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In Conversation

02 December 2008 01:51 BST

The Music: Getting dropped can feel like falling

Being pushed early in a career isn't always the best thing for a band and while it inspired the Music to dizzying heights in their early days - including a festival-stealing slot at Glastonbury 2002 after Zwan pulled out - the pressures of working for a big label, namely Virgin, took toll on the band both musically and personally.

New album Strength In Numbers hits the shelves today, some three years after the band's sophomore effort Welcome To The North, and all the more remarkable considering the problems of frontman Rob Harvey, who posted a message on the band's official site revealing that his abuse of marijuana, and later of alcohol, played a significant part in the album's delay.

Sat in a central London hotel the day before Lee McQueen's stunning victory, guitarist Adam Nutter joked that there were "some right f***in knobs on [The Apprentice]" before explaining that evolution as a band was more important than commercial success, especially having come back from the brink of a band after being dropped following album two.

With uber-producers Flood and Paul Hartnoll on board, a confidence-building tour of gradually larger venues before the UK tour kicks off tonight and a renewed togetherness about the band, Strength In Numbers seems more than just a catchy title.

inthenews.co.uk's Lewis Bazley spoke to the returning Leeds foursome about addiction battles, record label stress and the importance of Strength In Numbers.

When you were dropped a couple of years ago, did you think that was it?

Stuart Coleman (bass): It's a big blow for a band. You're signed for so many years and then suddenly you're not is just hard to cope with. It's the main thing, it's what allows you to make music, or put music out there.

But you're happy with the new label?

S: Definitely.

Why did you choose Polydor?

Adam Nutter (guitar): Just the general enthusiasm, we wanted to rekindle the enthusiasm we had from Hut when we first started, as they made us feel really special and gave us a lot of confidence. Virgin were a much different kettle of fish, it gave us a taste of what's it like to be on an impersonal label. It's obviously a bigger label with a bigger roster of bands and it showed us the other side of the coins. Polydor were expressing genuine interest and love for our music.

And why the decision with this tour to start with smaller venues?

Rob Harvey (vocals): The confidence thing was definitely our biggest problem as a band, so we felt we should ease into it. There was a lot of pressure and a lot that could go wrong, with the introduction of new technology, we'd been away for a while, playing new songs. It's better if things go wrong in front of 200 people who've supported you through the four years than a big crowd!

In respect to the new material, why did you choose to work with Flood and Paul Hartnoll? The album seems to have the electronic aspects you'd expect from them.

A: Well, the electronics were there before they got involved, we'd done that ourselves. We really chose Paul and Flood because they had no ego about them. I think the reason they wanted to get involve was because they loved what we'd done before and wanted to get involved and to help us realise our vision and take it to the next level. We'd spent two years in my bedroom writing songs and arranging them and we felt really strong about where they were headed. So that's why Paul and Flood were good because they helped us develop our ideas without being too pushy.

So it's your record?

A: Yeah, it's as if we've done it on our own and they were two people who we held in high esteem who showed interest in us and it worked well with them working as a team. They've got two different sets of experience and approaching things and they were great at getting good performances out of us, especially with Robert.

To read the rest of the inthenews.co.uk interview with the Music, click here