An Afternoon With Indie-Rock Goddess Caroline Polachek
In the studio Caroline wears a es.se silver shirt from the '80s, a vintage '90s Talbots plaid skirt, Walmart knee socks, a Lady Grey bone bracelet, and Acne Boots. The wooden mask sculpture is by Jorge Elbrecht.
We're not gonna lie, Chairlift's '08 single, Bruises, still makes about every playlist on our iPod. Their recent endeavors don't fail to impress either, including a video with Marc Jacobs and Saks, the soundtrack for The Lake & Stars latest fashion show, and—woohoo—a summer album that's on the way! So, we were seriously excited when the band's frontwoman, Caroline Polachek, let us inside the Greenpoint pad she shares with her boyfriend, Violen's Jorge Elbrecht. We convinced Caroline to model in her favorite duds while playing tour guide, resulting in a gallery of her singular style, collection of guitars, and a Q&A that might answer any question you've ever had about this indie rock goddess. It's official—we're groupies.
First, tell us what's happening with Chairlift right now:
"We just finished our second album, which will be out in the summer! It's a much faster, more acidic, and more emotional record than our first one, "Does You Inspire You". I can't wait for it to come out. Album title and release date will be announced soon, tour to follow in the late spring. We've got some unusual New York shows in the works, I will make sure to let you know!"
On the mantel, Sebastien Blanck's "Caroline and Jorge" and a wooden mask by Caroline's boyfriend Jorge Elbrecht.
What are the five key pieces you find yourself wearing constantly?
"1. Men's camo jacket, a precious find in Fargo, North Dakota.
2. Acne ankle boots
3. Black & beige silk collared shirt
4. Lady Grey angular ring
5. Sony studio headphones"
What's your secret style weapon (the thing you turn to to pull your look together in a pinch)?
"Good posture."
Caroline mid-air in her bedroom clad in a Moon Landing teddy by The Lake & Stars gray panties, and a Lizzie Owens static duster necklace (a beloved prop from Chairlift's "Evident Utensil" video). The airbrushed velvet flags are her own creation.
You've collaborated on several projects with lingerie brand The Lake & Stars, including modeling in their cult-themed spring lookbook. Can you tell us a little bit about that experience and why you love working with them?
"Maayan (of The Lake & Stars) and I instantly started scheming on contact, we have a very similar sense of humor, and regularly find ourselves shooting hairbrained ideas back and forth over very long email chains with lots of capital letters. I NEVER fancied myself a lingerie model (and still don't!) but we'd been looking for an excuse to make stuff together, and at the time of her offer to join the shoot I was dying for an excuse to get out of the city, so my participation was really a matter of perfect timing. The shoot started out a bit self-consciously because I had never met any of the other models, and then suddenly there we were, running around nude, holding torches, painting each other's bodies black. Totally surreal, like some femme version of Lord Of The Flies, and as the weekend went on, I started to forget what side of the hoax I was on, or if it even was a hoax anymore. So I don't consider it a "modelling" thing as much as an adventure.
Then more recently, we worked together again on the soundtrack to The Lake & Stars' fall '11 presentation, which was an amazing open-ended assignment: to come up with a "muzak" that would underscore their visions of Italian-neoclassicism, '70s minimalism, and "A Night at the Museum". (Yes please.) I eventually went with '60s Moog synthesizer versions of Bach and Beethoven, back to back with a few traditional orchestra performances which I degraded and layered with additional synths. It came out lush but foreboding, like a love scene in the Twilight Zone."
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