MINNAARS
The SiS Interview by Veronica Pulcini

Leicester, England group Minnaars exist in that weird space somewhere between indie dance and math rock, creating a racquet that come off like a technical dance music. It’s perfect if all of your dance moves involve right angles. The band is still young, but they’ve already been properly fucked by the music industry, so now their two most recent Eps are free for all on their Myspace. Since we can’t get “Essay Essay Essay” out of our heads, we deemed it necessary to talk to the band to find out the meaning of life. That question may not have been answered, but it’s all for the best anyway.

We recently spoke to the band's very own Neil Humphrey who talks about their comparisons to Foals and what the band has in store for the future.

SIS: When and how did the band form?

NH: The band has been together in this format for about a year. When I left my previous band to start Minnaars I went through various people who just weren't right until I finally got to this dream team! The line up now is really strong and works so well. Don't let 'em know but I love those little blighters! Haha!

SIS: One review compared your sound to that of Foals, do you think that’s an accurate comparison?

NH: Well, yes and no really. Foals first ever gig was supporting my old band. Around that time I'd started to play with single notes and used disco beats. There's an interview with them somewhere on the net saying how we were one of the best British bands of the moment! They sounded a bit different then, a lot more complex. It was in the time I quit my old band to start Minnaars that Foals went through the ceiling and became (rightfully so in my opinion) one of the biggest current UK bands. There were bands around "the scene" that already were using disco drums and higher fretted guitar riffs. But Foals (not of their own making) became synonymous with this sound and everyone else was labeled "a Foals rip off,” which is a touch unfair I believe. Not that Foals aren't responsible for a flood of dire impersonators flooding the toilet circuit but that is not their fault. Anyways, I digress; there is definitely elements to our sound that resemble Foals. But we obviously harness the electronica element more and sit in a "darker" place then they do. That's just personal opinion mind. At the end of the day it doesn't bother us when people compare us to Foals. We love 'em!

SIS: What makes your sound different from the other dance/indie/electro bands coming out of the UK?

NH: Well our lyrics certainly aren't in the same vain. And our songs last a lot longer! Whether these are good things or not is all down to the individual. Our songs seem to be a lot more complex with a lot more going on. We use a laptop and have anywhere between 10-60 electronic tracks playing underneath us at any one time, as well as live keyboards, loop stations and extra percussion. We're still in our early days and developing song after song. But if I had to summarize it up in one word, I'd say "intelligence.”

SIS: What’s happened with your initial release date and label?

NH: Well, the very first label we were going to work with promised the Earth but delivered a pebble! So we quickly cut all ties with them and released our first EP for free via our MySpace page, as well as remixes of all four tracks. We did this purely because they were the first four songs we'd written and searching or planning another release for them just seemed pointless. We just wanted to get them out there and put them out into the world! They were like our kids that still hadn't left the house by the time they were 30, so we decided to put all their belongings outside the locked front door in an attempt to make 'em move out! We are now working with a Japanese release, which will be out this summer (you'll be able to import it I’m sure,) Plus a release in France and Switzerland will be happening this summer with a tour of Europe to coincide. The release will be called Of Our Delirious Former Loving Hours, which is a quote from a poet called Paul Verlaine. Releases in our own UK and your very own US of A are being worked on. As previously stated, it's early days for us so we're taking our time, we don't wanna get shafted again! We learnt that lesson very fast!

SIS: What was it like working with producer Tom Woodhead?

NH: Ahhh, old Woodhead! Tom's an absolute legend. We were all big fans of Forward Russia, so when he said he'd record us we couldn't believe it. He was at our first ever show (which by the way was complete shambles!), I can't remember exactly what was said but he basically offered to record us. So we snapped his hand off and booked the studio before he could remember we were crap (at that time anyways!) and went away to the valleys of Wales. He now knows our sound so well; you can tell the difference between the recordings of say "Busy Hands" and "Are Lovers". The second batch of songs we recorded with him we’re much slicker. He really learnt our sound and knew what we wanted I really don’t give the bloke enough praise. Especially because we got some free Forward Russia merchandise!