YMC chats to Gav, from Leeds band Secret Circuits
YMC: You formed last Autumn, have you been in bands before?
Gav: I've been in a few Leeds bands, most notably Jack Afro and This Et Al, who I played a few festivals and released a few singles with. Jack Afro went over to Japan a few years back which was a really great experience and such a privilege. I joined a Wakey band called Mercia Drift and after we did a single the band split up, but three of us (John, Vikki and myself) decided to start something afresh with Secret Circuits. At our first gig we met Jack, who was with an electro duo called The Lucky Rainbow Club. He used to be in a band from Runcorn called Away From Home who did very well locally. So yeah, we've all had a fair bit of experience playing in different genres which I think serves us well when we all get together to write tunes.
YMC: You seem to have got off to a good start, what have been the highlights so far?
Gav: The first gig was great, mainly because we had no idea how people were gonna react to our set and were pleasantly surprised when the compliments started coming in. Since then it's just taken off really quickly; we signed a single deal before we'd even done a gig, and we now have a great booking agent and some exciting things planned for the rest of the year.
YMC: How would you describe your sound?
Gav: I usually say to people "Imagine Biffy Clyro doing a cover of 'Sandstorm' by Darude". We sound something like that. I like to call it 'trance rock'.
YMC: Who are your influences and who are you listening to at the moment?
Gav: I've mostly listened to 50's rock 'n' roll or classical. A lot of Eddie Cochran and Chopin. My favourite band is probably The Wildhearts. The riffs and song structures just blow your mind, and I would say they definitely play a big part in my songwriting. Recently I've been listening to The Faint a lot. They're a vastly underrated band and I really love some of the sounds they get out of those synths.
YMC: Who writes the songs?
Gav: I'll generally write a song, record it as a rough demo then take it into practice for everybody to work on. Each song ends up sounding different depending on the way each one of us interprets what we've heard on the demo, which I think allows each member to stamp their own 'style' on the tracks. Recently I've been writing with Jack and it's been a good partnership. People have been joking we're the new Lennon/McCartney. I'm not so sure!
YMC: You've had a couple of gigs out of Yorkshire, what's the reaction away from the local scene?
Gav: It's always been positive no matter where we've played, which we're all really pleased about. For example, usually when I've played in London the crowd are very cynical; they tend to either ignore you or just stand there, arms crossed, trying to decide if you're trendy enough for them to admit they like it. The first Secret Circuits gig down there was quite different, we had people dancing and clapping and coming up to us afterwards saying they loved it and wanting to buy our stuff. I think that proved to us in our minds that we have something at the moment which people seem to be able to connect with in some way.
YMC: Do you have any recording plans?
Gav: We did a 4-track EP with James Kenosha back in December but we're planning on doing two more EPs and then maybe putting them together and having an album. We're all incredibly excited about music at the moment and we're overjoyed with the way things have been going. Everyone's been very supportive and positive and we're really very grateful. To make a living playing music and entertaining people truly is the greatest thing I could ever ask for.
Find out more on http://www.myspace.com/secretcircuits
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