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"Something that I carry near and dear to my heart is Prince's wisdom on not worrying about the past" beams 3RDEYEGIRL drummer Hannah Ford. "Not wallowing in it, not worrying about the future either, just being in the now."
She has a real compulsion in her voice when quizzed on the domino effect of Prince's passion and influence. "Being in the present with the people that support you and love you and enjoy what's happening right now - you don't want to miss something. It's very easy to miss special moments, even the small ones. You can't be too worried about what happened yesterday or what hurt you years ago, or what you're going to do in a month or a year down the road. That's stuff that 's going to get taken care of and is out of your control. Just be present and right now."
That very spirit is the essence of Prince and 3RDEYEGIRL in 2014. Rather than being a legacy act relying entirely on former glories, Prince has found a new lease of life with three incredible new musicians - dropping two of the finest records of his career in one day.
Their last-minute UK Hit And Run shows this year were one of the best live events of 2014, not least because of the thrilling mindgasm of the foursome as a live unit, but for the sheer sense of occasion.
"It's a lot of things," laughs Ford, "but boring is not one!"
3RDYEGIRL are a delight to talk to. We meet them in a fittingly plush and purple room upstairs in the decadence of Soho's L'Escargot in London. As anyone who caught them on the Hit And Run tour can testify, these are not just three hired hand musicians brought in to back up a legend - they're a rock band who play as one tight unit and have bonded as sisters.
They were brought on board for their incredible musicanship (each was respected in their own right before heading to Prince's Paisley Park), but the reason they stayed was twofold: their stamina for His Royal Badness' endless jam sessions and monumental shows, and their undying dedication to the power of the music.
From talking to them about their love of FKA Twigs and their interest in London fashion week, no moment is taken for granted. The excitement reaches fever pitch when L'Escargot's owner's puppy is unleashed in the room, prompting squeals of glee and a threat of canine kidnap. Do they not have dogs in Paisley Park? "No, there are doves though," they reply. Of course there are.
The only topic that generates similar levels of excitement to the surprise entrance of a tiny terrier is their long-awaited new album, PLECTRUMELECTRUM.
"Prince wrote the songs, then brought them to us and was like, try this out, try this out and it was really cool because he gave us a lot of movement and freedom to add our musical personality in there," says guitarist Donna Grantis. "We would interpret the party."
"This album has so much attitude, arrogant attitude - in the most humble way," chuckles Ford. "A lot of his music has attitude on a certain level, but I feel that whenever I listen to the album, I wanna punch something...in a good way! It sounds like a freight train rushing through a narrow tunnel and it's really cool. It sounds so huge, 'PRETZELBODYLOGIC' especially."
'There's so much arrogant attitude, in the most humble way. Whenever I listen to the album, I wanna punch something. It sounds like a freight train rushing through a narrow tunnel' - Hannah Ford, drummer
Bassist Ida Nielsen nods her head and clenches a fist. "This is a rock album," she states with a fixed gaze. "We wrote these songs for this unit and you can totally hear it. He's the kind of artist to do something new. He doesn't make the same album twice, he's always changing it up. This is just another step."
And what better way to demonstrate 'not making the same album twice' than by releasing two brand new albums on the same day? The yin to PLECTRUMELECTRUM's yang, ART OFFICIAL AGE is a more soulful dose of polished pop perfection. After all, if Prince has something to say, why wait?
"What's great about ART OFFICIAL AGE is that it's a digital record, and more R&B and funk - compared to PLECTRUMELECTRUM which totally analogue and recorded live," reveals Nielsen. "There's something completely different, but they're all great songs."
Ford continues: "They're two very separate project in the sense that they were done at two very different times, with two different people and different methods. PLECTRUMELECTRUM was a collective between the three of us and Prince and we were a part of the mixing and everything. It's our baby. Whereas ART OFFICIAL AGE was just an album between Prince and Joshua, my husband.
"They were in the studio countless hours and it felt like the album was done in a week. They worked all through the night and so quickly. It was incredible to watch."
But what makes PLECTRUMELECTRUM such a life-affirming ride is the chemistry between four musicians very much on the same page - or as Prince calls it, a "feminine energy". This is something key to the communal spirit of the band.
"I think about a balance with male and female energy," says Grantis. "I think it's so cool when balance is present, not just in music but everywhere: education, politics, film, teaching, science - everything. If there was a greater balance between both energies, then I think the word would be a better place."
Ford agrees: "Everyone on the planet is here, because there's a purpose. I think there's a reason why men have a certain energy and men have a certain energy and so the balance is extremely important.
"It doesn't mean that one gender is greater than the other. All roles are important and we need to be fulfilling them, that goes beyond what we look like. You need to do that with integrity and that puts gender aside."
'I think about a balance in male and female energy, not just in music, but everywhere: education, politics, film, teaching, science - everything' - Donna Grantis, guitarist
Do they grow tired of reviews reading 'these chicks rock just as hard'?
"That doesn't mean anything," laughs Ford, rolling her eyes. "We work just as hard as men, too."
Grantis casts her hand towards the window, and the sunny day outside. "We've found that a lot of the reviews here in the UK haven't really brought that up," she says. "They've just talked about how these performances are from one of the greatest funk-rock bands ever, period. That's what it's supposed to be."
Indeed, there's very much a two-way love affair with the UK and 3RDEYEGIRL at the moment. Prince and band have been very kind to us with their run of surprise shows and arena tours, making the cry for them to headline Glastonbury all the louder. It's also a cry we should quit hollering - they're tired of it.
"Always!" squeals Ford when asked about the rumours. "It's like 'Quit lying, man!' Right when tickets go on sale... If you keep saying it falsely every year, that's not a good look. It's not going to make us want to come."
On Glastonbury: "It's like 'Quit lying, man! If you keep saying it falsely every year, that's not a good look. It's not going to make us want to come' - Hannah Ford, drummer
So what does it take to make Prince want to play somewhere?
"He's said many times that we don't wanna just 'play' We want to play with a purpose, we want to play for something or someone and make it mean something," says Ford. "Every time we play, it means everything to us. Whether it's planning a tour or when we were doing shows in Oakland, we did a show for charity. It's stuff like that, it inspires us to play.
"Prince wants to help people and encourage people and that's what drives us."
It's a drive that has kept the band entirely focussed on one thing and one thing only: 3RDEYEGIRL. While Prince's shows have always been a carnival celebration of not only his own vast back catalogue, but of music throughout the ages, his onus was the same for 3RDEYEGIRL - but with the added vision for them to 'become their own favourite musicians'.
'It's the collective vibe of it. It's the four of us, together, creating something really special and magial that we love and put our heart and soul into' - Ida Nielsen, bassist
"To constantly have an open mind and listen to new music, is very smart," replies Hannah. "What he meant in that is that he wants us to be in love with what we do and in love with our sound and be proud of who we are and who we have become and will become. It's weird to say that 'I'm my favourite drummer', but in a sense, I get where it's coming from and I can say that honestly, I like my style of playing - I love my approach and my technique. 3RDEYEGIRL is my favourite band now, I love our sound and our characteristics. I love what we represent and everything about the band."
Nielsen chimes in: "It's the collective vibe of it. It's the four of us together, creating something really special and magical that we love and put our heart and soul into."
So, that's Prince and 3RDEYEGIRL. A constantly jamming, ever-evolving, music-consuming, constantly creating tour-de-force of hard rock and free energy. A restless rush to the future, celebrating the past while living only for the moment.
It's that rush that brought us two new albums this week, but what comes next?
"We're always working on new material," says Ford, kicking her legs enthusiastically. "We're always rehearsing and jamming so it stays fresh. A lot of what the last few months have been is preparation for the album, talking about how to release it, what we want to do. Now we're preparing for what happens next.
"We recorded a whole lot of new stuff, so we'll see what happens there. 'The vault' exists - it really does."
We fully trust Prince and 3RDEYEGIRL to treat us to their wealth of new material and tour dates when they're good and ready. For today, we're too busy living in the now.
- PLECTRUMELECTRUM and ART OFFICIAL AGE are out now
