Clean Bandit

New Eyes saw you experiment with a wide variety of styles. Will there be a change in focus in your new work? It’s quite hard to say just yet… but we made New Eyes over about four years which partially accounts for the variety on it. The next album (hopefully) won’t take so long. We’ll be starting with a steady method from the beginning and will have an actual album in mind rather than just working track by track. We’re very excited to be back writing new music after our crazy summer of festivals!

Do you think that the distinction between disparate musical styles is becoming eroded? Perhaps not the distinction between them, but it does feel that audiences are ready to engage with a wider range of genres. Although people probably say that every 5 years or so. We’ve felt everyone has openly embraced our strange mix of styles, but these mixes happen quite often, so I definitely wouldn’t say anything’s being eroded.

Given the significant range of featured artists in New Eyes, how do you feel featured artists contribute to your work? Massively. We never write tracks with a specific vocalist in mind, but the way they impact the final product is pretty amazing. The way we work with the featured vocalists differs from track to track, but without exception they’ve all brought something new to the music.

What do you think your electro/classical collaboration has to offer a predominantly pop-centric chart? I’m not sure it’s for me to say what we offer the charts… but it seems like there’s something people like. To be honest, I think the classical element of our music has been overly emphasised - only two tracks on our album actually sample classical music, and using classical stringed instruments in pop is hardly particular to us. Saying that, we love mixing strings into our tracks, so we’re very grateful people seem to enjoy it!

Can a new artist be influenced by only one source of music if they want to be successful in the twenty first century, or is being ‘eclectic’ a pre-requisite? I think for most people who love music, it’s quite a challenge not to be ‘eclectic’. Having said that, Jack, our main writer, hasn’t really listened to any music since the turn of the century other than Radiohead!

What changes would you like to see to the music industry in your lifetime? A higher percentage of people in it for love of music rather than love of dollar. Just like Sam Smith says in that song of his, haha!

From anyone in music history, who would you most like to collaborate with? Stevie Wonder. What a guy.

Who should we be listening to? Any up and coming favourites? Rae Morris, Years And Years, The Poppy Store, and though not really up and coming anymore, Ten Walls keeps on killing it.

Be sure to check out Clean Bandit at The Great Hall this October.