Trailer Trash Tracys are a songwriting duo (James Lee and Susanne Aztoria) based in London. They gained attention after putting up their song Candy Girl online, a track that was later released as part of their debut Double A single with London label No Pain In Pop in 2009. After getting a band together and playing with bands like the XX, Tuneyards and King Krule, TTT signed with UK independent label Domino and released their debut album Ester in 2012. They are currently working on a second record due to be released in 2016.
How did your interest in music begin? Susanne: I grew up with Abba, so I’d say they were the biggest influence for me.
James: In our house we had a Bandurria which is a traditional Filipino instrument. I would often pick it up and try and get some sort of tune out it. I naturally progressed to the guitar in my teens.
Top 3 favorite or most visited websites and why? Rupert Pupkin Speaks – We are huge film buffs so we are always searching for new films to watch. This site is a great source for esoteric films with intricate reviews.
gearmanndude’s YouTube channel – a guy reviewing guitar pedals, who I suspect is actually is Jack Black.
Moondog’s Corner – A site dedicated to musical pioneer Moondog containing his memoirs, poems and musical scores. There’s always something inspirational from this library of work.
How has living in London affected your music? Positive and negative effects. Great people with taste and musicians live in London. The best new music usually comes from word of mouth rather than blogs. However, London is expensive; it’s difficult to rehearse as frequent as we like because of this.
What kinds of things are influencing your music right now? A lot of records. Digging deep for those rare faulty, quirky produced tracks that are hard to find.
Favorite dessert? Susanne: Swedish Cinnamon buns, as they take me back to my homeland. Luckily a Swedish bakery has opened just down the road so I can easily get them these days.
James: Indian barfi’s.
Who would you ideally like to collaborate with? In the past few years we’ve met a lot of great musicians, producers, and people who just like to experiment with sound. The Columbian band Meridian Brothers are a band we would like to work with.
Do you have any guilty pleasures? Tell us about one. James: ‘conspiracy’ theories. Got to keep up with the real news!
What was your first paying job? James: paperboy
Susanne: swimming instructor
Can you share one of the best or worst reactions you have gotten as a result of your music? We supported a band called the Maccabee’s a few years ago. In one particular show on the support slot, we had football chants through our whole set.