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“It’s not all about the music, it’s about super powers!”

It’s 9 o’clock on a frosty Monday night and I’ve arrived at The Cellar in Southampton to interview the tenacious newly named Limbo Cabaret. In a small stuffy practice room above what would normally be a loud and sticky floored bustling venue that’s played host to legends such as Amy Winehouse, Foals and Matt Berry is sat the eccentric 6 piece having just finished band practice.

Hello guys! Firstly…Limbo Cabaret, a new name for a new year, what made you change your name and why?

Adam: Well nobody could pronounce it or spell the old one.
Pip: There were issues with nobody finding us online.
Jed: WE were pronouncing it wrong for a start. (laughs)
Darrel: There was one particular radio show where the presenter said ‘and coming up next we’ve got ‘Orest-eea’ and then the song finished and he went ‘and that was Orest-ezia!’ (laughs) We knew at that point we had to change the name!

As a pretty unique act you’ve been described as ‘mongers of the avant garde & storytellers of the dark ages’. What genre of music would you say you fall into? And how would you describe yourselves musically?

Jed: Limbo Cabaret describes it really…we are limbo’s house band…Romancing the damned and tempting the pious.

So what does 2013 bring for you? What can we expect from you this year?

Paul: A new single. New music.

Does it have a name yet?

Darrel: We’re not going to reveal the names of the songs just yet, but it’s going to probably be a double A side cos’ we have equal love for both songs.

Are there any festivals on the cards for you this summer?

Darrel: Its early days, we can’t really say yet.
Jed: A lot of festivals in secret locations that people will probably never hear about or see or know about…But they will be being played.

You’re first gig of the year is on Saturday 26th at Lennon’s gracing the Club Psychedelia stage. Have you got anything new up your sleeves for this special show?

Paul: We’re going to be playing some songs we haven’t played for a while, maybe at least two.
Jed: We’re reworking an old song from bring unable to play it to being able to play it. (Laughs)
Pip: And we’re playing a new song.
Darrel: Are we?
Pip: That’s what you told me! (Laughs)
Darrel: Well Pip’s performing a new song! (Laughs) and my beard’s also slightly larger now.
Paul: I noticed that!
Darrel: Yeah that’s for the show.
Adam: I bought a jacket!
Darrel: And Adam’s bought a jacket! (Laughs)
Jed: It’s quite special because we won’t technically be one band, we’ll be two bands…simultaneously!
Darrel: We’ll begin the first set as Orestiea and the second set as Limbo Cabaret!
Adam: Will you shave your beard of? (Laughs)
Darrel: NO!
Paul: We are ending where we started playing…at Lennons!

So your first ever gig as Orestiea was at Lennons and your first ever gig as Limbo Cabaret is going to be at Lennons!?

Paul: Yes!

That’s cool and you’re sharing the stage with the new, and hotly tipped by NME, ‘Spectral Park’, what do you think of their new material and what do we have in store from them for the show?

Darrel: Besides what we’ve heard on the Internet I don’t have a clue what to expect.
Paul: Or have we?!...Nah I’m kidding, but I’m really looking forward to it.
Adam: It should be good!

With the recent save The Joiners gig with the legendary Frank Turner playing two shows without charging a single penny to the venue it’s becoming a sad but truthful fact that venue’s, not just in Southampton, but all over the UK are struggling. Why do you think this is happening? And how do you think this could be turned around?

Jed: I’d like to blame the Internet somehow.
Darrel: If that was too quite…he said he hates the fucking Internet. (Laughs)
Jed: Probably the Internets fault out of most things.
Adam: People haven’t got any money.
Paul: People aren’t willing to take the risk.
Adam: People don’t want to go out and spend the money but then go to the same nights and see their mate’s bands.
Jed: The Internet and people, those are the two things…Their ruining the world! (Laughs)
Darryl: I’m sure if people knew how to turn it around then they’d be doing it and I’d like to think that this is just a bad time and maybe a phase and there will be the live gig and the venue’s time again!
Jed: People and the internet, the worst things in the world…But I’d like to take this opportunity to ask people to keep checking our Facebook for our latest gigs….and what not! (Laughs)

What music are you listening to at the moment?

Paul: Adam’s dying to say something!
Adam: I recently bought a Crystal Castles CD, it’s very good, a bit of electronica!
Paul: I don’t think these people will have heard of Crystal Castles.
Jed: Who are these people?! (laughs)
Adam: Well I usually listen to older stuff so I’m glad I’ve got that out.
Darrel: Pip, what you listening to at the moment man?
Pip: Well…a lot of stuff from the Baroque period actually….Handel.
Paul: Fork handle’s.
Pip: Glass of wine, candles, a bit of Handel…beautiful.
Jamie: I’m just going to say this quickly...Silversun Pickups (laughs)
Paul: Don’t put that in…Don’t want people thinking we listen to Sliversun Pickups…whoever they are (laughs)
Adam: Silversun?
Paul: Silversurfer!
Darrel: Well we’ve just finished Christmas so I’ve been listening to a lot of Christmas songs recently.
Jed: And now you’re listening to New Year songs!
Paul: Boring answer Darryl! (laughs)
Darrel: It’s the truth! It’s the truth! I have ‘Now That’s What I Call Christmas’ in my car (laughs).
Pip: I don’t know really I listen to all sorts, every day every songs different, different style, different move.

What was the last song you listened to?

Pip: The last song I listened to….was….
Paul: Something hip-hop cos he’s a gangster (laughs)
Pip: Um…someone called ‘Dat Kid’
Jed: Tip for the new year from Pip – ‘Dat Kid’.
Pip: And before that I was listening to ‘Chester P’
Jed: And ‘Chester P’…Look out for ‘Chester P’ and ‘Dat Kid’! (Laughs)
Paul: Coming to a Lennons near you!

Tonight we’ve received the sad news that it may be the end for HMV, the last remaining music chain, what does this mean to you?

Paul: Adam was talking about this earlier!
Adam: It doesn’t mean that much to me.
Paul: Well they’ve ruined it by making music the smallest section in their shop, it’s because people aren’t spending any money on music but…
Jed: Didn’t HMV kind of monopolize a market?
Pip: You walk in and just go ‘Ughhh’, and the order of it all is rubbish.

But it’s categorized from A-Z?

Pip: It’s not good enough! It’s a lot easier on the Internet. (Laughs)
Paul: THE INTERNET!
Jed: You walk in and all you see is headphones and little cases to put on a 2mm thick thing that you put an electronic song on, they’ve shot themselves in the foot.
Paul: I think we need some more independent music shops in Southampton and we don’t have any of them cos HMV drove them out of Southampton!
Jed: Yes! And Fopp.
Paul: They bought Fopp and then well yeah it’s history. Die hard fans are still going to their local independent record stores but we haven’t got any…

Now we’ve had a couple of questions sent in from twitter.

Paul: Oooh! See now Jed THAT’S the Internet! (Laughs)
Jed: God bless the Internet.

They’re a little random so brace yourselves; What ever happened to Helen the head? (If you’re unaware of Helen’s existence check out the video of 'Helen' at the bottom of this page)

Darrel: Helen is in my dad’s garage… scaring the mice away (laughs)…that’s where she is at the moment and she’ll come out again another day I’m sure.

Wasn’t there a story with your dad and Helen the head?

Darrel: Yes that’s right, my dad offered to do his roadie part at Blissfields last year and went to set up Helens head as a live prop and then broke her, luckily only in front of about 3 people before the audience gathered.
Paul: Cos there was millions after (laughs)
Darrel: Yes, loads! But that was a tragedy.
Jed: She died a few minutes before we played…

Who would you most like to collaborate with and why?

Jed: Ronnie Drew, that’d be pretty cool!
Paul: I think Darrel might say Wayne Coyne & David Byrne…
Jed: Kano…get him rapping in one of our songs. (laughs). Or a woman that does some sort of kooky music that we haven’t yet heard of.

And last but not least – If each of you were to have a super power what would you have and why?

All: Oooooh!
Jed: I would definitely want the power to retain the knowledge of everything I read and saw because I get annoyed…
Darryl: I thought you did have that? (Laughs)
Jed: I don’t know enough! I constantly annoyed that I don’t know enough…I want to know more and more and more and more…(laughs)
Darryl: I’ve always, it’s an odd one, but I keep having a reoccurring dream that I’ve got the power of illusion and that I can create any kind of illusion towards any separate person. Like whether you know you might have an enemy and you want to conger up a dragon that only they can see, just so you can completely humiliate them, its evil but it’s a dream!
Paul: I’ve found this…it’s Acid! (laughs) I’m joking I don’t do acid.
Jed: For the record Darryl was very animated about this question. This is the question he feels most passionately about. (Laughs)
Paul: It’s not all about the music, it’s about super powers! (Laughs)
Pip: I just want to be me (laughs)…but…
Paul: But!! (laughs)
Jed: Pip would like the power…of being Pip!
Pip: It would be the power to have instant money or a car or a helicopter.
Paul: It’s all about money with you.
Pip: No no, let’s just face it life is a lot easier when you have money! Like I could have anything I want, say I want a glass of water and I just find one there (pointing to a table), or say I need £100…oh here’s a £100, or I need a bike…oh is that a bike there (pointing to a wall). (Laughs)
Jed: You’re not talking about your own power; you’re talking about the power that comes with being a Columbian Juggernaut! (laughs) Or a pimp!
Pip: But then I don’t want to chance it at being shot cos then I’d need some kind of deflective power then so I guess if I had someone who was jealous of me cos of all my stuff, I’d be indestructible! So yeah I’d like to be indestructible and have anything I want.
Jed: Pip would like to be rich and indestructible (laughs)
Pip: But I wouldn’t be greedy about it, I’d be a Robin Hood figure.
Darrel: You’d be robbing yourself?
Pip: I’d rob everyone and then say ‘lets make this fair’, but it wouldn’t be communism.
Adam: That is communism! (laughs)
Pip: Hey everyone, I just want a super power!
Adam: I’d just like to be able to fly.
Jamie: Yeah I’d like to be able to fly, definitely.
Paul: Yeah but that’s boring.
Adam: Why’s that boring?
Jed: Flying in what sort of way?
Adam: What do you mean? Just flying everywhere!
Jed: Yeah it’s fine you fly, fly, fly and then when you get really high up you’d suffocate and freeze. So you want the super power that you can’t freeze and you can’t suffocate when you fly up really high…
Adam: Yeah…
Jed: Your asking for too much, I think this question illustrates the priorities of the band (laughs).

Well, thank you very much guys!

Check out Limbo Cabaret at Club Psychedelia Saturday 26th January with Spectral Park! (And hope they’ve not obtained super powers by then!)

Interview by Issy Dacre - 14/01/13