oom

How did your band come together?

Myself (vocals and nagging) and Ed (beats, loops and samples) met at Leeds University whilst studying music, oom was meant to be a recording project as part of my degree but we really enjoyed the sounds we were making and so decided to make it live. We then moved to Brighton and after a year or so of gigging and growing in our sound, we advertised and recruited Alex (guitarist), who had been an oom fan.

Please introduce yourself and your associates, what qualities do you each bring to the band, musically and otherwise.

I am Debbie, I sing and write the lyrics and vocal melodies. I tend to lead things, get us gigs, make contacts and generally talk the band up, leaving Ed to create beautiful beats, loops and samples and to generally create the sound that is oom. Alex plays awesome guitar and works with Ed on writing riffs which fit in to our generally melancholic but overwhelming sound. We all bring our musical qualities to the band very separately by taking the basic structure of the song and working alone, and then bringing it back and seeing how it fits in with everyone else's contributions.

What inspires you, musically and lyrically?

We're all from rock backgrounds so our music is very much guided by what inspires us and by what we grew up with, but Ed is really into technology and weird old vinyl so he keeps us out of the rock mainstream by maintaining an electronic and experimental edge to the sound which ultimately defines what our sound is. We love bands like Radiohead, NIN, Massive Attack and artists like Bjork and Aphex Twin. Lyrically I do pretty much what everyone else does, I write and things which provoke a reaction in me, the lyrics are usually a bit dark, generally pretty obvious in their content, I love singing a word differently to make it sound like a new word or give it an entirely different meaning. Recently I have been much more excited about vocal textures and shapes rather than lyrics ...

On an oom curated festival bill, who else would play?

Bloody hell. Where to start. I would love to be on the bill with Radiohead, Massive Attack, NIN. We'd fit into that nicely.

What motivates you to record and gig?

It just feels right. Not doing it feels wrong. It's as basic as that.

If the musical world was ideal, it would...

Make it a lot easier for genuinely good music to be heard - the appreciation (or not) comes after.

Why should people buy the NYQUIST THEORY compilation?

Coz oom are on it! Because it's a fantastic musical adventure and experience, it'll be inspiring to musicians and ear candy for anyone who likes to listen to good and interesting music.

Suggest a publicity stunt to increase your profile in the UK.

Collecting together all of the mutant seagulls in Brighton and locking them in a large hall with a load of bird perverts.

What do you consider your best achievements in music?

Never feeling like it's not worth it.

What more would you like to achieve with your music?

More gigs, more wedge, more time.

If you weren't in a band just what would you do with your evenings?

Go and see other bands and be really gutted that I wasn't in one.

What are your future plans for gigs and recordings?

To keep on keeping on and get better and better and more exciting to ourselves and to others.

What, with regards the UK music scene, upsets you?

Erm. Not a lot actually, I'm not really a ranter so I think it's better to have all kinds of music rather than none at all. There's enough venues and enough other bands to do stuff with.

Please name your 6 discs for a Desert Island?

Pearl Jam - Ten
Radiohead - Kid A
Bjork - Vespertine
Massive Attack - Mezzanine
Jeff Buckley - Grace

3 Books for a desert island?

'How To Get Off A Desert Island' by A. Dreamer
'Things To Do If You Are Stuck On A Desert Island' by A. Loser
'How To Make Friends With Sand And Not Be Disappointed' by S. Uicidal

1 Luxury Item for a Desert Island?

A ferry.

Any other words of wisdom?

Oomroom.co.uk