of fashion and rock and roll have always interlocked fingers and it has often created magical collaborations. At times rock and roll drove the car. Other times, fashion led the way.
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In the case of post-punk quartet Lumer and fashion photographer Hedi Slimane, for this moment in time, they both have their hands on the wheel.
One of the biggest fashion photographers in the world and Creative Director of Celine, Slimane has always had an affinity for music and culture. Throughout his career, he has dressed musicians such as Courtney Love, Mark Ronson, and Beck. During his tenure at Celine, Slimane has launched music- focused programs highlighting young, upcoming artists. Slimane has again turned his lens on some underground bands from the U.K. with a second installment of his photo series Portrait of a Performer and this time, Alex Evans finds himself front and center before the icon’s camera.
The marriage between Alex Evans (Vocals), Ben Jackson (Guitar), Thom Foster (Bass) and Jacob Wardle (Drums) and Slimane has been cosmic and produced results for both outfits. In Lumer’s case, that comes in the acoustic form of “By Her Teeth” from their forthcoming EP – The Disappearing Act. When asked about the track, Evans doesn’t even try to be shy about his affinity for Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds or the opportunity to strive to be them, even if for a song.
“I think we have all wanted to go for that Bad Seeds-esque sound in the past and it gave us an excuse to try. I was literally looking for any excuse to emulate Nick Cave, poorly I must admit.”
“By Her Teeth” starts out foreboding and haunting. Borderline eerie almost, but when it kicks in it goes in another direction. Sure, there’s the Bad Seeds but think The Smiths or Morrissey. Maybe even Joy Division.
“At first I think we all had different ideas to begin with towards doing an acoustic track,” he continues. “Jake wanted to drum like Bobby Gillespie and I wanted to play piano like the godlike Nick Cave. I believe we met somewhere in the middle. This ultimately gave us a chance to sound a bit different and appeal to not only our audience but impress the masses.
“The development of the sound in the track is something we have been interested in doing for a long time, and we found “By Her Teeth” was a great song to rework in such a way.”
