Your debut album was called ‘Hats Off To The Buskers’, tell us about the best busker you’ve ever seen…
We walked past a busker in Liverpool the other day & he was playing ‘face for the radio’. It was a genuine conincidence so I’m gonna say him .

You’e been nominated for a Mercury Prize in the past, how important do you think awards are for bands?
Awards are good fun but I dunno if they are particularly important, there a good laugh and make for good TV!

What’s the best thing about coming from Scotland? And the worst?
HA! When i was younger I used to think that playing T in the Park would be the coolest thing ever so ill say that playing t in the park is the coolest thing ive done. No worst bits :O)

You’ve been on the NME’s cool list – what’s the coolest thing you’ve ever done?
Definitely our first T in the Park show.

What’s your most memorable gig to-date?
Am I sounding like a broken record…T in the Park :O)

What can fans expect from your live show?
They can expect us to put on a show and a half…give it our all, whether were in Glasgow or Hull or Scarborough, We’ll put in one hundred percent and give them a show to remember.

What do you hope to achieve this year?
I wanted to make another record this year and we have already done that so I just hope everyone enjoys it. We’ve got some mega gigs coming up as well, touring the UK, Rockness and releasing our 4th album, so I just hope people like it and that we do the best shows we can.

The View play Cardiff Great Hall on June 19 and Bristol Fleece on June 20. More information at http://www.facebook.com/View

You’ve been around for a while now – what’s the secret to longevity in the music industry?
I’m not sure, even though we’ve had a couple of albums we still feel like a new band. We definitely have more to do. I think that’s the key, ambition and hard work and always wanting to improve.

Do you think it’s difficult for Irish artists to breakthrough in the Uk and the States? If so, why do you think that is?
Yeah I think it can be. There’s so many great bands in the UK and because they’re leaders in the UK and Ireland markets, I think they’d sooner look to one of their own. I moved to London only a couple of months ago and I’ve already think its helped our chances of progressing, just being here, meeting the right people and being in their minds when they’re thinking of new acts.

What do you think growing up in Ireland has given you as a band…if anything?
It’s hard to pinpoint because we’ve no frame of reference, we don’t know what it’s like to grow up anywhere else so basically it’s given us everything – exactly what we are today.

You’ve had some pretty high profile support slots – tell us about those…
Yeah we supported Macca, which was incredible. We met him and he was really cool. We supported Pink and The Script a couple of times, which was cool. It’s nice to play and learn from different kinds of acts. The Script are amazing guys, so hard working, ambitious and they write amazing pop songs.

What other music are you diggiing at the moment?
James Vincent McMorrow, Hudson Taylor, Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver, loads of stuff!

What does 2012 hold for The Coronas?
Hopefully a lot of touring, we’re releasing the record in UK as Europe and hopefully we can tour those territories as much as possible.

What can people expect from your Bristol gig?
A high energy, singalong, pop rock-tastic music-fest! Or at the very least a good gig!

More info on The Coronas at www.thecoronas.net or see them play live at Bristol Thekla on May 7 or at Cardiff’s Clwb Ifor Bach on May 8.

The South West is often compared to Melbourne; do you reckon that’s a fair comparison? And what do you love most about your hometown?
I haven’t spent too much time in the South West so I couldn’t say. Jonny went on a surfing trip down there last year and it looked amazing in his photos. I’m looking forward to getting down to Falmouth and checking it out for myself. The things I miss most about Melbourne are probably the coffee, dim sims and the football.

Why do you think it was important to move to London and are you still there?
Yes we are still here, 3 years and counting; Melbourne is just too far away from the UK, Europe and the US. We would have spent half our lives in planes. The UK really embraces new music more so than America so London was the obvious choice. I’ve had a great time living here. It really feels like home now.

We loved the video for Love Lost – how did that come about?
We’d been fans of Dougal Wilson’s work for a while so we were really excited when he submitted that treatment. We went off on tour and when we came back he sent us the first cut and it was done. It’s definitely our favourite video from Conditions though we are excited about the new video for Need Your Love.

Some people dismiss Australia as a vacuum for good music; what would you say to that?
I think Australia has a great music scene! Gotye is number one all round the world right now and there are lots of other hidden gems to be found. Bands like The Presets and Midnight Juggernauts have been flying the flag for a while and there’s a bunch of new artists like Chet Faker and Twerps that are making great tunes.

Tell us about the new album …Overall it’s a lot more synth heavy then Conditions. There are still some guitar based tunes but we wanted to try out new things and push our musical boundaries a little. Need Your Love has got a real 80′s vibe to it which is something new for us but I think fans of Conditions will really like Trembling Hands and The Sea is Calling.

More info on The Temper Trap at www.thetempertrap.com or see them live at Falmouth Princess Pavilion on May 9 or at Cardiff Coal Exchange on May 12.

So people compare you to Alanis Morrissette, do you reckon it’s just the long hair?

Could be? People have compared me to do many different artists. Luckily none of them have been rubbish ones do I’ll take it as a compliment.

You’re a fan of cover songs, what’s the most obscure one you’ve done? And the most popular?

My cover of Minnie Riperton’s inside my love was quite a risqué one to choose. The lyric and Minnie’s range definitely made it a challenge but I love how we’ve made it into something new. It’s always nice to take something familiar and change it up completely.

You provided the vocals for a Chase & Status track, any more collaborations in the pipeline?

Yes! I love collaborating. It take 50% of the pressure away! And you get to have fun with someone else’s talent. My album has no features but I’m always up for featuring on other projects!

It’s a slight deviation from your sound, how would you sum up your solo music – could you put it in a genre?

I dont think the music I make fits into just one genre. Ive been heavily influenced by Dub, Drum n Bass, RnB and soul but there’s elements of Trip-Hop, Ambient and Pop in my songs so no genre, just music thats good for the soul!

What music did you grow up with?

My family are very multi cultural and the music I grew up listening to was dependant on what side of the family I was staying with! Everything from Latin music such as Buena vista Social club to Radio head, Portishead, Massive attack to KRS1 and Digital Underground. I love music! Period.

As a young artist signed to Altlantic, you’re in good company (Ed Sheeran etc)…what other acts are you liking at the moment?

I’m a big fan of Ed’s. I love artists like The Weeknd, Ghost Poet, Azealia Banks, Lianne La Havas.. There’s a tonne of new music floating about both here and in the US.

You’ve been writing songs for almost a decade now, tell us how it all started?

My dad had always been a huge musical influence. He was the catalyst, the person introducing me to a lot of good music both new and old. He sort of gave me my musical education, and when he passed away, our house became very quiet. I started writing to fill that void. I realised I had a lot to say and singing it was much easier than talking about it.

What song are you most proud of writing? And what song (by another artist) do you wish you’d written?

I am proud of lots of my songs. When I hear them I remember exactly how I felt when writing it. So I couldn’t just choose one. The same goes for songs I wish I’d written. There’s tonnes! But Sia – Breathe Me , Eurythmics – Sweet Dreams and Massive Attack – Tear Drops.

Delilah plays Bristol Thekla on Saturday April 21. Tickets £9adv.

Where did the name come from? And what weird spellings of it have you encountered in the past?

We’re named after a dead champion New Zealand dog. Honestly. Ricky used to work somewhere where skiving on the internet was possible, and came across the tribute website to the fine animal. We thought it was a good word, it reminded us of a semi pro Belgian cycling team from the mid 70s, and we needed a name as we’d got offered a gig that weekend. Later on we found out what it mean’t and were relieved. Yes, no one can spell or say it. Which I guess some would say was a problem, but we think it makes it more memorable.

How would you describe the new album?

Darker, louder, recorded at 3 in the morning, when bike thieves are circling the studio, so we had to scare them off with the sub bass. I think it’s a more cohesive album than we have managed before, mainly because we made time away from touring to work in the studio full time on it for several months.

You’re pretty friendly with your fans, why do you think that’s important?

I think that you should respect the fact that people are prepared to spend time and money listening to what you really enjoy making. We’re incredibly lucky that people do, and it still seems surprising! The music business is falling apart around us, and we can get people to come to a show and pay for our music, it’s only right to say hi and have a drink with them too! I like the punk attitude that there’s no separation between the band and the audience – we’re all there for the same thing, to create and enjoy the experience.

How important was that Mercedes Benz ad for securing new fans? And did you um and ah over doing it or was it a simple decision?

I don’t think it helped much in terms of gaining fans, it was purely a way of earning money. Simply put, letting them use that song enabled us to have access to our own studio for a year, and to concentrate on writing and recording. It’s certainly not cool to have to earn money that way, but the way the record business is going, it’s a useful way of generating funds to get to continue what you love doing. And I do drive a 12 year old beat up mercedes van with two hundred thousand miles on the clock, so I can’t really get on the moral high ground about cars. Although they are evil….

What item would you most love your music to endorse?

To be honest, nothing. We make music we are really proud of and have a honest connection to, and you don’t really think about product endorsements when you are writing something. The best things I’ve seen our music used for that we didn’t know about are the youtube clips where someone’s taken a song of ours and used it on their hula hooping, skating or riding video, it’s really flattering that they like the song enough to use it to soundtrack something they were clearly proud of to broadcast to the world, weird, but flattering.

Tell us about when you played Glastonbury…

It was mainly spent wandering around being really pleased with ourselves to have got a show at the festival we’d been to so often in the past. I first went there and crawled under the fence when I was 16, so to actually play properly there was fun. Beyond that we cut loose and enjoyed it… Can’t really remember that much about the set if I’m honest.

Any more festivals lined up this year?

Several across Europe and a few in the UK so far, check Belleruche.com for updates over the next month. We’re excited that we are playing at Shambala this year, as I’ve never been and it looks like a interesting event.

What’s your favourite thing about UK festivals?

Probably the locations – so many European festivals take place in lorry parks, or disused industrial units, where as most UK festivals tend to be in really beautiful locations. And I think the secret stuff that you find after all the official stages have closed down for the night is often the main reason I go to festivals now, secret bars hidden in woods with gypsy bands, that sort of thing.

Belleruche play Bristol Thekla on June 1. Tickets £10adv from www.seetickets.com

You’ve been an influential figure in the spoken word scene in London for a number of years, both as a performer and as founder of PiP (A Poem Between People) and host and co-founder of spoken word and music night Poejazzi. Can you tell us a little bit about them both and why you set them up?
PiP was started much like any other collective; like-minded young folk (fairly young folk some of us) getting together to create art and support each other. It seemed like a natural thing to do at the time – writing poetry with friends whose work you openly admire and secretly want to steal- what could go wrong? A lot, a lot went wrong, and awesomely at the same time!
Poejazzi: I went to too many terrible poetry nights in a week, and I knew a lot of great poets. Fix.

Poejazzi has featured spoken word acts such as Scroobius Pip, Polar Bear and Kate Tempest and musicians like Ed Sheeran and Beardyman in the past all of whom have gone on to great commercial acclaim. Would you say this is an indication that the spoken word scene in the UK is a healthier one than it was a few years ago or have popular tastes just caught up with what you’ve always been doing?
Perhaps a bit of both. While I won’t say popular tastes have caught on just yet, or that I even want that to happen, more than a few spoken word events are regularly packing out and are getting due props from the prints for doing so. Nights like ‘Bang Said The Gun’ got poets doing some of their finest material on Channel 4. A new generation of artists are making their way through the scene and what not. No big explosion, just a cluster of exciting bangs.

How did Benin City come about?
We’d just recorded the PiP EP (titled Very Little Fish) and in discussions on how to present it live, we felt DJ/MC set up would be a waste of a good opportunity. At the time, Shabaka Hutchings was a member of PiP so getting sax involved felt like a no brainer. Somewhere in the initial discussion and meeting up with potential band mates we decided this was to be a new enterprise. A few names were thrown in. My hometown stuck. Plus, I’m a big John Barry/Brass Band fan.

Were there things you felt you could achieve as part of a band that you couldn’t as a solo spoken word artist?
It’s really hard to make drum, bass and horn sounds all by yourself and talk verse and expect people to take you seriously. Also, I love music. Different audiences/settings require different approaches. I was being as versatile and adventurous as I can. Also, I love music. Working with music seemed a no brainer.

You list Outkast, The Roots and Gnarls Barkley amongst your musical influences. These are all acts who’ve typically eschewed the ‘guns, bitches and bling’ attitude shown by some members of the US hip-hop and rap scene. As a lyricist and performer, how do you feel about those undoubtedly talented artists who’ve tended towards misogyny, homophobia and violence in their lyrics?
Let them do them, really. It’s art, it’s expression, it has a right as any to exist. In a world of Michael Bay and the oxymoron that is Christian Rock we cannot begrudge rap any of its less desirables. It’s become less and less my thing as I get older but if it brings a little bit of joy to someone’s else life who am I to talk?

In your song ‘Work’ you detail your rejection of the normal, monotonous 9-5 work ethic while trying to succeed as a writer. How do you deal with the lure of a regular pay cheque always in the background when you’re choosing to make your living from your art?
Same way as every other freelancer: Prayers, luck, tears, invoices, cash in hand. And tears.

You last played a Cheltenham Underground show back in March 2010. What’s been happening in the Benin City camp since then?
A lot: Only two people who originally played that night are still in the band. We’re practically a whole new band now, with a 100% brand new set. Well, new to you anyway; I’m sick of the songs already. HOPE YOU LIKE THEM THOUGH!

What’s planned for 2012?
A lot: new material will be coming soon, stuff you prolly didn’t expect if you’ve seen us before.

For anyone who hasn’t seen you live yet, how would you sell yourselves to them in 10 words?
A journey into verse via brass, bass, keys and horns.

Benin City will be appearing at The Frog and Fiddle, Cheltenham on Friday 13 April with Zen Elephant, George Montague and Simplistic Scientists. Doors are at 7.30pm and entry is £5 or £3 with an NUS card.

More information can be found at www.facebook.com/thecheltenhamunderground

Coxon is championing a big competition for his forthcoming tour – to find local support acts in the towns he’s playing. Bands have been submitting their videos to his site and people have been voting, with Graham getting the final say ahead of the gig. “I suppose it’s a competition of sorts,” he said. “It’s good having something different every night and also, if they’re local, they can bring their mates along and have some decent support as touring support slots can get a cold reception.”

He said he’d try and watch the support bands but told us he didn’t really listen to much new music, unless someone tipped him off. He said: “I don’t search endlessly for it as I don’t really know what to look for. Like I don’t know what’s a good fish to eat unless someone tells me that’s a good fish to eat.” Interesting metaphor. He’s full of them today. When asked about the varied sounds on his back catalogue of eight albums, he said: “I do listen to a lot of different types of music, which collate at various times in my life. My albums all come from similar influences, but different elements of the influences. I seem to go round in circles and things pick up like a snowball but it’s just a different snowman at the end of it.” OK.

The bespectacled 40-something reckons that his forthcoming album, A+E, harks back to his 2000 solo album, The Golden D, a bit. He said: “I was quite structured with my last one, I wanted it to be jazzy, swingy and folk-like, with a lot of different instruments but I was writing a lot on the bass for this one – which makes it a lot more basic. Women love the bass.”

Talking of women, Coxon is touring with a band he has been playing with for a while (not Blur) and one which includes a couple of female multi-instrumentalists and backing vocalists. “We’re more like librarians than rockstars,” he said, with his tongue firmly in his cheek. “All stripes and glasses.”

Asked whether he’s been to A+E, he recalled an incident when he was on tour with Seymour (an early incarnation of Blur). He said: “We all got sprayed in the face by mace. It’s really nasty stuff. Other than that, I’ve not really been to A&E.” Quite why they got sprayed in the face with mace, I guess we’ll never know. He added: “It’s not from personal experience but I wanted to create that neurotic/paranoid/heightened sense of anxiety of being in A+E.”

He goes on to talk about abusing technology for the album artwork – saying: “For ages I was working on the idea of artwork for a 12 inch – but it doesn’t really work when cut down to CD size or being looked at on an iPhone, so I ended up taking a nasty image on an old Nokia phone (I’ve got an iPhone too).” And then there’s the video for the single ‘What’ll It Take’, which involves a collection of footage of fans doing prescripted dance moves. Coxon said: “I hope there’s not enough room for people to do that at the gigs.”

See Graham live at Exeter Phoenix on April 29 and Falmouth Princess Pavilions on April 30.

Hello, how are you?
I’m not sure if I’m drunk or just over tired. Speaking of drunk, we need more ice and Schweppes bitter lemon. (After getting his drink) Right now we’re good, we’re cooking with gas as they say – no one says that, but I said it.

I’ve heard you really hate London – why do you hate it so much?
Yeah I hate London more than anywhere in the world. I’m just claustrophobic, it’s the same reason I hate New York, it’s just too many people crammed into too smaller place… overpriced… shitty… It’s terrifying.

What’s it like being an American Comic to a UK audience? What’s the reception usually like?
They’re a lot more polite. I don’t even think I like that. American audiences are as dumb as shit, they’re just clapping monguloids, screaming and yelling but you know they like you right away by their response. Here it’s like doing dinner theatre. You have to acclimate to the audience. You just think you’re dying on your ass, sweating bullets and everyone’s just staring at you blankly and at the end you get a standing ovation. Then you’re like why are you doing that now, why didn’t you show me you liked me during the show?

Gives you some confidence at least?
Yeah, they’re more polite people but I’m not accustomed to polite people.

Would you prefer it if people become hecklers?
Not over here because I usually don’t understand what the hell they’re saying! Yeah, you don’t know if they’re on your side or what. But they are smarter, definitely a smarter audience so it’s a challenge and it certainly makes you work harder – which I am not a fan of work!

You’re known for having a drink in your hand when you’re performing, do you have a particular ‘performance’ drink?
On stage I drink beer normally, just because I know how much alcohol is in it but at home or offstage, like right now, I’m drinking vodka because I like it. I like a mixed drink but you can’t do that on stage. You’ll be like ‘Gimmi a vodka soda’ and then they put 9 shots of vodka in it, and all of a sudden you can’t speak 30 minutes into an hour show.

Have you had that happen to you a lot then?
Yeah I’ve learnt not to do that now, but my fan base is very forgiving, my audience knows I am a reckless drunk, so if on some occasions I am too drunk to talk they think it’s funny. I could just go up on stage and soil my pants and vomit and I would get a standing ovation for it.

When was the last time you did a sober gig then?
The last one I remember was around 2003, it was like a mixed bill, I only had to do about 20 minutes and it was at a college. They weren’t drinking because they were only 18/19 years old. There is nothing worse than playing for a sober audience. I remember that show specifically going ‘wow I can’t remember the last time I did comedy without drinking’. Now I make sure that they can drink too!

Is that going to be the only requirement from an audience, make sure you’ve had a few drinks in before you get there?
There have been a few shows where I’ve walked out. There was a theatre, which I guess you would say was posh, they could drink before and afterwards out in the lobby, but they couldn’t have alcohol. So then I come out with three beers under my arm and a tub on stage and I realised after a few minutes – what’s wrong here – and then I realised no one is drinking and I’m just started handing out all my beers like some red cross going ‘Oh please someone, I can’t drink and you not!’

I’ve been on your site a few times and am I correct in seeing that you did a bit of paedo baiting after talking to people on chat rooms?
Yeah that was hilarious! Someone had a site where they had done it and after someone sent me a link, I never laughed harder in my life than reading that stuff. So I emailed them and said ‘Hey if I tried this would you put this on your site?’ and they said of course. It’s the only stuff I have ever done where I have laughed at my own shit.

A lot of people in the UK probably know you best from featuring on Charlie Brooker’s Screen Wipe, what British comics do you admire?
Now you’re just setting me up because I am going to forget one. Glenn Wool, but then he’s not even in the UK any more. Jim Jefferies, he was an Australian who I met in Edinburgh but he now lives in Los Angles – I’m missing England completely. Nick Doody – I dunno if I’ve ever seen Nick Doody’s set. Reginald Hunter is very funny. I’ll tell you who I hate.

Ok let’s go for the hate then…
Matt Kirshen, he’s a brilliant comedian but we had a personal falling out, where my girlfriend and Matt Kirshen… umm… well enough said. It almost came to a… well it did come to blows but it almost came to arrests. That was the last time I was here in August at the Leicester square theatre. I’m not a fighter, and he isn’t either but we were drunk and something happened and we got bloody and then the cops came. I think they let me go just because I am American and it was too much paperwork.
But if you wanna put out the olive branch, because I haven’t spoken to him since and it was really ugly. Matt, what happened between you and my girlfriend and our physical violence… I forgive you and I hope we can be friends again because he is a brilliant comic.

Would you watch yourself if you didn’t know who you were?
Oh fuck no!

Ah, that’s not the best promotional selling point now is it?
Nah I wouldn’t. I’ve been doing it for 21 years, I’m just kinda bored with it, and I’d rather see someone else. If you haven’t seen me for 21 years then yeah come to the show. Maybe you’ll be amused, me – I’m kind of tired of it.

Doug Stanhope plays Bristol Hippodrome on April 8 and St David’s Hall Cardiff on April 10. Tickets from £21adv from here.

However there appears to be a very bright light on the horizon in the form of Goodgreef resident & rising trance superstar Jordan Suckley as he joins BBC Radio 1 as part of of their ‘In New DJs We Trust’ (INMWT) slot on Thursday nights. It all kicks off on Thursday 5th April from 9pm-10pm and Jordan will be on rotation every four weeks with other fresh signings Mosca, Julio Bashmore and B.Traits.  

Having been firmly supported over the years by the Judge himself and recently being crowned ‘One To Watch in 2012′ also by him, it seems very fitting Jordan takes the batton and continues to champion fresh house & trance music from around the world in his absence. SW DJ and producer, nick the Kid caught up with the man himself for a quick interview to reflect on his new position on the national airwaves and chat about things in general.. 

Q: Hi Jordan, After being outed as ‘One To Watch in 2012′ by Judge Jules to now joining the Radio 1 INMWT roster, you must be very happy at the minute. Can you tell us more about how the show came about & is this something that has been cooking for a while now? 
Yeah its been pretty hectic since Radio 1 announced it! I actually auditioned in July/ August last year, they emailed my management team asking for me to do a pilot for them. So I got one done, sent it over and they emailed back to say they liked my pilot and would be in touch. I was in communications with them for quite a few months after that, but only found out I had the show about 2 weeks before it was announced!

What are your plans for your new monthly residency ? Can you tell us anything at all about what direction the show will be taking? 
The idea around my show is that I will be covering all the music you would expect to hear on a Trance night. So that’s covering the chunky warm up, Progressive, Uplifting Trance, right through to the more banging Tech Trance as well, so I will have all bases covered! Also I plan to have some big guests on too, and a few other plans which will be revealed next month!

We first crossed each others paths at the amazing Island Of trance week in Ibiza last September. Being a first of its kind VIP trip to Ibiza, what were your thoughts on the week in general & how did it stand up to your other previous Ibiza experiences? Will you be involved in any capacity this year? 
I really loved the Island of Trance week last year, I have some great memories (although I had too many Jagers during that week) It was great to see so many familiar faces from the UK clubs and I loved that it was dedicated to Trance, so everyone was on the same wavelength! I think I may be joining the madness again this year too, cant wait !

Whereabouts in the UK are you from and what were your early dance music influences & experiences? 
I was actually born in Liverpool, lived there till I was 11, then moved to Ellesmere Port which is right by Chester! I started off playing Techno, Hard House and House music, but then moved on to Trance after that. My local Record shop never had much good Trance, but I soon found the right places. My main influences when I started where The Scratch Perverts, Eddie Halliwell, Q-Bert, Simon Patterson, John O’Callaghan, Fergie (When he played Funky Techno), Valentino Kanzyani & loads of others!

You are a staple fixture at many of the UK’s leading trance events such as Godskitchen Goodgreef & Inside Out and your releases have been championed Worldwide by the likes of Sander Van Doorn, Paul Oakenfold, Ferry Corsten, Paul Van Dyk & many more! Has trance always been your main focus or have you ever been involved in or followed any other forms of electronic dance music? 
Yeah I have always loved Trance ever since I started buying the Gatecrasher & Cream CD’s, although I have always had a wide taste in music, such as Funky techno, House and also some of the more harder music too! Last year I got caught in the House/ Trance divide like a lot of Trance Producers, although this year I am just concentrating on Chunky Tech Trance & the more Banging side of Trance!

Which Artist’s, DJ’s & Producer’s are standing out for you at present? 
Simon Patterson, John O’Callaghan, Heatbeat and Sneidjer

Clearly you are a very technical DJ behind the decks, how long has it taken you to get to where you are & has there been anyone you have looked up to for Scratching and/or mixing techniques? 
I started off practicing tricks & scratching as soon as I got a set of decks, because there was a local DJ at a club I used to go to called Kev X, who inspired me to do more than just mix after watching him. I was at University for 4 years so had a lot of spare time and used to practice every day. Also I was the only one out of my friends who had Decks at Uni, so I used to play house parties every week for 4 years, so was always practicing there.

I recently saw a scratch video of you and Radio 1′s Kutski, being from slightly different musical backgrounds can you tell us more about how this friendship came about? 
I was basically booked to play at the same event as Kutski a few years back. He was watching me DJ and came up afterwards and said he really enjoyed watching me play. I have basically kept in touch with him since then and now he lives round the corner from me. We both love gadgets and anything DJ related, so as you can imagine when I am at his house, the conversations get pretty heavy/ geeky! Its great to have someone who loves it all as much as me who lives round the corner too!

What does the Jordan Suckley studio consist of? and what is next on your desired hit-list? 
27 inch imac, Logic, M-Audio KeyRig 49 Keyboard, Focusrite Saffire Pro 24 Soundcard, Mackie 8 Monitor Speakers. Synths- Sylenth, Massive, Logics ES2, Zebra and a few others. I dont like to use too many synths, its best to know a few inside out!

On the production front, you have been extremely busy lately, can you please tell us what’s in the pipeline for 2012? Any exciting collaborations or remixes that we should know about? 
Got lots of originals, Jordan Suckley- Prisoner (Discover Records in April)
Jordan Suckley ft Leanne Thomas- Thudner (Out on Night Vision now)
Binary Finary & Jordan Suckley- It gets me (Out in April)
Lost Emotions- Sunrise in Delimara (Jordan Suckley remix) Out in May
Remix for Tydi/ Collab with JOC/ Also another big collab & another big remix lined up too, also I have nearly finished my follow up to Thunder for Night Vision

You’re no stranger on the international circuit and I know you are heading out to Argentina later this month for BAT4, Is this somewhere you have visited before and are there any other exotic destinations in the diary for you in 2012?  
Its my first time in Argentina, its been a place I have wanted to play for ages as all my DJ friends say its amazing! Got quite a few international gigs lined up for this year, also a debut in USA, back to OZ & Bali, Ibiza, Poland, India, Sweden, Mongolia and loads of other places too! Unfortunately not allowed to say them all just yet, but keep an eye on my Facebook page & website as I will be putting up new dates on there very soon!

What has been your favorite show in the whole history of Radio 1 listening and why? 
Eddie Halliwell Essential mix at Assention in Manchester, because it was my first real clubbing experience.

Any final comments to the readers of 247 Magazine? 
Hope to see you all very soon! Find out more info at www.jordansuckley.co.uk

First off, what’s the Tiny Dragon origin story? How did you guys come about?
Lizzi – We formed at Brighton Institute of Modern Music about two and a half years ago, but started off as a four-piece Funk band called Deadbeats. The bassist was dropped and I became the bass player as well.
Jim – We’re totally DIY at the moment as well, playing tons of gigs.

After listening to your set, it’s obvious you guys draw from a lot of different influences, what would you say are your main ones?
Jim – Our main influence as a band are punk and dance, old school rock, like Led Zeppelin, Our influences are so different between us that we just try to create an alternative sound.
Lizzi – We’re basically influenced by what we grew up listening to. It sounds cheesy, but we want to get people up and grooving, dancing and having a good time

How do incorporate dance or electronic music into your own style as a three piece?
Jim – It’s like a good mixing of steady drum beats steady, no over playing, straight forwards grooves, intricate guitar and bass playing. Our singer is unbelievable she can play crazy bass lines and still hold these notes that you can’t believe sometimes.

Your second EP has just come out, how has your sound evolved since the start of the band?
Jim – From the first EP we weren’t really sure what we wanted to be. It has a very broad range of styles in each of the 4 songs. The songs on the new EP are much more focused and come together, especially in the live set. Going as a band, a year and four months, it’s still a difficult thing to do, to narrow down describing the sound. We’re still trying to figure it out.
Lizzie – We grew up. We grew as a band and grew in age. I think that it takes a band about 5 ears to really find its sound and we’re only two. There’s a lot of work to be done, but we’re getting there. We haven’t peaked just yet

In a few words, what is you new EP all about?
Jim – Fun, fast and some other word that I can’t think of beginning with F.
Lizzie – It’s what happens when a band that lives together for a year creates something that they feel is a little more contemporary than what’s out at the moment. It’s a bit spacy, a bit bass-y and a bit groovin’.