La Roux
This British, electro-pop duo are aspiring to take after David Bowie and Prince. Check out their story and listen to a couple of their songs here!
August 4, 2010, 5:20 p.m.
La Roux is a British, electro-pop twosome featuring singer/songwriter Eleanor (Elly) Jackson and keyboardist/producer Ben Langmaid. The name La Roux means “red-haired one” in French and is fitting considering the flamboyant nature of Elly’s hair.
The 22 year old singer and face of La Roux, Elly, was born on March 12, 1988 and is the daughter of actress Trudie Goodwin. Elly grew up listening to folk artists like Joni Mitchell and Nick Drake but when she began to explore the rave scene, her taste in music changed. Today, she lists stars like Madonna, Prince and David Bowie as her influences.
The other member of the duo, Ben Langmaid, plays more of a behind the scenes role and does not appear at live performances or in music videos for La Roux. Langmaid has also worked with Rollo Armstrong from Faithless and as a songwriter for the band Kubb.
It wasn’t until 2006 that Jackson and Langmaid were introduced by a mutual friend and started their collaboration. They started out writing mostly acoustic songs prior to creating the distinctive sound that La Roux is recognized for today. Before signing with Polydor Records, La Roux released their debut single, “Quicksand” in December of 2008 by an independent French record label. Their second single, “In for the Kill” reached number two on the UK singles chart but it wasn’t until their smash hit, “Bulletproof” that La Roux really began to blow up the charts. “Bulletproof” debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart after being released in June of 2009 and the single was then released in the US a few months later in August. “Bulletproof” proved popular in the states, topping the Hot Dance Club Songs chart and peaking at number eight on Billboard’s Hot 100. La Roux’s debut album was nominated for a Mercury Prize in the UK and they were also nominated for British Breakthrough Act at the 2010 BRIT Awards.
It appears that La Roux is only getting started and there is definitely more to come from this dynamic duo. As of now, La Roux is on tour, performing here in the US as well as in the UK and plans to wait until the tour is over to start their second album.