The Wombats

The Wombats are a three-piece indie band from Liverpool, England. They comprise two native Liverpudlians; front man Matthew Murphy, provider of voice, guitar and keyboards and drummer and b-vocalist Dan Haggis, while bass and additional vocals are provided by Tord Øverland-Knudsen, a Norwegian who has made his home in the city. Music News caught up with them at the NME Awards launch party and put some questions to them.

MN: So, how’s it all going?

All: Good, yeah, alright.

MN: Are you excited?

Dan: What about tonight, or just generally? (laughs) We’re getting excited about the awards next year – Tord is hoping for a night with Kate Nash, for some no-holds-barred, no strings attached passion.

MN: What, have you heard she’s a bit of a goer?

Dan: Not at all, it’s more that Tord’s obsessed.

Tord: No, we can’t talk about that.

Dan: He’s also the only one who is completely single in the band, so he can talk about it.

MN: So, you’re the womaniser then?

Tord: [Clearly uncomfortable] Not at all.

MN: What’s your ideal type, apart from Kate Nash?

Tord: I like Japanese.

(Other two fall apart laughing)

Dan: That was so dark! See his eyes when he said that? (mimics, 'I like Japanese,')

Tord: And Scandinavian, coz I am from Scandinavia.

MN: (To Matt and Dan) You’re both from Liverpool. Is it true that you’re going to play at the Capital of Culture festival to 100,000 people from the top of a building?

Dan: Yeah, it’s moved now, from the top of the NCP car park to St George’s Hall in Liverpool, which is a really amazing building by Lime Street station, in the centre and broadcast throughout the city centre.
I think the idea is that one band will play a couple of songs on the top of the NCP and another will play on the top of St George’s Hall, and then its switches over to the other one, and it is broadcast all through the City Centre on big screens.

MN: Who else is billed?

Matt: Ringo Starr.

Dan: It’s Dave Stewart’s band with Ringo Starr on drums. But I think the line-up is still getting jiggled about at bit.

MN: And are you Beatles fans?

All: (A resounding) Yes.

MN: So, you’ll have done 270 gigs by the end of the year?

All: 3. 273 by the end of this year.

MN: God, you must be knackered?

Matt: Yeah, we’ve not really much of a clue what’s going on.

Dan: You do sort of lose track, but its good experience.

MN: What have been the highlights for you, so far this year?

Matt: Glasgow the other night was pretty amazing.

Dan: In order, in March we played SXSW in Texas, which was amazing. We did 7 gigs in 6 days and drank more Margaritas than we thought was physically possible, And we made a documentary - that was great.

Tord: Then in May we had the headline tour, where we played 48 gigs in 52 days.

MN: Yeah, I saw you at Rockness, you were great!

Dan: Yeah, did one night there.

Matt: No, it was two nights.

Tord and Dan: It was one night!

Matt: No, we stayed the night before the gig, and then we played again.

Dan: (exasperated): We were there for one night you muppet!

All: It was a bit messy.

Dan: We just kind of shivered our way through it.

Dan: Another highlight was recording the album. It was our first real album as opposed to few collections of demos that we have slapped together ourselves. We actually went out for 3 weeks to Rockfield in Wales, which made it all seem more real.

MN: What’s the writing process, how do you go about it, who’s the main writer?

All: This guy (point to Matt)

Matt: Yeah, I write all the songs. I either write it on an acoustic guitar, or electric guitar, or occasionally with some penguin-fingered keyboard playing. I then take it to these guys and if they like it then we arrange it and if they don’t like it then I go away with my tail between my legs and cry. But they usually it all works out comes out the other side alright.

MN: Did you set out to make a 'singles’ album, or is that not the intention, do you just see what happens?

Dan: We just wanted to make it into an album that you want to listen to from the beginning to the end. It’s not really about singles.

Tord: We are not trying to make big singles, we just make music we like

MN: What’s your favourite song, on the album?

All: Little Miss Pipedream

Matt: I don’t know if that’s my actual favourite song, but that’s the one that turned out the best. When we wrote it we weren’t really sure how it might come out, or and we weren’t really sure if it would fit on the album. But when we got it back and just shat ourselves.

MN: What’s it about?

Matt: It’s about nothing really. It’s about wanting someone. About wanting something you can never have.

MN: Who do you like of the current music scene, of the new bands coming out at the moment?

Dan: We’ve just been on tour with The Enemy – they’re amazing.

MN: Is he as arrogant as he comes across?

Dan: He’s actually a really nice guy, but they are so sure of themselves. You look at the size of the shows they are doing and dealing with it. He’s got shades of arrogance on stage, but I think it’s just that he’s very confident and sure of himself. Appearances are deceptive, I suppose.

MN: Sure, because they’re so young, to be pulling off shows as big as they have been. How old are you guys?

Dan: Matt: 23, 23

Tord: 25

MN: You met at college when you were about 19, is that right? How did you meet?

Dan: Matt and I knew each other anyway, and then at college we started getting to know each other better, and I met Tord in a bar one night and asked if he wanted to be in a band.

Tord: It was just pissed in a bar.

MN: Who are your influences, what did you grow up listening to that might have had an impact on your sound?

Matt: You can’t help being influenced by music you listen to, but it is never conscious, possibly subconsciously. We don’t try to sound like anyone, even though we might.

Dan: Matt could be listening to an Emmy Lou Harris with Mark Knopfler duetting, while Tord will have the Beauty and the Beast soundtrack on, from his entire Disney Pixar back catalogue. It really does get that random.

It could be anything, just anything that puts a smile on our faces, or similarly makes us go 'Hell yeah!'

MN: So, the new single, Moving to New York, what’s that about?

Matt: I was courting this girl that Tord had had relations with previously. And basically, I asked if she was out one night, and she said she wasn’t going out. And I walked into the bad and she was on the dancefloor, shit-faced, kissing another girl.

So that song is really about fucking it all off and leaving it all behind.

I think I was trying to get a girlfriend too badly.

Tord: You were desperate.

Dan: And it’s only really when you stop looking for someone that you end up meeting someone, that’s when you’re the most attractive to the opposite sex.

MN: You’ve only got three songs to do tonight, so we’ll see you later?

Dan: I know, it feels like a day off compared to the tour we’ve been on.

MN: Thanks a lot, great to meet you.

All: You too, see you later.

Moving to New York is out on January 14th 2008.