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Brakes

The band known as Brakes Brakes Brakes in the States and as a so-called 'supergroup' here in the UK talk Brighton, ice cream and YouTube.

Posted 26th July 2007, 3:48pm in Interviews, by Emma Swann
Brakes Brakes have sneaked up on us. One minute they're a Brighton so-called 'supergroup'; a side-project of British Sea Power and The Electric Soft Parade, the next minute they've eclipsed their 'other' bands and are being lauded left, right and centre.

Ahead of the release of the band's new single - the title track from their latest album (but without the 'the') 'Beatific Visions' - we spoke to the band about the flooding over Truck Festival, Brighton and getting free ice cream...

Truck got postponed due to flooding. Were you ready to play a gig in a dinghy?

We would've played it in wets suits and snorkels if we'd have had to. We're gutted, Truck Fest is one of the highlights of the year. I'd packed my tent and sleeping bag and was raring to go, but we got the call at 6pm on the friday and it took a while to sink in. I went to the cinema that night and saw The Seventh Seal, which was one of the best films I've ever seen.

Your new single is download only - are you fans of the so-called 'internet revolution'?
I started shaking when i found Big Bill Broonzy's "Low Light and Blue Smoke" on You Tube. Things like that make the internet incredible. I don't really download anything - I find MP3s too condensed in terms of sound quality - tinny and annoyingly weak, so I've stuck with buying vinyl.

The single is about the 'good things' in life. What's the best 'good thing' right now?
I've got the first season of the US series 'The Wire' on DVD, which is pretty much the best TV I've ever seen, it's more like a moving novel.

You're apparently a 'supergroup'. What makes you 'super'?
Our special powers.

Is it frustrating still occasionally being referred to as a side project?
I suppose 'side project' has a bit of a dreadful ring to it, it conjures up images of flabby indulgence. I'd prefer it if we were referred to as 'The greatest Rock and Roll band in the history of music' but I don't think that'll happen. Well, maybe not until our next album is out.

Does it confuse you that you've got to go by a different name in the US?
A Philadelphian funk-rock-noodle band called 'The Brakes' tried to sue us, and as their manager is a lawyer and we are skint, we decided to change our name to Brakes Brakes Brakes - so good we named ourselves three times. It's not too much of a bother. We're thinking of calling our third album 'Brakes Brakes Brakes' to clear things up.

Will you break the half-hour mark with your third album?
We're trying. Fourty minutes is our goal.

Do you expect to be given free ice cream at the Ben & Jerrys festival?
That's why we said 'yes'.

Finally, if we were considering Brighton as a holiday destination this summer, what would sway us?
Whilst the rest of the country was drowning in the recent downpours, it was blue skies here, the South Downs seem to block the worst of the weather. Also, we have Harvey's Brewery in nearby Lewes, which makes the best beer in the UK.

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