THAT NME cover, octopuses and a lot of Ryan Jarman. Miranda Thompson falls off the lavender bridge and into the crazy musings of NME new god Dev Hynes, aka Lightspeed ChampionWhat is Lightspeed Champion? It’s just me. I don’t like the idea of playing solo so if I had it my way, I’ll always have a band with me.

Is it like your alter ego? Do you get any Beyonce style traits appearing onstage?

Kind of, yeah. Maybe I just get a bit more self depth.

To the non NME bible-bashing masses, how would you describe your music?

I guess for this tour, for this album, its kind of country/Weezer

Are you going to plan on changing your style for every tour then?

Yeah it usually does this is like the first time that we’ve played this album, which has been finished for over a year now, but it’s the first time we’ve played this album in quite a faithful way.

Where do you see yourself going next?

I’ll probably play this album as close as I can for a while. I only just realised it came out in America today! I mean I like playing this right now. This last year we seemed to have been doing rock versions of the songs. I kind of like just stripping it down and stuff. But we’re going to open up tonight with a song from the next album.

So you’re already moving on? Is it overlapping?

Yeah, always, and I think you can kind of see the direction. It’s more upbeat, it’s really poppy, and the guitar makes it a bit calypso!

Going back to this NME stuff, how do you feel about all this hype?

It freaks me out really!

How did you feel about seeing your face on the cover?

Not happy with it.

Did you know you were going to be on the cover?

Not really, they told me two weeks before it happened but I did that shoot about a month before that. If I’d known it was going to be the cover I would have shaved earlier, not worn a hat.

Yeah I was going to ask about the hat? Is that the same one? Where’s it from?

It was a present; I think it’s from Tokyo. I wore it as a joke one day because I had to do some photos for something and now I just keep wearing it. I’m quite obsessive.

Who would be on your Cool List?

Ryan Jarman. (Of The Cribs and Kate Nash’s fancy man)

Why?

He’s f***ing awesome.

Have you ever had any Jarman-style stage injuries?

Yep, I sliced my foot open a few years ago; well I actually severed my toe and had to have it sewn on with no anaesthetic. It was pretty grim.

How did that happen
?

It was the stem of a wine glass on the side of the stage and I kind of just.

Oh my god that is horrible! Why aren’t you in a wheelchair?

I was on crutches for a month and I’ve only just regained the feeling in my left foot. It was for under a year.

You did some covers with Alex Turner and the Rascals etc, who would you most like to cover one of your songs?

The Cribs! I’d love them to cover one of my songs.

You should tour together!

We played with them once I wish! They’re SUCH a good band. The way I see it there’s only four good bands in England: The Cribs, Arctic Monkeys, The Horrors and the Klaxons.

Talking about the Klaxons, obviously there’s this whole Test Icicles thing (FYI Dev’s old band who are pinpointed as the catalyst for the nu-rave scene. Think Hadouken!) You’ve said that you didn’t like that music.

It was taken really out of context, I’ve lived to regret whatever I said. What I meant was, anything you do like over two years ago, especially when you’re 17, by the time you’re 19, you’re bored of it.

Hadouken! said that one of their influences was Test Icicles. If you’re saying that you don’t like that kind of music, how do you feel about having spawned all these different bands, and now you’re heading off in a different direction?

It’s f***ing insane, a huge compliment, I’ve only just turned like 22 and now there’s bands all over the place.

It’s like that piece in NME showing all these bands who wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you you’re like the Libertines for the new generation!

I wish I was like the Libertines! It’s crazy, I’m still like the biggest fan that you could ever find.

What was it like recording your album in Nebraska?

It was really fun. We went bowling, we wrote songs which weren’t on the album, all the songs apart from one were written way before. I don’t know what’s going to happen to them because I’m not going to put them on the next album.

Give them to The Cribs?

I don’t think they’d take them!

I think your album title is really pretty (Falling off the Lavender Bridge). What was the influence?

Your lyrics are impressive, particularly 'As we kiss I’m sick in your mouth.'

I have a phobia of vomit. I was trying to imagine the worst thing in the world.

Why have you got a comic in your album?

I don’t know, that’s a good question. I drew a satanic octopus in the van, you want to see it? (Dev has a fumble for his pad.)It’s not good! (It’s a blood red octopus.)

Aah that’s really sweet, it looks like Ursula out of the little mermaid!

I used to fancy Ursula! Before she changed!

Our albums out in America I should send a double.

You should send a double? Oh a doppelganger. Do you have any lookalikes?

A kid came up to me the other night and said 'all my friends say I look like you.'

Did he? Did you get a picture?

I don’t think he looks like me.

What were the comparisons?

So Trevor McDonald looks like you?

That’s pretty much it, yeah. (Notices on the wall) That’s an Alphabeat sticker!

Oh they were here last week, (in Exeter). They were so good.

(Goes to rip it off the wall) Oh maybe I shouldn’t do what I was about to do! We’ve got the same management as them.

They got into a fight with Palladium.

WHAT? (rips off sticker and jumps on it) Palladium are our favourite band.

They all started pushing each other it was like battle of the sequins.
(Back to the questions) If you ruled England what would be your National Anthem and the first law you passed?

White Lady by Palladium (Dev plus band members chorus) 'I’ll be your white lady..'

I really like Get it Right

What’s that one?

Don’t make me sing it’s the first one on their myspace page.

Right we’re going to look at that right now!

What’s your first law going to be... chuck Alphabeat out of the country?

Alphabeat came to one of our gigs, I’ve got to stop... Make everyone watch Cloverfield twice a month.

I heard people got sick to it.

Yeah we had to walk over vomit going out of the cinema.

What is the monster?

JJ Abrams was on holiday in Japan promoting Lost and he went and saw this random toy and based it on that... He basically said he wanted America to have a monster, but you’re not meant to know what it is.

It could be a blood spurting octopus. I was thinking of a t-shirt design and it’s this octopus having bubbles coming out of it.And I’ll be in one of the bubbles.

You’re the spawn of an octopus? You’re the white cell of an octopus?

I though you fancied Ursula?

Its one of those fear-sexual things

And there we end. I leave Dev and his crew poring over Palladium on Myspace whilst musing on the philosophy of fancying something half woman, half octopus.

Miranda Thompson