The Answering Machine

Good afternoon - you have reached The Answering Machine, a place where chocolate biscuits, frisbees and knitwear reign supreme. Made up of three ex-students, The Answering Machine are a concoction of sharp The Strokes choppiness and weird Pixies type lyrics all topped off with some The Arcade Fire collective energy and a cute retro inspired dress sense.

Mustafa Beat is the band's prized drum machine supported by the mischievous riffs of bassist Gemma, the seizing strums of lead guitarist Patrick and the raw but alluring tones of front man Martin, who has taken some time out to talk about the band's future plans and look back over their jam packed debut year.

Having formed last winter whilst gathered around a heater in Manchester's student capital, Fallowfield, the Answering Machine have made an impressive mark on the city's music scene, not to mention the press.

Living in such a laid-back and diverse area, the band inevitably draw inspiration from their surroundings. "The student lifestyle definitely helped us a lot," Martin explains, "We got pissed and made music. A lot of our songs were written during our final year at university - we'd go to the library, do a couple of hours studying then go back home and write a song. We'd sing about relationships, having fun and just things that were influencing us at the time - it was a very organic process".

However, like all new graduates, leaving the student life behind is proving difficult for the trio. "Now we've now all left Uni and got full-time jobs, our song writing has become more mature and our songs have a darker undertone. Maybe it reflects our frustration at not being students anymore".

After a busy year bagging support slots for the likes of Good Shoes, Captain and Morning Runner, there's little time for the band to pine. Though they remain unsigned as yet, they released their sellout debut single Oklahoma last month through local label High Voltage, currently appear on the label's new compilation CD and have been working hard to get noticed.

After NME head hunted The Answering Machine and published their first live review, Rik from the well-respected Captain praised them impressively in the magazine as 'absolutely amazing'.

"We were so honoured to be in the NME but we didn't notice much feedback from it," says Martin, "I think a lot of people are quite skeptical about new bands and new music. A lot of people want to discover it for themselves and with the help of the Internet it's becoming easier to do".

Having formed at a time when the Internet is revolutionising the music scene, The Answering Machine have taken full advantage of Internet publicity, especially the MySpace phenomena.

"MySpace has been revolutionary," explains Martin. The impact that it's had on unsigned bands has been remarkable. To give all bands a fair shot to promote and showcase their music on a global scale is fantastic, cuts out the middleman and allows people to judge the music for themselves".

As well as changing the way in which fans engage with bands, it's also proved to be a magnet for industry insiders. "For us personally, we were given our first gig through MySpace. We had our music up for a week and a promoter offered us a support slot. We owe a lot to the Internet".

Though The Answering Machine have received attention for their individual sound, the band's influences never stay in the same place for long. "We are, on the whole, quite easily influenced. I don't believe a band can survive without expanding influences. Even if you hear something you don't like, you're still learning how not to do it. The idea is to try and create music that's timeless".
Lately, the term 'artpop' has been seeping on the music scene with current bands such as The Long Blondes, The Gossip and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs satisfying the fashionista set and citing art as influential to their outlook. The Answering Machine fit this bill to some extent, terming themselves as 'artpop' and shifting some of the emphasis from sound onto image.

"For us, writing a good song is more than a catchy melody and a hook," Martin explains, "We try to blend our music with other art forms like poetry. We want the band to work on a visual level too and so we take pride in artwork and photography. A band's music and artwork come as a package, reflecting one another".

However, when The Answering Machine aren't gigging, writing or rehearsing they spend their time getting on with the unglamorous necessity of working for a living. "We all have jobs in supermarkets at the moment, so that takes up a lot of our time. Apart from that we drink a lot, we walk a lot, we eat, we sleep, and we daydream. We try and watch as many gigs as we can as well".

With Christmas fast approaching, the trio are hoping for some well-earned relaxation. "We all get pretty excited about Christmas. We're planning to record some new songs in December, hopefully releasing something in the New Year. But mostly, we're mostly looking forward to time off, going back home to see our mums and dads and eat loads of food. The only downside is that I'm allergic to Christmas trees".

After the careful reputation forging and sheer hard work of their infant year, The Answering Machine are set to be one of the most talked about bands of 2007. With massive progress and press attention already in the bag, it's only a matter of time before a savvy record company snaps them up, and from then on, supermarkets and evil Christmas trees will be things of the past.