Blackout: Q&A Uncanny Valley

• Use 3 words to describe Uncanny Valley.
  Left of centre.

• What are your main inspirations (and why)? 
  Musically, groups like Marc and the Mambas, BEAK>> and Death Grips. The way they use electronic and live instrumentation sounds fresh and exciting. Bohren and the Club of Gore are also great because the atmosphere of their records is so strong and consistent.  They also seem to have stuck to what they were doing in spite of what else has been going on in music and in the world, and ended up cultivating a totally unique sound and atmosphere. And like the other groups, they’re also a great live band.

• How has 'life in a band' treated you so far?
  Making music is enough, but travelling, playing shows and meeting new people is a good sweetener.

• You seem to have a clear view on what you put out there. Is this something that you've thought about or does it come naturally?
  When we made the EP we had a pretty strong idea of the instruments we wanted to use, the sounds we liked and the themes for the songs. But however much you conceptualise how you want something to sound, it always comes out differently in the end.That’s what makes things interesting. Accident is the midwife of inspiration.

• Studio vs Live ?
  When we’re rehearsing we’re thinking about playing the music as a show, whereas in the studio we’re just thinking about what sounds we can create without agonising about how we are actually going to play it. So we treat them as different things really.

• What are your plans for the rest of this year?
  We’ll be putting out new songs and videos in April and May and possibly another EP called Predators. We’re playing in a few shows in London in April and then are going on tour with Dogfeet in Germany and Poland.

• If you were to organise your own festival, what would it be called and what would the line-up be? 
  It would be called Wilderstock and would feature a reconstituted Depeche Mode with Alan Wilder back on the keys. There wouldn't be any other music but there would be a big selection of artisan street food and immersive theatre.