Tue May 14, 2024

CSS

at The Independent (8pm)
CSS with Agender

When the members of CSS (Cansei de Ser Sexy) slowly started drifting away from the project in 2014, it wasn't due to a lack of passion. Rather, they decided to pursue other projects because the band had become a job--an ironic twist considering its members started the group to get out of the monotony of day jobs. When the gang of friends decided to pursue music in 2003, they did so as a way to leave work early and perform at clubs. "In São Paulo," bandleader and vocalist Lovefoxxx explains, "if you did creative things, it was easier to get off work to perform shows." And so, CSS was born out of a passion for laughter, dance music, and, yes, the occasional chance to ditch the 9-5 job. Fast forward 20 years and the band is bringing its vaunted live show back on the road--a decade after they decided that playing shows nine months out of the year wasn't sustainable. Armed with a revived live show, CSS is bringing their signature hits back to venues across the world, getting back on the road because there's nothing better than globetrotting and partying in new cities with your best friends.

When the band of Lovefoxxx, Luiza Sá, Ana Rezende, and Carolina Parra started pursuing other projects, there wasn't any traditional resentment between members--no animosity at the way things ended, because they didn't really end. The band was simply on hold. Lovefoxxx wanted more time to work on her visual art, and Ana, Luiza, and Carolina moved around the world and pursued other passions. After all, they derived most of their joy from live performances, which always suggested they had a much bigger audience than record sales did. "Our shows we're always bigger than our records," Lovefoxxx explains. "The kinds of venues we were playing at were so much bigger than our album sales. We were a touring band and we loved it."

It made sense to begin this next phase of CSS by honoring the band's powerful, triumphant live shows. This reemergence is for the love of music, as uncynical of a pursuit as any that has existed. There's no pressure to promote new music, push vinyl, or rehearse new music until perfected. Rather, the group members--who speak to each other every day and have since the band took a breather--decided it would be a blast to remember the old times, and introduce a whole new group of listeners to their thrilling music.

Part of the band's decision to do this tour now as opposed to at any other moment came from promoters gauging interest for a new tour from the group. They found this interest touching. A validation that the project was worthwhile. "The fact that we are still resonating is surprising to me. It shows that we truly touched a generation. We were never meant to be role models or inspire. We just wanted to enjoy ourselves. There's immense power in it," says Lovefoxxx.

The endeavor never would have been worth doing, though, if the women in CSS didn't love spending time with one another. From long recording sessions to endless travel days in between tours with Klaxons, Diplo, Gwen Stefani, Ssion, Metronomy, and more, the heart and soul of CSS was always the bond the band members shared. Perhaps it's because they started as friends first and then became CSS that the feelings of them as people before musicians was always paramount. Regardless, CSS 2.0 would have been a worthless pursuit if everyone wasn't 100% on board. "I can't believe I get to travel the world and try new foods with my best friends," says Lovefoxxx. No matter how many sold out shows, album sales, or label bids, friendship remained at the core of the band. Now, it's what's inspiring them to come together once again.

"What keeps us together as friends and probably helped convince us to reunite as a band is our humor. We laugh at the same stuff. We have our own language," Lovefoxxx concludes. The band wanted to do this journey one more time, and a 20th anniversary tour seemed like the best place to begin. While prepping the run, they've Zoomed and called and minimized the distances between them now that all four members are spread across the world. No matter how serious planning gets, or how stressful the prospect of a reunion may be, that sense of humor keeps things in perspective. "it's something that doesn't get old. It ages nicely," adds Lovefoxxx. "This silliness is so important to us."

CSS - https://www.cssmusic.club
Agender - https://www.agendermusic.com

~~~~~~~~~

In September 2003, a group of friends formed a band in São Paulo. Sharing a mutual love of good times and unwavering interest in all things pop and art, CSS rose to notoriety with the help of a thriving creative community, underground club scene and a dedicated Internet fanbase. Lending their numerous creative talents to their new musical project, the band quickly drew legions of international followers entranced by a universally accessible, albeit original, style.

After signing to Sub Pop, their debut album Cansei de Ser Sexy (Portuguese for "Tired of Being Sexy" - allegedly a reported complaint from Beyoncé Knowles) was released in 2006, and their danceable electro/rock songs scattered with pop culture and sexual innuendo were effortlessly translated from the virtual domain to live performances. CSS became one of the most in-demand live shows from Europe to Japan, and became tour buddies with the likes of Gwen Stefani, Klaxons, Ladytron, and Diplo on an unending world tour.

Constantly on the road, the band remained fixed in the spotlight and their popularity steadily grew. Early on, The New York Times described CSS as, "a gleeful throwback to early-1980s art-school pop," on whose debut album, "smart, insubordinate fun reigns..." The Guardian declared them to be, "an unlikely, brilliantly wrong fusion of Tom Tom Club, dance culture and the Fall" and Under the Radar commented on Cansei de Ser Sexy, "CSS's debut is the real deal: eleven cuts of infectiously syncopated, tuneful post-punk that just may be the summer's perfect soundtrack".

After the flurry of interest surrounding their debut, their second release, the grungey maturity of Donkey didn't disappoint. Released in 2008, Donkey is a smart, street-ready record that displayed a band evolving and stretching their capabilities, and seamlessly captures the frenetic energy of their live shows; the visual and physical coming together of their unique sound which remains the beat at the heart of the collective's output. Utilising glitter bombs, outrageous stagewear and throwing shapes to every corner of the room, CSS's unaffectedly fun live shows never fail to turn even the most static onlookers into fearless movers and shakers.

And we're excited to announce that CSS will be joining V2 for the release of their third record, La Liberación, to be released worldwide through the Cooperative Music network worldwide (excluding Japan and Brazil) on August 29. Their third opus has been recorded in the band's own studio in São Paulo, Brazil and features collaborations with Bobby Gillespie and Ratatat.

Singer Lovefoxxx says "My mantra for this record is 'Rip Shit' and that is what we do on La Liberación". Adriano adds, "People should liberate themselves. When we came to this title we got so high, it made perfect sense with the lyrics and the feeling we were getting. FUCK EVERYTHING. Let's get undressed and listen to CSS. Let's step out of the closet. Let's paint our teeth black."

"I think it's a celebration of our friendship," says Lovefoxxx. "I think that this album has also a "finding your gang" feeling, like the movie "Warriors."

'La Liberación' finds the band at the peak of their powers, pushing past everything that has come before into an exciting new future. This is the album that, as big fans, we've always hoped they would make!
CSS with Agender

When the members of CSS (Cansei de Ser Sexy) slowly started drifting away from the project in 2014, it wasn't due to a lack of passion. Rather, they decided to pursue other projects because the band had become a job--an ironic twist considering its members started the group to get out of the monotony of day jobs. When the gang of friends decided to pursue music in 2003, they did so as a way to leave work early and perform at clubs. "In São Paulo," bandleader and vocalist Lovefoxxx explains, "if you did creative things, it was easier to get off work to perform shows." And so, CSS was born out of a passion for laughter, dance music, and, yes, the occasional chance to ditch the 9-5 job. Fast forward 20 years and the band is bringing its vaunted live show back on the road--a decade after they decided that playing shows nine months out of the year wasn't sustainable. Armed with a revived live show, CSS is bringing their signature hits back to venues across the world, getting back on the road because there's nothing better than globetrotting and partying in new cities with your best friends.

When the band of Lovefoxxx, Luiza Sá, Ana Rezende, and Carolina Parra started pursuing other projects, there wasn't any traditional resentment between members--no animosity at the way things ended, because they didn't really end. The band was simply on hold. Lovefoxxx wanted more time to work on her visual art, and Ana, Luiza, and Carolina moved around the world and pursued other passions. After all, they derived most of their joy from live performances, which always suggested they had a much bigger audience than record sales did. "Our shows we're always bigger than our records," Lovefoxxx explains. "The kinds of venues we were playing at were so much bigger than our album sales. We were a touring band and we loved it."

It made sense to begin this next phase of CSS by honoring the band's powerful, triumphant live shows. This reemergence is for the love of music, as uncynical of a pursuit as any that has existed. There's no pressure to promote new music, push vinyl, or rehearse new music until perfected. Rather, the group members--who speak to each other every day and have since the band took a breather--decided it would be a blast to remember the old times, and introduce a whole new group of listeners to their thrilling music.

Part of the band's decision to do this tour now as opposed to at any other moment came from promoters gauging interest for a new tour from the group. They found this interest touching. A validation that the project was worthwhile. "The fact that we are still resonating is surprising to me. It shows that we truly touched a generation. We were never meant to be role models or inspire. We just wanted to enjoy ourselves. There's immense power in it," says Lovefoxxx.

The endeavor never would have been worth doing, though, if the women in CSS didn't love spending time with one another. From long recording sessions to endless travel days in between tours with Klaxons, Diplo, Gwen Stefani, Ssion, Metronomy, and more, the heart and soul of CSS was always the bond the band members shared. Perhaps it's because they started as friends first and then became CSS that the feelings of them as people before musicians was always paramount. Regardless, CSS 2.0 would have been a worthless pursuit if everyone wasn't 100% on board. "I can't believe I get to travel the world and try new foods with my best friends," says Lovefoxxx. No matter how many sold out shows, album sales, or label bids, friendship remained at the core of the band. Now, it's what's inspiring them to come together once again.

"What keeps us together as friends and probably helped convince us to reunite as a band is our humor. We laugh at the same stuff. We have our own language," Lovefoxxx concludes. The band wanted to do this journey one more time, and a 20th anniversary tour seemed like the best place to begin. While prepping the run, they've Zoomed and called and minimized the distances between them now that all four members are spread across the world. No matter how serious planning gets, or how stressful the prospect of a reunion may be, that sense of humor keeps things in perspective. "it's something that doesn't get old. It ages nicely," adds Lovefoxxx. "This silliness is so important to us."

CSS - https://www.cssmusic.club
Agender - https://www.agendermusic.com

~~~~~~~~~

In September 2003, a group of friends formed a band in São Paulo. Sharing a mutual love of good times and unwavering interest in all things pop and art, CSS rose to notoriety with the help of a thriving creative community, underground club scene and a dedicated Internet fanbase. Lending their numerous creative talents to their new musical project, the band quickly drew legions of international followers entranced by a universally accessible, albeit original, style.

After signing to Sub Pop, their debut album Cansei de Ser Sexy (Portuguese for "Tired of Being Sexy" - allegedly a reported complaint from Beyoncé Knowles) was released in 2006, and their danceable electro/rock songs scattered with pop culture and sexual innuendo were effortlessly translated from the virtual domain to live performances. CSS became one of the most in-demand live shows from Europe to Japan, and became tour buddies with the likes of Gwen Stefani, Klaxons, Ladytron, and Diplo on an unending world tour.

Constantly on the road, the band remained fixed in the spotlight and their popularity steadily grew. Early on, The New York Times described CSS as, "a gleeful throwback to early-1980s art-school pop," on whose debut album, "smart, insubordinate fun reigns..." The Guardian declared them to be, "an unlikely, brilliantly wrong fusion of Tom Tom Club, dance culture and the Fall" and Under the Radar commented on Cansei de Ser Sexy, "CSS's debut is the real deal: eleven cuts of infectiously syncopated, tuneful post-punk that just may be the summer's perfect soundtrack".

After the flurry of interest surrounding their debut, their second release, the grungey maturity of Donkey didn't disappoint. Released in 2008, Donkey is a smart, street-ready record that displayed a band evolving and stretching their capabilities, and seamlessly captures the frenetic energy of their live shows; the visual and physical coming together of their unique sound which remains the beat at the heart of the collective's output. Utilising glitter bombs, outrageous stagewear and throwing shapes to every corner of the room, CSS's unaffectedly fun live shows never fail to turn even the most static onlookers into fearless movers and shakers.

And we're excited to announce that CSS will be joining V2 for the release of their third record, La Liberación, to be released worldwide through the Cooperative Music network worldwide (excluding Japan and Brazil) on August 29. Their third opus has been recorded in the band's own studio in São Paulo, Brazil and features collaborations with Bobby Gillespie and Ratatat.

Singer Lovefoxxx says "My mantra for this record is 'Rip Shit' and that is what we do on La Liberación". Adriano adds, "People should liberate themselves. When we came to this title we got so high, it made perfect sense with the lyrics and the feeling we were getting. FUCK EVERYTHING. Let's get undressed and listen to CSS. Let's step out of the closet. Let's paint our teeth black."

"I think it's a celebration of our friendship," says Lovefoxxx. "I think that this album has also a "finding your gang" feeling, like the movie "Warriors."

'La Liberación' finds the band at the peak of their powers, pushing past everything that has come before into an exciting new future. This is the album that, as big fans, we've always hoped they would make!
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  • Tue May 14 (8pm)
The Independent 80 Upcoming Events
628 Divisadero Street, San Francisco, CA 94117

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