MD: Your debut album ‘Where the Light Gets In’ received great reviews in the music press including 8/10 from NME who called you ‘Norwich’s finest noise-mongers.’ How did that feel?

Rich Kelleway: Some would say its unhealthy to pay too much attention to your own reviews, but I grew up reading the NME every week, so I have to say it felt great to get such a good write up in there. As you say the album got very good press, so it was just nice to know it made sense to people. Anyway I'm not sure what a noise-monger actually is, but we are proud to noise-mong on behalf of Norwich.

MD: I saw you supporting the brilliant Ulrich Schnauss at the Norwich Arts Centre. How do you feel your music sits with the kind of ambient, textured electronica he produces?

Rich: Whether we like it or not, both ourselves and Ulrich are regularly pigeonholed as ‘shoegaze’, but I guess that just shows how broad this genre has become, because what we do is - on the surface at least - very different to what Ulrich does. I think we share a lot of influences, and perhaps because of that there's a common thread running through what we do, so we can play shows with him and not sound out of place. I completely agree that he was brilliant that night.

MD: How’s the work on the new album coming along?

Rich: Very well, its written but not all recorded yet. We've been playing new songs live recently and we may play a couple at the Hot City Sounds gig. We're looking forward to going into the studio over the summer to record. We think its the best stuff we've done, but all bands say that about their new stuff don't they?

MD: What does the Hot City Sounds mean to you? Do you think it will help to expose the Norwich music scene to a wider audience?

Rich: Yes definitely. I think its a really good idea to bring together so many people who are making music in this city, and have them all play in one week. There're probably plenty of people in Norwich who aren't aware of what's happening on their own doorstep, and I'm sure a lot of them would be pleasantly surprised. This is their opportunity to find out for themselves.

MD: Your music is immensely sophisticated but also really upbeat and accessible. What’s the creative process behind it like?    

Rich: Essentially it comes down to songs. We love making a right old racket, but if you took all that away there's still what we thought was a good tune in there somewhere. That's always where we start, and I guess that's what keeps our songs accessible, even though we try our hardest to ruin them.

MD: There are quite a few post rock and experiment bands in Norwich, such as Buried in Pompeii. Do you feel part of a coherent scene or movement? Why do you think Norwich’s music scene is so good and so open to fresh ideas?

Rich: Actually I wouldn't say we've ever felt part of a coherent scene in Norwich. I guess there are a few more bands with similarities to us now than there used to be, for example we played with Into Flight last year, who do a very good job of the post rock thing. Generally though I've never really felt like we had much in common musically with many bands here. But that's a good thing too - like you say there's a lot going on in Norwich and it doesn't all sound the same. I think the fact that we're a long way from other cities means the music scene here is a lot healthier than in other cities of a similar size.

MD: You played at the Green Man festival last year. What was that like?

Rich: It was great actually, the sun was out, the gig was good, and looking back it must have been the largest crowd we'd played to at the time. The downside was I saw some photos from that gig the other day, and realised I wore some stupid sunglasses. I don't know what I was thinking; I bought them when we were on tour and the rest of the band convinced me they looked really good. They must have been nudging each other and winking the whole time. Next time I'll squint!

MD: You’re also playing at the legendary Buffalo Bar in Highbury, do you think you’ll be following in Bear Suit’s foot steps? 

Rich: Yep, we're more than happy to follow in Bearsuit's footsteps! They're one of the few bands in Norwich who were around when we started. I saw them at latitude last year and it was great to see them go down so well, and then they were over in America playing South by Southwest this year. I think most bands from this city would be pretty happy if they manage to achieve what Bearsuit have.

Photos > Ned Glasier