IN AN ONGOING COLLABORATION, FASHION DESIGNER AND ROCK PHOTOGRAPHER HEDI SLIMANE TEAMS UP WITH MUSIC WRITER ALEX NEEDHAM TO BRING THE UNDERGROUND TO CENTER STAGE

TWO MEN, ONE WOMAN, AND A DRUM MACHINE DIAL M FOR MUSIC

From “Hanging on the Telephone” by Blondie to “Call Me” by, er, Blondie, the phone has provided a rich source of inspiration for rock bands. Take young Manchester trio the Answering Machine. Not only does singer and guitarist Martin Colclough, 22, love the Replacements song of the same name (although he denies that this is where the band got its name—guitarist Pat Fogarty, also 22, “just opened a dictionary and saw it there”), but issues of communication and technology also populate his lyrics. “A lot of our songs seem to be about conversations in relationships—trying to like someone you wish you liked,” he observes. “And we sing about cities and industrial environments because we’re all from small towns. When we came to university, we found it a rather daunting place and that’s betrayed in our music.” The city they found so daunting was Manchester, birthplace of such indie legends as Joy Division and the Smiths. The Answering Machine got together in the second year of university after Fogarty and Colclough bonded over their terror of having to get a normal job and their shared love of Britpop and Scandinavian indie. They quickly acquired bassist Gemma Evans, 21, but couldn’t locate a decent drummer. “We joked that we might as well get a drum machine, and then me and Pat went to the pub one day and said ‘Fuck it, let’s just get one,’” Colclough says. Like a fourth member, the drum machine has a name—Mustapha Beat. These elements build up to songs of kinetic excitement. “Your Home Address” combines an intense melodic sweetness while channeling the same scuffed-up punk classicism that made the Strokes so interesting. “Answer Me” demonstrates that romantic angst is even more moving when backed with a drum machine’s motoric rhythms. At London hangout the Proud Gallery, where these portraits were taken, the Answering Machine converted a roomful of indie kids who’d barely heard of the band—until then the threesome mainly gigged in the Manchester area and had released just one limited-edition single. “We like a swish venue,” grins Colclough. “Lots of free beer too, as you might have guessed from our onstage rant.” Free beer’s just the start of it—soon it won’t be long before everyone wants this band’s number. Alex Needham

Photography Hedi Slimane