Tue:18-03-2008

- Plug In City - An Exclusive Interview

Ben Strong Gets Incoherent On Us

Melbourne lads Plug In City are playing at the upcoming V Festival, and it's just another step towards the "bigger and better" kinds of crowds that the band has steadily been building since the release of it's debut self-titled EP last year.

The band, described by FasterLouder.com as "post disco meets post punk", impressed enough bodies to support the legendary Daft Punk on their tour last year, and looks poised to create some legends of its own with the release of a new album slated for later in 2008.

MTV chatted to Ben Strong recently about gangland urban legends, incoherence and the creative process.

Ben: I have to begin with the disclaimer that I clocked myself with my guitar this afternoon. So if I answer anything incoherently...

MTV: You blame it all on your guitar - got it. Well tell us, your publicity says that you guys were formed in 2005 during the height of Melbourne's gangland war - did this have anything to do with bringing you together?

Ben: No, not at all. That's another disclaimer. We were writing press copy as a band all that time ago, and we didn't really know what we were doing, so we just wrote that and we're always being asked about it now.

MTV: So if you had to write the press copy again, what would you say?

Ben: We'd have an equally as horrible time doing it today. We'd say something we'd regret just as much!

MTV: So if the Melbourne gangland war had nothing to do with you guys coming together, what's the real story?

Ben: It's pretty unremarkable. We didn't mean to form. I'd been writing songs for a long time, and the singer had been too. He was the one who decided to put a band together, and did all the running around recruiting - we found an out-of-work actor; my brother; a friend - it all came down to who was available at the time, and who did we like - there was no vast degree of control. We'd probably be able to do it more easily now, but at the time, anyone who could vaguely hold an instrument was recruited into the band.

MTV: Clearly you guys have been improving - do you play every day?

Ben: We used to rehearse quite a bit at the start, and then sometimes we'd rehearse when we played live, during the shows. I guess that's what people don't want to hear! But it was a good opportunity to try things out. We were a predominantly live band before we got signed to a label.

MTV: Now you're recording your first full-length album, do you create it one song at a time, or is it more gestalt?

Ben: Because we were a band who predominantly - or exclusively, I guess -played live, we used to go one song at a time. But now, in the studio, we're trying to make the album that's thematically and schematically consistent, so we end up being partly progressed through a number of songs at the moment.

MTV: So, not to dwell on the whole "apocalypse" thing in your press release, but what kinds of themes or influences are affecting your music right now?

Ben: We've been together three years, and we don't have a premeditated idea about where we want to be. We're not trying to put ourselves in a particular musical genre. What's changed in the time since we formed and now is that we've been very very lucky to find a record deal, and now, whatever we write won't just be for the live medium, because we have the luxury of working on an album. Live music has its limitations - you have to try and get an audience engaged more immediately. But now, in the studio, we're working on being more minimal.

MTV: So what kinds of things influence your lyrics?

Ben: Well we've moved away from girls and make-ups; I guess we're putting more thought into the lyrics now. For this new album, we've got a lyrical theme and concept that we're adhering to right through the album

MTV: Can you tell us what it is?

Ben: I could, but it would sound contrived if I said it! It's just something we're sticking to, but going into it wouldn't help explain it; the music's a better way to do it.

MTV: You've headlines and supported shows for Gerling, the Juan McLean, Uffie, The Lost Valentinos, The Temper Trap, Van She, Children Collide - how does the dynamic change between headlining and supporting?

Ben: Lately we've been mainly supporting bigger acts, such as Damn Arms and Daft Punk. I suppose there's more pressure if you're heading rather than supporting. If you're rubbish and you're supporting, people aren't going to take their drunken frustration out on you as much as if you're headlining.

MTV: How did you find supporting bands like that?

Ben: It was brilliant. Before that we'd done mainly club shows around Australia, so it was really something different. I really liked the guys in the band Damn Arms. And playing in a stadium with Daft Punk was also brilliant. It was a bit daunting, but after a few songs you get used to playing and I wasn't too nervous. Once you're up there, doing the same things that you've done one million times before. But still, I was almost more nervous when we did the launch of our first EP and we were playing in front of all our family and friends...

MTV: Understandably! Would you say that the inspiration for your music is more emotional or theatrical?

Ben: Not really either I think it's more rhythmical. It's certainly not emotional, and not too theatrical. But I don't really know how to answer that one; I don't know if many musicians can answer what motivates them.

MTV: What's been the greatest thing for you about the last 12 months?

Ben: Playing with Daft Punk was a huge highlight. We're all huge Daft Punk fans, so it was incredible; not something you envisage.

by Jade Maitre

Plug In City will be performing at the fantastic V Festival, where you can also catch great acts including Duran Duran,  Air, CSS, The Smashing Pumpkins, Queens Of The Stone Age, The Jesus And Mary Chain and Hot Hot Heat.

You can catch all the info on the Festival by clicking through to our Tours page, or visiting the official website here.

Catch more goss on our daily program "MTV News" by clicking through to Overdrive !