"Ben isn't here," La Roux frontwoman Elly Jackson explains with a wry grin, "he's never outside the studio." Jackson settles into her chair to talk a little about how the much-buzzed-about British electropop duo (the other half, of course, being synth player and co-writer Ben Langmaid) get their unique and currently super-trendy sound; equally as trendy is Jackson's signature red hairdo, which lent its name to the band's moniker, La Roux being French for "the redhead."

Dance music and Britpop fans will likely recognize La Roux's first big single, "In for the Kill," which began its run by nudging the UK Singles Chart Top 10, while U.S. music aficionados are more likely to have first heard La Roux's "Bulletproof," the uber-catchy single that's already topped more than one Dance/Club chart.

'80s new wave and pop are obviously two major forces on how La Roux craft their sound, although the duo initially started as an act called Automan, for which they wrote mostly acoustic songs. Jackson - who grew up in Brixton - says that her musical interests began by listening to lots and lots of folk.

"Like Joni Mitchell and Tim Buckley," she explains, "and plenty of '50s rock n' roll, thanks to my dad."

In addition to the acoustic sounds, both musicians were exposed to lots of reggae in their early days - "Eddy Grant was massive then!" she says - although reggae beats are in short supply in La Roux's current music.

These days, it's the synths that are the thing; while Jackson has a solid handle on her distinctive vocal sound, it's Langmaid who utilized his experiences experimenting with keyboards working with the likes of Faithless' Rollo Armstrong in order to bring La Roux's instrumental melodies to life.

"We are definitely influenced by a lot of '80s synth-pop," Jackson agrees, "some of our favorites are Tears for Fears, Yazoo, and Heaven 17."

Jackson explains that the duo, who co-produced their eponymous debut disc, extensively utilize the classic Gristleizer custom audio effects unit when recording and performing La Roux's songs ("we feed Mellotrons, Bontempis (Italian plastic chord organs), and harmonicas through it") - but that no analog instruments at all were used on the current album, which was recorded mostly in Langmaid's living room. "They'll appear on album #2 though," she confirms.
 
Although La Roux don't plan on heading back behind the boards until after they complete their current and extensive schedule of touring - which will take them through the U.S., Australia, the UK, and France well into 2010 - Jackson says that their songwriting will continue to be inspired by one thing ("love"), and that she'll be listening to the new bands that she loves - namely, Glass Candy, Delphic, and White Lies - in the meantime.

And don't worry, La Roux fans - Ben does leave the studio... when it's time to tour.