Next Hype: Roosevelt

There's a certain kind of pseudo-intellectual wimp that I want to punch holes in, twisting my knuckles into their Heidegger-spewing pie holes. And I was tempted to toss newcomer Roosevelt into that pile of "pretty boys who enjoy seasonal strolls" too. But naah—he's too clever for that. For example: in his latest Hot Mess-directed music video "Elliot" (which may or may not be named after FDR's son, Elliott Roosevelt), we watch the video's lead babe peel off her army fatigues and saunter off in a bikini, while Roosvelt's woozy synths wash over us in cozy waves. The reference to the scandal surrounding female Israeli soldiers posting sexy pics of their butts and handbags on social media is pretty sly—but the video's Instagram-like sepia filters make the connection pretty hard to deny.

The Cologne-based breaker of hearts won us over with his Elliot EP, which he dropped on Greco-Roman in August. The impressive debut was stocked with songs like "Sea" and "Around You" that showed off Roosevelt's pained, pining voice. Even though everyone wouldn't shut up about how much he sounds like Caribou (and he does), there's a darker, shady-nocturnal-activities groove that's all his. We decided to investigate the man behind those tousled tresses.

THUMP: What's your real name?
Roosevelt: Marius Lauber.

Where are you from?

Viersen.

Wait, where is that? What's it like? 

It's a tiny town in Germany next to the Dutch border. My friends and I tried to escape as fast as possible back then, but of course we miss it more and more now.

Sounds familiar. Why the name "Roosevelt"?

I liked the soft sound of it. The American connotation that it has is nice too, although that's not the main reason why I chose it.

What labels do you record for?

Original tracks like "Sea" and "Soleil" for Greco-Roman, and remixes on Future Classic, Kompakt and Bubbles Records.

Is the cover image for your Elliot EP a reference to Michelangelo's "The Creation of Adam" fresco?

I found it on Flickr actually. It's from a Spanish graphic designer named Alex Coll. Alex told me that he was thinking of it as a record cover when he did it, and he was into the idea of providing the cover for the EP. I'm super happy it worked out.

You seem like a pretty romantic dude. Do you use your own relationships or breakups as material for your music?

I guess everything that I experience goes into my music. But I want my everyday life to be rather detached from the lyrics, so I never sit down and intentionally write about it. But I'm sure whatever mood I'm in, for whatever reason, inspires the song a lot.

What's the best environment to listen to your music? Don't say "a club" because that's boring. 

I just saw this documentary recently about that overwhelming moment when astronauts in space look back on Earth. It's called "The Overview Effect." That's probably quite a good circumstance to listen to my music.

Who are some non-musical people you geek out over?

Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), Terry Gilliam (Monty Python), and the English artist David Hockney.

You're getting compared to Caribou a lot. Is this a good thing to you? 

Swim was definitely one of the albums that got me even more into dance music than I was at that time. I can't tell if we share the same sound…but I can't deny they're an inspiration.

Who's another up-and-comer we should all be listening to?

Schoolbell from Sao Paulo. One of the guys was the promoter when we played there in February. We just did a lot of gear talk but their stuff wasn't finished back then. Now they released their first single "Spin Me" and it's great!

What else do you have on your plate? 

Playing a lot of shows in the fall! I put together a new live band and we'll tour in Europe throughout October and November. Ah yes, and during the off days I'll try to finish my debut album.

Michelle tweets sexy pics of her handbags - @MichelleLHOOQ