Incubus

They've been knocked so many times that they've almost become immune to it. Whether its about Brandon's heartthrob looks or the didgeredoo playing hippy shit - to be perfectly honest most accusations aren't actually about the music. We caught up with DJ Kilmour when they hit Manchester last month to talk beats and how they may just be collaborating with Moby and Outkast on the forthcoming US Dance tour.

Q: Its been 10 years now. How's it feel?
A: Yeah, the bands been together for 10 years and I've been with them for about 3 and a half. Its fun but its a long, long road. We have 5 different pieces out now - "Fungus Amongus", "Enjoy", "S.C.I.E.N.C.E", "Make Yourself" and we just wrote a new record which will be out in October.
 

Q: Everyone wondering what the new records sounding like?
A: You know I couldn't tell you. I get asked that question so many times and I'm like "Uh oh, I don't know!!!". It sounds like us you know but its different from "Make Yourself" and its different from "S.C.I.E.N.C.E". Its got some songs which are extremely hard musically and songs which are softer then we've ever done before and then there are some in-between to mash it together.
 

Q: You've got these expectations now which just grow with each and each album?
A: For us if we don't keep being creative while still being us it wouldn't be any fun for us. We always try to do something that's us but that's new at the same time. After a while you get tired of playing some of the older songs and as we tour behind "Make Yourself" now there's a lot more people than there were behind "S.C.I.E.N.C.E" so that gives you the reason to play more "Make Yourself" songs.

The past is what it is and that's what it is. Each album is a product of what we were doing at the time and if its a bad picture you take another one or a different one. The only time, if i'm listening too our music, is to learn subtleties - its like homework!!!
 

Q: In America you're touring with Moby and OutKast as part of a dance package tour. How do you think that's going to go?
A: Its the first tour that we've done which isn't a rock tour so we'll see how it goes. It gives us an opportunity to play some of our dancier mellower stuff but we know our fans will be coming so it will still be us. It would be cool if we could bring Moby on for one night or maybe The Roots on for another - if I could jam with any of those guys it would be cool but that kind of stuff just happens spur of the moment.

Rock, especially when it gets more popular like it is now, tends to pigeon-hole itself with all the bands coming up sounding the same. The bands which have originated it have already been to the top and they're big already - all the bands coming up after that in my eyes should sound different than them!!! Why are you doing exactly the same thing? It must be because you're trying to ride their coat-tails and make some money as well.

We always set ourselves out to be universal - we'd play on Pluto if we could!!!!
 

Q: In the past you've mixed it up with Jurassic 5 - anyone else you'd like to hook up with?
A: Now that she's coming back and all these people are doing remixes for her it would be great to do a Sade remix or an Incubus version of a Sade song. There's also the people at the fore-front of cutting edge music like the Chemical Brothers, Talvin Singh or Roni Size.

I think that whole jungle / ambient genre is the newest form of music right now. To me its like hip-hop used to be when they first started sampling stuff. To incorporate a lot of different musical genre's into that form of music is really cool.

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"Make Yourself" has been re-released on Epic with a bonus disc
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