Emily Kokal, singer and guitarist in the hottest new band of the moment, has a practical explanation for her band's many famous fans (actors Billy Zane and the late Heath Ledger among them). "It's just that we've played in LA for years!" she laughs. "If people like us and then there are some people who like us who are famous… it's just more likely to happen in Los Angeles."
A phlegmatic attitude to celebrity is just one of the reasons to love this four-piece. The best, though, is last year's debut EP, the entrancing Exquisite Corpse – six intriguing tracks of intricate guitars and rhythms overlaid with spectral vocals. Mixed by Kokal's then-boyfriend, former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante, it's subtle, involved, but immediately captivating stuff, the result, Kokal explains, of lengthy sessions that "start with somebody having something, whether it's an arpeggio or a bass line or some lyrics. From there, it really becomes free rein for anyone to take it in any direction". There seems no other term for that but jamming. "Yeah, that word just kind of brings to mind some 60s hippie revolution," Kokal sighs.
From the way she talks about her bandmates, however, there is quite a lot of peace and love in the air: the group is "the best thing that's ever happened to me on a personal level – it being four girls I completely respect and admire". They've learned, she adds, "to let each other feel beautiful. I know that sounds funny, but..." she trails off, embarrassed.
Warpaint's history takes in several line-up changes – one of the songs on their debut LP, to be released by Rough Trade this September, has used five drummers, but Kokal describes the addition of Stella Mozgawa as the missing piece in the puzzle. "They say your band's only as good as your drummer and she's really given us all a chance to relax and trust her."
Also confirming those hippy sensibilities is the fact that Warpaint were nearly called I Love You. "I figured if we were a heavy band we could take I Love You to that more intense place," Kokal laughs. "But I really liked Warpaint because it's got the word 'war' in it and I was raised around hippies, so I had to kind of question my beliefs!"
Kokal, like guitarist Theresa Wayman, was brought up in an arty household in Oregon and the two immediately became friends when they met in their school choir. After they moved to LA in 1999, they formed the band with fledgling movie star Shannyn Sossamon (the band's drummer until she decided to act full time) and Shannyn's sister and current bassist, Jenny Lee Lindberg.
With several New York and European sell-out shows under their belt, the band are due to support the xx this autumn. Did they foresee all this excitement? "I guess I feel like we've always known," Kokal says, carefully. "We were always making music from a really pure place. That's good, because I feel we're all insatiable with it as well. I feel like we have so much further to go."
