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I am in love

Interview | Biography

I am in love is

Seb Twigden

Martin Brien

Edmund Grunill

Nicci Robertson

James Mason

Interview

Artsin: Tell us about the new band.

IAIL: Well, obviously we're called I am in love. We play meaningful music with pop undertones. It's very wild in places but low-fi in others. There's an 80s influence there (bowie, prince, omd) but we also take influence from modern artists like Foals, Bloc Party, Clock Opera, Everything Everything. Some parts are even post-rock, Mogwaiesq. We have just been recording some tracks over the last few weeks and some of the stuff is sounding like a giraffe kick to the face of a lion, where other parts are sounding like an eskimo kiss.

Artsin: When did the band play its first show? How did it go?

IAIL: We played our first show in early February (2011) in London. We chose a small venue to play, 80 capacity. It was heaving. It went really well, great response from a crowd of strangers. We had been to London a couple of weeks before to hand out 500 cds in Camden to entice people to the gig. The marketing tactic paid off!

Artsin: So, tell us who is the band and what instruments to they play?

IAIL: We're made up of ex-members of Autohype. Ed drums, Seb sings, Nicci does keys, Mason does bass and keys and Martin does guitars.

Artsin: So where did the name of the band come from?

IAIL: There's a couple of reasons for the name. One being the fact that Seb wanted to make a statement and say he is in love - most of the songs are about this it seems. Also, on Hollyoaks it was mentioned and we thought it sounded good. It was the first name Seb mentioned and everyone agreed on it straight away.

Artsin: What songs have you got so far? Where can people listen to them?

IAIL: Got an albums worth of songs - London, Call Me An Animal, Buccaneer Mastery etc. You can hear them on SoundCloud or on our MySpace page (see below).

Artsin: The first time I saw the band was at the Firebug. Was that a good night or wot?

IAIL: Yea that was our first hometown gig. It was great to see so many people. In Autohype we predominantly played to a younger audience but the music is now definitely aimed to an older audience and the crowd seemed to dig it. We went all out with lights and visuals.

Artsin: What has the band got coming up over the summer?

IAIL: We're releasing our album, 'of regard and affection', in mainland Europe in May and also the USA. We'll be touring Germany. Hopefully we'll be playing more UK gigs (got some pretty sweet ones lined up) and releasing something in the UK too. Our next Leicester gig is at the White Noise Festival at Firebug on 26th May.

Album cover from the band's new release

About the band:

The band told us:

I am in love is our name - a name that derives from our singer's realisation that he is indeed in love and not just a boy who doesn't know what love is. We are four boys and one girl, hailing from Leicestershire, in central England.

We formed in late 2010 after a previous band, Autohype, disbanded after two years together. Since forming I am in love, we have been writing, recording and working on stage moves in cold rehearsal rooms and recording studios.

We locked ourselves away to perfect what we do, putting all of our effort and energy into every song we write, every note we sing, every drum we hit, every key and string we play.

We want to make music that excites people, music that people can connect with, music that maybe even divides opinion - like the music of some of our heroes: Prince, Bowie, Adam Ant, Freddie Mercury and bands like The Cure, Bloc Party, OMD, Foals.

These influences have shaped the sound of I am in love. We want people who like our music to really love it. If people do love it, we urge them to come see us live. We can promise that our shows will always be memorable and will always have that special, stirring atmosphere.

I am in love has lots of aspirations for the coming months. We are currently finishing off our debut album that will be released across Europe through Velocity Sounds Records on the 27th May.

Coinciding with this release is a nine date tour across Germany and further dates across the UK, which we are massively excited about!

Additionally, we are also releasing the album in America through Pirate Ship Records and this should lead to a tour of the States later in 2011.

Regarding the UK, we are in talks with a number of labels and will be looking to release an EP in the near future.

What they say about I am in love:

"We really love them." - Dean Jackson and the Beat Team at the BBC.

"... a brilliant band ... this tune feels very mysterious and strange." - Newreviews.co.uk talking about 'call me an animal'.

"I Want You is so fu**ing catchy, it just wedges itself in your brain. For a new band on the block, it is great to be whacked in the face (not literally, that would hurt) with something fresh and mesmerising." - more from new-reviews.co.uk.

"A hypnotic mix of driving electronica combined with the sort of hooks that were last seen aboard 'the Jolly Rodger'." - The Von Pip Musical Express.

"So its official - 1980s gothic pop is back!" - allgonepop.com.

"Falsetto meshes with solid vocals in a sea of bass, pulsating beats and pure energy." - isthisrevolutionary? blog spot.

"I Am In Love ... Playing with all the gusto of a band on a mission." - a live review from The Monograph.

"It really does show a band showing the early stages of greatness. Don't get us wrong it won't suit all and won't save the world like Bill and Ted, but seeing as though this is their first number it will be interesting to see what other beauts they transcend on us in the coming year." - more from The Monograph.

"It's a proper little corker with a dark-n-moody vibe that then kicks into a fine chorus and those all important drum styled handclaps." - ireallylovemusic.co.uk talking about 'call me an animal'.

"Delivers a stillness and depth of emotion whilst all the while remaining enigmatic ... I Am In Love's newest offering provides you with enough danceable moments and drum patterns to make muscles twitch involuntarily while other tunes are imbedded in thoughtful drawn-out, linear pieces. For a band so fresh they have developed their sound beyond what anyone could have expected." - FD2D magazine.

"A distinctively cool ooze coming from their outfit of drums, bass, synths and outstanding hair. From the off, it was clear that the lead singer was born a 'frontman', almost stepping out into the crowd a number of times and looking at moments ever so intimate with the microphone ... both male and female vocals, created an amazing atmosphere. At times it was hard to tell the male vocals from the high notes of the synth, an impressive skill to sing that high and remain steady on those notes ... My favourite song played was ' I Want You ' ... The melody and lyrics had a cyclical motion that created powerfully simplistic tones that layered and merged perfectly to produce a real winner of song. The whole set was full of energy and enthusiasm, with an obvious uniqueness to the band members personally and musically ... A couple just in front of me for the entirety of the gig clearly agreed, as their unsubtle affections towards each other suggested they would have liked to be somewhere private, but couldn't bring themselves to leave as they kept being drawn back to the music. If that isn't a good sign that this band will go far, then I don't know what is!" - a live review from The Ripple.

Call me an animal

I am in love - Call me an animal by i am in love

I want you, listen to it on Youtube

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On Myspace | On the band's web site | On Tumblr | On Facebook |

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