Mumm Ra Interview

The NME Tour may have a different format this year with its Indie and Nu-Rave factions splitting into two but in recent years there has been a spotlight placed on the first band on the bill due to some high-profile breakthroughs. Placed into this position in 2007 are Mumm-Ra and RoomThirteen caught up with Noon (lead vocals and guitar) and Gareth (drums and percussion) to talk about pressure, festivals and the inevitable world domination.

R13 The tour has just kicked off, any rock n roll stories yet?
N: Everyone wants to know the rock n roll tales, its all been nice. I had about twelve cups of tea last night.
G: Yeah, I had a whole packet of custard creams, that's the real rock n roll.
N: Nah, there has been some good laughs already. The first night was in Belfast and everyone just went for it so that was a good start to the tour.

R13 What do you think of the line-up for the tour?
N: I think its alright. We're enjoying it and we're getting on well with all the other bands
G:I think theres some aggro between some of the bands but because we're on first, everyone seems to like us.
R13 Do you feel as though you're going to have to take sides in any potential aggro?
G:Not at all, we're getting on well with folk. You look at The Horrors and you think they're Goths but they're actually quite cool and fun.

R13 Do you feel under any pressure given that your position on the bill has helped some bands make a big breakthrough?
N: We don't think of it like that, we're just glad to be here and hopefully get some fans into us. Its possibly just hype that bands like Franz Ferdinand and Coldplay had this slot and then broke on through.

R13 What sort of crowds are you playing to? When Franz played in Glasgow on the NME tour a lot of the crowd were still queuing outside.
N:Yes, we noticed that. The first ten minutes we play are rubbish anyway so its okay for the crowd that comes in late. Haha, that's a joke, the whole set is quite good sadly!
G:We're just looking to get people into the music and this tour is great for that. And then after that, domination. We're looking to get into films.
R13 Really, do you have any plans to break into the movie world?
N:We are hoping to make a short film to go along with the album release. We've written a lot of it so we'll have to see if it gets made.
G:We want to cast Samuel L. Jackson in it.
R13 You might as well, he has been in every other film hasn't he?
G:Exactly, if he can be in Snakes On A Plane, then he can in our movie.

R13 You are being viewed as one of the big hopes for 2007, are there any other bands you are tipping for success?
N:That's a bit tough because there are a lot of bands on our level who are probably already successful. I just got the Klaxons album and they're going to have a great year. I've only recently checked out the Guillemots record and its good but they're maybe a bit weird to make it big.
G:That's weird in a good way.

R13 You've mentioned albums, is yours likely to be out this year?
N:Yes, we're looking at around May time. There is the current single and then another single and then hopefully the album will be ready to go.
G:We're really looking forward to getting the album out. It sounds like Mumm-Ra and the singles we have had out but its more diverse and challenging so there will be stuff for everyone.
N:I'm really liking the singles we have out before the album is released, we've definitely been building up to the record.

R13 The bands name. Are you big fans of Thundercats or is it just a cool sounding name?
G:Is it to do with Thundercats? (said with feigned surprise.)
R13 So Wikipedia says.
G:It dates back quite a while and an old band member saw it listed and just thought that sounds great for a band name and its been with us ever since. Nothing more than that really.

R13 Are there any other cartoon names you think would work for a band?
N: I suppose theres Dangermouse but that's one of the guys from Gnarls Barkley isn't it?
G: Its not a regular conversation we have but err....Optimus Prime would be great.
N:Really?
G:Oh aye, that can be my spin-off name.

R13 Its certainly a better name than Henry's Cat, that would be a rubbish name for a band. Anyways, you are playing the Great Escape in May, any other festival plans?
G: The Camden Crawl.
N:Are we?
G: Yeah, you're always the last to know. We're hoping to play them all. Reading and Leeds, Glastonbury, T in the Park, anything. Theres no reason why we cant play all the festivals and it would be great.
N:Definitely, we really want to play all the festivals and Glastonbury would be fantastic if we get the chance.
R13 It'll save you trying to buy a ticket.
N:Yeah, we're saying to the management to keep that times pace clear for us.

R13 What would be your favourite festival moments as a fan?
N:Sigur Ros at T in the Park was amazing.
G: I was watching Manu Chao do an acoustic set at the side of the stage and then I look around and Paul Weller is standing beside me and then minutes later, Pharrel is there. That was just surreal but great.
R13 Would you say that Weller and Pharrel are influences on the band?
G: Weller? Nah, I'm not a fan. We later saw Weller and Steve Craddock at the dinner table but no, they're not influences on us.
N:We've got a whole load of influences on the band.

R13 Does that come through in the song writing of the band and how its all shared out?
N:Theres a lot of stuff going in and we try to love every single thing that we do, so we work hard on doing everything well. We filter a whole lot of stuff to get a finished song.

R13 What are your hopes for 2007?
N:Honestly? World domination...seriously? At the moment it just feels nice being in a band that's on the way up. We're really proud of this album and we love it and we want to start off our career and do as best as we can. We don't want to be a flash in the pan. We've been friends for six years, the band has developed and we want to continue in this vein.

Given the humorous nature of the interview and the relaxed yet focussed attitude the band displayed, it seems that Mumm-Ra are perfectly comfortable with the expectations being placed upon them and should have every chance of turning this NME tour into their favour by vastly expanding their fanbase. If you are going to the shows, turn up early.