I Am Kloot

We caught up with I Am Kloots Johnny Bramwell at their biggest headlining show in Manchester to date. With debut "Natural History" making the lists as one of the best album of 2001 we found out about Mavis, Deacon Blue and the forthcoming tour with Travis. Next year should see the release of a second album featuring "Favourite Sky" and "Living Host" and schedules allowing should see Elbow's Guy Garvey on production duties.

Q: I hear you're going by the name Mavis on the sly now?
A: We've got two new songs in the set now and when the Festival Of Briton contacted us we decided to do a secret gig under the name Mavis. Everyone was like "I don't who the hell they are" and then we did the date at London which went fantastic. I'm writing the next album at the moment and were going to gig them first so we'll have all the songs done in about six months hopefully.

Its a big thing for us gigging because we've done about 135 gigs this year and we've been all over Europe. I think the whole story of me busking over the world is exaggerated - the only place I busked successfully and actually managed to live was Athens. I was living with a girl out there and I just busked every day...I tried it in Paris and it didn't last two weeks!!! Amsterdam's great though if a few of you can play and you just want a holiday out there. There's a row of Cafes that are really good to play but saying that this was about 8 years ago now so it all could have changed.
 

Q: I hear you're playing a Deacon Blue song tonight in Manchester?
A: There's a guy called Mavis (hence the name) and he just writes in on the website going on about how brilliant Deacon Blue are and claiming that we really love Deacon Blue...which of course, isn't entirely accurate. So you can't always believe what you read on the web apart from your good selves obviously.
 

Q: After this tour its the Travis tour in December. Will these be your biggest shows to date?
A: Some of the festivals have been bigger obviously but I suppose indoors, yeah. I understand why people see it as a bit stodgy and I don't get this "Sing" song. In general they're not the type of band I'd go out and see - but then again there's not many people I would. I guess I'd make the effort for Leonard Cohen and I'd love to see what Pulp are doing right now.
 

Q: What do you think of this dreaded Nu-Acoustic tag that they still keep trying to drag up now after all this time?
A: We just carry on doing what were doing and sod that. I just find that everyone likes to be grouped in with other people's music and in this case I think were quite justified in being pissed off with being lumped in with some of the people we are. There a bit witless and lacking guile. We were offered a Nu-Acoustic tour recently and we turned it down. Likewise when the NME did an article on the N.A.M we turned it down.

The scene's are often about the people and not the type of music. The problem with the idea of a scene is that its mutually exclusive and at the end of the day you have to do what you do and not think about it too much.
 

Q: The new songs. Are they radically different or typically I Am Kloot?
A: No, not in the sense that they come from us. We've only been together for 2 years and in that sense we've got a lot of scope - the collection of those 12 songs on the LP were the first 12 songs we wrote so as far as the next album goes its anyone's guess. When you play new songs live it really can change the whole mood of the gig - it can really re-shape the gig.

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