The accompanying film of Tales of Us recently appeared in selected cinemas. Did you always know you were going to make a film to go with the album?

Alison: We didn’t, but we knew we didn’t want to do another straightforward promo video like we’ve always done for singles. This album lent itself to this kind of visual representation.

When we thought about it, it quickly built up momentum.

How many films were planed?

Will: Three were planned. A lot of the visual ideas were floating around. What normally happens is you make an album and have all these ideas, then have to make videos for singles, by which time you’re out of energy and time. It seemed nuts not to run these two projects in parallel; making the album at the same time as making the film to go with it.

Alison: We had quite a few videos that were done and dusted before the album was even finished, so we could do some forward planning. Lisa Gunning came up with all the concepts for the videos, she wrote them and directed them too.

Do you have to experiment now you’ve released your sixth album?

Alison: We write in the same way, but what we do differently is view the things we did as routine before. People listen to music in different ways, so we have to come up with different ways of delivering what we do. We don’t have to make normal videos and things, so we’ve really benefited from how things have changed. It feels like we’ve opened up a whole new world.

How do you feel about the album now? Has your feeling about it changed six months after it was released?

Will: You go through different stages, and mixing the album is an intense process. Two years’ work can be decided in ten days, so that is intense. The next benchmark is when you perform it live, and we did that with an orchestra and choir at the Manchester International Festival last year, and did the same thing in New York too. We’d never done anything like that, it was very self-indulgent, but amazing. And now we’re feeling very confident about the album.

Do you have to keep pushing things, creatively?

Alison: I think it has changed things. You get stuck in routines, of releasing three singles from an album, touring and then doing another album. There was a formula, but now so much has changed with consumption that it makes you more creative. You think of so many more elements, elements that either weren’t there before or that you didn’t have time to explore before.

And you’re going to playing old songs on the tour?

Alison: There will be a real mix, so there will be songs from Tales Of Us and older songs. We like that there will be more intimate moments mixed with more dramatic moments. Hopefully the audience will like that too.

  • TOUR DATES: April 5 – York Barbican. April 7 – Gateshead Sage. For more information go to goldfrapp.com