CSS on Left Behind

Singer Lovefoxx reveals the story behind the Brazilian band's latest single

17 July 2008 - The latest single from Brazillian electro party band CSS is out this week and they say it was all inspired by a surreal night out in Helsinki.

In a solo hub session this morning (17 July) frontwoman Lovefoxx sang the single, Left Behind and she told us the lyrics were all inspired by a DJ set they played following a gig in Finland, that ended in madness:

"Left Behind was partially made when we were touring with Gwen Stefani, and we think this song is Gwen Stefani-ish in its own way. The story is the Helsinki story, it really happened, like people dancing on top of tables!" she laughs. 

Lovefoxx referred to popular TV show The OC when trying to describe the audience dancing: "It wasn’t like dancing on the table OC style - it was like Lemmy from Motorhead-style, if he ever danced on a table..."

The Helsinki story

The singer then went on to tell the story of that night, which inspired the lyrics for the single:

"We were deejaying in this place after a show in Helsinki and the place, it looked like a pizza parlour. And everyone was like, 'This club is so cool!'. We arrived there, it was a restaurant! We started playing and we started dancing to encourage people, and then later eveyrone was being crazy... throwing beer bottles against the walls, dancing on tables, wearing the lamps as hats, it was a very crazy night! And people were arm wrestling on the tables."

"You can't deal with problems anymore you just need to leave them behind" - Lovefoxx, CSS

The lyrics include a reference to ditching a suitcase full of 'things I want to set on fire', which Lovefoxx explained:

"Adriana wrote the whole song, it's like we have been together for so long. The story kinda belongs to everybody. It was so stressful and sometimes you feel like you are going to die, you can't deal with problems anymore, you just need to leave them behind."

Importance of performing live

"Left Behind is represents the album more than (first single) Rat Is Dead. I think one thing we wanted with this album was to be able to have enough layers that we could play them live. Because with the first album there were so many layers we had to put lots of things on the backing track, which there is nothing wrong with, but we just wanted to play everything live."

She continued: "So all the songs, they are full off keyboards and synths but at the same time all the guitars we have on stage, three sometimes."

The influence of Gwen Stefani

So did touring with Gwen Stefani rub off on the band musically? Maybe not, but Lovefoxx certainly admires the American singer:

"I don’t think people will say, 'Oh this is very Gwen Stefani', because we have a very different take on things. It was good to tour with her, it was a long tour, it was in the Winter, and Winter sometimes is not too helpful for your mood."

"She was very amazing, inspiring to see her give her all on all her shows. She has her baby, and she is expecting another one. She is so full of energy, her body is like a machine, she runs through the crowd, she runs and sweats her butt off, its very good to see. I imagined she wouldn’t give her all, everybody loves her already, she doesn't need to try and make more effort, but she does."


Ruth Barnes