Phobophobes

PHOBOPHOBES 5 QUESTIONS

WHO ARE YOU? Six weary men from the depths of south London's debauched vortexes, finding a small piece of solace in the music we make together. Jamie, Chris, Elliot, Jack, Bede and Nathan are our names. We all have our own obsessions which inevitably seep into the sounds we make.

WHAT DO YOU DO? We do deranged and uplifting stomp pop that will probably make you wonder if someone's put something in your orange juice.

WHY DO YOU DO IT? Because we are compelled to do so. This is all we know. Whether we like it or not. It's like we've been brainwashed somewhere down the line. We're programmed to do this. The conditioning is strong and the destination is unimportant. The fact we're here doing it is what matters.

WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW? We've just finished a UK tour rolling out a set of new songs featured on our second album (due for release next year on Ra-Ra Rok Records) which we recorded with Youth at his studio in Andalusia. In the meantime, we just released a AA side Moustache Mike/Blind Muscle which is available now. We just backed up Can front man Damo Suzuki at his most recent show at the Windmill Brixton, fulfilling many of our deepest desires all at the same time. We put on a party to celebrate Blind Muscle being out in the world back in October at Werkhaus in London. It was a sweaty one. Our friends Deep Tan and that unholy Sweat also played, plus we had PIXX spinning some records too. If you weren't there you really missed a treat, but we'll be back on the road early next year promoting the release of the new record, so make sure you come party with us then!

WHAT’S THE HOT TOPIC? Well not only are we leaving the EU but the arts are slowly being taken out of state school education and starved of funding in this country. We could soon be in a situation where bands of a certain level won't be able to afford to tour European countries because of visa restrictions. And then the idea of music, art, design, theatre being extracted from school curriculums for not being essential subjects is a real sadness. But the DIY mentality is strong within music today and people will always find a way to do what they've got to do. If we can make it this far, surely anybody can.