The Longcut are a Manchester based band who combine everything from Punk, Post Rock, Electronic, Kraut and Dance. They have just released their debut EP 'Transition' to much critical acclaim through the Deltasonic label.

Jennifer Coxley got the chance to talk with the band after returning from their recent UK tour.

For more information, check out the official The Longcut site.

Hi guys, thanks for taking the time to talk to us.

Stu: That's cool.

You've just completed your largest tour to date, how did it go?

Lee: It went well, a few problems but nothing major. It was really interesting playing to audiences that hadn't heard us before, like starting over again. We had to work hard to get their attention but generally people seemed to like it.

Jon: We just want every gig to be like the Manchester ones, Brighton was close because we had a few mates there (including a portable Akoustik Anarkhy crowd).

How does performing your music live differ from recording in a studio?

Lee: It wasn't that different for the EP because we tried to record everything live. The sound isn't the same if you multi-track everything, even though you try to play as well as possible for the recording you can't help reacting to each other.

What made you get into making music as individuals and how did the group come together?

Jon: I'm nicking what Giles from The Earlies said to you, 'Mutual contempt and a deep fear of having to participate in the real world.' That and an unhealthy obsession with music.

Are you actually singing real words on 'Transition' or just shouting any old rubbish? I had to ask...

Stu: Real words, but we're not going to tell anyone them.

All of your songs seem to take a new direction from the last, do you purposely try and experiment a bit more and make each new track completely different from your previous material?

Jon: Not really, we just follow our ideas wherever they end up, maybe as a band we have short attention spans. I heard that one of Brian Eno's cue cards that he uses in the studio says 'whatever worked last time never do it again'. We're not quite that bad but we have to be quite inventive with the arrangements, there's only so much you can do with 3 people.

How do you go about writing your songs and do you write them as a whole band?

Jon: We write everything together, usually from a fragment of a song which we'll play around with in rehearsal. It's the combination of happy accidents and avoiding too much repetition.

Lee: We usually start out with a twenty minute version of a song and have to cut it down and think about the structure. Occasionally songs seem to write themselves, which is always nice.

Do you ever worry that being on Deltasonic, people will automatically presume you're just another "Scouse skiffle" band before actually hearing your stuff?

Stu: Not in the slightest.

The EP was really well-recieved, is getting a lot of recognition and mainstream success important to you?

Stu: Recognition is good but mainstream success isn't something we've thought about that much.

Was there any truth in the rumour that Twisted Nerve tried to sign you?

Jon: Yes, and Damon bought us lunch in my hometown. That's all we're saying though.

Spoilsport.

Does it bother you when you get compared to other bands instead of people focusing on your own sound?

Lee: I think that irritates any band, but I suppose it's something that's always going to happen. Its the easiest way to describe a band to someone, and if the comparisons are good then it's ok. We've heard about some good bands by people comparing us to them.

Jon: Cheers to whoever compared us to Can and Neu.

What are some major misconceptions that people have of you?

Jon: That Stu singing and drumming is a gimmick, that we're from Manchester originally, and that we're students even though we left university about 2 years ago. Another thing that was really annoying was someone slagging us off for making dance music with guitars, which is only part of what we do anyway, but it was like there's only a one kind of music you're allowed to make with certain instruments. Oh, and we're all on smack. And we're communists.

Along with a few other local bands such as Nine Black Alps and Loose Canon, you're all getting fairly hyped as of late - do you think next year will see a big guitar "scene" explode in Manchester?

Jon: If there's any kind of scene it's not like London or Detroit where it's based around one particular sound. Anyone who's heard us, the Alps, The Earlies or Loose Canon knows we sound nothing like each other. If it's a scene at all it's because we're equally obsessed by all types of music and having fun playing it. It's not really based on fashion or ideology.

Lee: It's cool that our friends are doing well at the same time but it's nothing new, there's always good bands in Manchester if people look hard enough.

What's been on The Longcut stereo lately?

Everyone: The Shins and Broadcast as usual, lots of Can, Beastie Boys, TV on the Radio, The Earlies, Hood, LCD Soundsystem, Bloc Party, Sonic Youth, At the Drive-In, Wren and lots of other stuff that we can't remember right now.