Noisettes - Nothing to Dread

After several years of touring the width and breadth of the country, it seems that for the Noisettes, the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel to musical superstardom is finally within sight. Shingai Shoniwa has recently been described as one of the 'great frontwomen of our time', and when this band takes to the stage it is difficult not to be seduced into believing such superlatives.

The Noisettes have risen through the industry the old fashioned way. No sign of a manufactured faux-rock band, or overnight rise to success via MySpace here. Recognition as one of the UK's brightest new talents has been hard fought and achieved through meticulous honing of a now near-perfect live performance.

Originating from the same London scene that gave birth to The Mystery Jets, Larrikin Love and Bloc Party, The Noisettes are the last of this illustrious group to break through. "Bloc Party in particular have been really good too us," Jamie Morrison explains to The Skinny. "Out of all those bands that came out last year we are the last to come through. We played with all of them, but we're the furthest behind."

A few years ago that London 'scene' climaxed with a number of impromptu and ultimately illegal gigs on the famous Eel Pie island. The Noisettes played there several times, supporting the Mystery Jets amongst others. "I still feel as excited as I did back then," says Shoniwa, "but two years has changed us, for better or worse."

Certainly their live performance has become more organized. Back in the Eel Pie days, equipment was often borrowed, bound together and unreliable. But the regular power cuts and equipment failure only added to the thick heady atmosphere present within the crowd. The astounding thing is that although two years has passed, they have managed to maintain and recreate that excitement and atmosphere through their performances.

Last year saw the band gather speed and take shape. After briefly touring America and recording two tracks for their debut album, What's the Time, Mr. Wolf?, the band returned to this side of the Atlantic to support Muse on their European tour.

Some may think that this kind of intensive workload - with the added pressure of supporting one of the biggest rock bands around - would prove a little daunting for this young troupe from London. "A bit of a step up? Just by about 35,000 people," Shoniwa explains. "But I treat every gig the same, and give it the same amount of energy."

And how is this energy maintained? "Well, I was also doing the Jade Goody workout, until it all became controversial that is." Morrison quickly interjects to shed further light on the Noisettes' take on the Shilpa vs. Jade debate. "Yeah, Shilpa rules. That Jade girl, she means nothing to me."

After this brief detour into the world of reality TV, the conversation moves to the future. Like all realistic musicians, the Noisettes are aware of the precarious and often fickle nature of the music industry, and are taking nothing for granted. The increasingly hyperactive Morrison (he is now circling the room whipping the tape recorder with his silk paisley scarf) elucidates. "If you don't sell records then they (the industry bigwigs) will quickly stop returning your phone calls."

But, if all goes as it should for this exciting group, then big plans for the backlog of material they already have could be on the cards. "We might put the album out as a box set, with five seven inches of all the things we've done up until now, and maybe a documentary for Christmas," concludes Morrison.

With this exciting prospect festering at the back of the energetic drummer's mind, the band get ready to ship out on another high profile support slot with TV on the Radio in the US while winding up their jaunt with a performance on the eclectic Coachella festival bill in Indio.