Ana Matronic: ‘I’d love to be a cyborg and have bionic legs – a little bit longer than my current ones’

You’ve just published a book about robots. When did your love of them begin?
I don’t remember not loving robots. During my childhood, there were so many amazing sci-fi stories on TV, from Battlestar Galactica to Buck Rogers, plus Star Wars at the cinema. I was into robots aesthetically. Blade Runner made me get into them sartorially too. Then in my teens, I studied [mythologist] Joseph Campbell’s theories about heroes and applied them to The Bionic Woman (laughs). I turned that into a religion called Bionic Love and wrote a fanzine about it.

And you became a trans-humanist?
By the 90s, I was living in San Francisco at the height of the cyberpunk movement and through a friend, discovered the work of [feminist scientist] Donna Haraway, who wrote A Cyborg Manifesto. That was my introduction to trans-humanism and the idea that bionic people might not be such a far-off possibility. I’m excited by the opportunities that tech gives us to transform our capabilities. The ways AI can be applied to improve or extend human life. Nanotechnology, too. It’s all fascinating – and, of course, a little scary.

How did you come to adopt your stage name [her real name is Ana Lynch]?
For Halloween ’95, I was planning to dress as a robot, obviously, and was describing the movements I was going to make to my room-mate, Michael. I said: “I’ll be doing the robot and moving in a really animatronic way.” As soon as the word came out of my mouth, we looked at each other and said: “Oh my God, Ana Matronic!” It stuck and 20 years later it’s just my name. It’s who I am.

Did you also get your robo-tattoo around then?
My bionic arm, yes. From the right shoulder almost to my elbow, there’s circuitry, hydraulics, wires and gears. It started as a tribute to The Bionic Woman but has gradually incorporated aspects of many of my favourite robots, like C-3PO and Maria from Metropolis.

So would you like to own a robot or be one?
Both! Well, I’d love to be a cyborg and have bionic legs – a little bit longer than my current ones (laughs). There are stunning advancements being made. Next year is the Cybathlon, the first sporting event for athletes using exoskeletons and performance-enhancing prosthetics.

What’s your favourite piece of music tech?
Definitely the Roland TR-808 drum machine. Nowadays digital emulators allow you to get the 808 or 303 sound without the drift that happens with analogue sequencers, but the 808 is iconic.

What’s your own favourite gadget?
My Apple laptop. It has a solid state drive, HDMI capability and Ableton software, which all enables me to make music, run entire live shows and DJ. Ableton is idiot-proof, stays scrumptiously on-beat and makes playing disco even more fun.

Do you use emojis?
Yes, but sparingly. The one I use most is an emoji that I invented myself (laughs, feigns a curtsey), thank you very much. It’s a smiley face with a witch’s hat on it. There was no happy witch on the emoji keyboard so I made my own.

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Have phones become a problem at gigs?
Yeah, and I hate it. It’s insulting to the performer when people won’t get off their phone. On the last Scissor Sisters tour, we had one song where I’d ask everyone to put their devices away. People were really into it and I got lots of positive feedback. We get so caught up with preserving moments that we forget to be in them.

What social media do you use?
Twitter and Instagram pretty much daily. Facebook is too scary. I’m not into Zuckerberg and his privacy policies. The conspiracy theorist in me is like: “Who are you selling my information to? I will not be a statistic, dammit.” But it’s a great way stay in contact with friends, so I get FOMO [fear of missing out]. It’s a trade-off.

What’s the most expensive gadget you own?
Our Wolf range. It cooks everything perfectly. My husband [lighting designer Seth Kirby] and I also have a CNC router – a highly precise, computer-controlled cutting machine. That’s big and fancy. It comes with an air compressor as tall as I am.

Have you tried Google Glass?
You mean insta-douche? (Laughs) No, but I really enjoyed the Deep Dream image generator. So cool.

What gadget would you like to see invented?
A luggage droid. A suitcase that could carry itself, follow me upstairs and hand me clothes when I ask for them, all pressed and nice.

If you could time travel, where would you go?
Back to 1938, when Benny Goodman played Carnegie Hall. Or 1983 to see Siouxsie & the Banshees play the Royal Albert Hall on Halloween.

Robot Takeover by Ana Matronic is published by Cassell Illustrated, £14.99, www.octopusbooks.co.uk
Click here to buy a copy for £11.99