Bombay Bicycle Club at Relentless Boardmasters 2011

Anja Kimberley speaks to Jamie MacColl and Suren De Saram

Virtual Festivals (VF): You've been established for a while, has the fan base changed as you've become more popular and if so how?
Suren De Saram (SDS): We used to have a younger crowd, we played some underage gigs and stuff but now people of all ages listen to us. It's become a very mixed crowd.
 
VF: Has social networking made it easier for you to expose music abroad and interact with your fans?
Jamie MacColl (JM): Truthfully I don't think we could have done this without social networking. We weren't able to tour so it was a way to get ourselves out there. It's always been there for us so it's been a natural thing for us to do, just blog and post updates and music.
 
VF: Fans worldwide are asking you to perform in their countries, if you could choose where would you go next?
JM: Probably Australia, I'd like to go to Australia. Or back to South America.
 
VF: Have any of the countries that you have visited surprised you in any way?
SDS: You mean the places? Tokyo, they had loud speakers on the streets playing Super Mario and stuff. That was strange.
 
VF: You seem to be realists, very grounded with a hint of positive outlook, is this reflective of your personalities as a whole or just the music?
JM: I see our music as quite dark, really, but yeah we are quite grounded and I think that's all of us really. We get quite energetic when we play, I always feel most comfortable behind my guitar.
SDS: Yeah we kind of work together, playing by ourselves would be very different.
 
VF: So no solo work coming soon from any of you?
JM/SDS: No.
 
VF: At Reading you will be sandwiched between very established and different bands - Glass Jaw and Jane’s Addiction. Have you been supported by bands like these as new talent or did you have to 'break in' to get respect?
JM: We're probably not really their cup of tea. But we don't really see the other bands. We keep to ourselves quite a lot.
 
VF: Have you ever been star-struck?
SDS: I was really excited to see the Bloc Party drummer, yeah I was then.

VF: Have you ever been supported by someone who has influenced your music?
JM: We work a lot with a girl called Lucy Rose, she's become a big part of our music really.
 
VF: You have played at a wide range of venues, what is ideal for you?
JM: Something indoors, Manchester Academy is quite good for us, that kind of venue.
 
VF: Do you still get psyched about going on stage?
JM/SDS: Yeah, it’s always exciting.
 
VF: Did you always plan to be musicians or did you have other plans?
JM: I'd probably have gone to university.
SDS: It would always have been something to do with music.
 
VF: How do you expect the crowd to receive your new album?
JM: No idea.
SDS: Don't know really, we hope they like it.
 
VF: Do you write incorporating fan feedback?
JM: If we did we probably wouldn't have done the acoustic album!
 
VF: Is this your favourite work so far?
JM:I think the newest stuff is most artists' favourite.
 
VF: Who will you be looking out for this weekend?
JM: Eliza Doolittle is quite good, we like her.
SDS: We're only here today.
 
VF: ‘A Different Kind Of Fix’ is the title of your new album. Should we be reading into this? What does it mean?
JM: It's not about drugs or anything, that's what people ask us. We're a bit too lame for that.
SDS: It doesn't mean anything too deep.
JM: It's very different from the last album, the acoustic. Different like that, kind of music.
 
VF: So something new to enjoy. Will you be playing many tracks tonight?
SDS: Yes, five tracks.
 
VF: Any messages for your fans out there?
JM: Just buy our album, really!

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