crazy voice plus she’s a beautiful girl so that doesn’t hurt! It’s really taken things up a gear for us. Our music has got a lot louder, more energetic and we’re freer creatively. You have a new record deal Yea, that’s right. we have always had our own record label called GMG. We have always had are own recording studio so we always had GMG as an independent method of production. Whilst we were making this record we didn’t have a deal, that meant we had complete creative control. After the record was finished we decided to go with our friends at Echo because we have been with chrysalis publishing which is Echo’s sister company and we know they’re all really good people who we trust. How long has daisy been with you? It must be about a year now. We all sat in a room together and started writing songs, and we hadn’t written anything like it since Big Calm, we were quite prolific with our writing, we wrote 40 or 50 songs in a month and then whittled it down to the 10 or so that are on the album they were are favourites but all the tracks we have chosen seem to sit together well. We played the tracks to a lot of our friends and saw what tracks they reacted well to, it’s really hard to be objective about your own work so it was nice to have the opinions of people who we trust and get their take on things. This being your fifth album, how are things working with your brother? … No Punch ups? It’s mainly psychological damage we inflict on one another. Ross is very deep and moody were as I am louder and tend to throw tantrums. You’re obviously a very good musician, what aren’t you so good at? I’m not a great parent, I have 2 kids I have a 5 year old boy and a 2 year old daughter. I’m not a natural parent because I wasn’t really raised that way and obviously with the job I need to be away a lot. I am working on it but I’m not the expert on parenthood in the family, I just stick to being the expert in music. What sort of music are you listening to at the moment? I listen to a lot of classical music, I don’t listen to a lot of popular music because most of it is just pap. As I get older I like a lot more variety and less genre specific stuff. So was classical music a big influence whilst recording the new album? Yeah it was, I listened to a lot of Debussy the piece called La Mer in particular. It’s a very beautiful piece of music. But I was also listening to a lot of folk, blues and old rock. What can people expect from your up and coming tour in May? I think people can expect to be transcended to another plain, I think we are going to knock people’s socks off really, the band is sounding better than it ever has done, you really do have to come and see it just to appreciate its full power. The first date is in Leeds and that will be really exciting. You’re adoration for music is obviously huge! What else are you really passionate about? Cooking, I absolutely love cooking. I just don’t get to spend as much time doing it as I would like. I would like to open a restaurant but it is far too demanding. I used to be a waiter when I was a kid and I hated that! Sushi is my latest thing, I’m pretty good at making it now and I love entertaining friends and cooking Japanese meals. It’s a really clean type of cooking and aesthetically pleasing. Which song new or old sums up your present mood and why? Today I would have to say Its Spring again by Biz Markie, just because of the weather and things! I watched you at Glastonbury the year before last, you did a great set. Are you doing any festivals this year? We have a lot of European tour/festival dates. We’re not confirmed for any British festivals as yet this year. We really want to hit the festivals big next year and keep a lower profile this year. When I look back, all festivals seem like a bit of a blur. Festivals are great, they are total freedom, people can just shake off the hum-drum of day to day life and just go for it, they are a very liberating experience. What would be one of the most defining moments of your career? There’s been so many! It was really nice to know that we were Iggy Pops Favorite band to listen to when he is relaxing. If you were going to create a super group who would be in it? Booker T. and the MGs, I would be totally happy with all those guys. I would be suspended from the ceiling in a silver suit or something. Contactmusic.com has an area on the website dedicated to unsigned artist, what advise would you give them? Trust your own instincts, work as hard as your nervous system will allow and believe all the good and bad hype. Try and stay true to your own personal vision. It’s all pretty obvious stuff but it’s honest. Oh Randy Newman said a great piece of advice, he once said that if you work in the music industry you have to lower your standards! http://www.morcheeba.co.uk | 
