Yes, yes, it is true! England's finest noise/scream merchants Rolo Tomassi have got in none other than the world renowned DJ, producer and whatnot who goes by the name of Diplo to produce/twist dials on their new record, the follow-up to last year's Hysterics.
They're currently recording with him in Los Angeles, a process which started last week. Heaven knows what to expect from Album 2 and we're sure all you Rolo fans are fairly giddy with excitement on this announcement which, we're equally sure, you didn't see coming, unless you're some kind of indie savant. But yeah, though Diplo had said he's a great fan of the band, it's still a left-of-field decision to choose a guy who'd previously worked with M.I.A and Santigold.
Anyway, as well as an exclusive snap from them together in the studio (below), we also asked Mr James Spence a couple of questions about the studio and recording, which he duly answered. We think we got in there before anyone else, too.
Here they are:
DiS: What do you hope the record will turn out like?
James: I'm hoping that it'll be a clear and definite progression from Hysterics. I'm very happy with the songs we've written for it and to have a producer who's out of the realms of what we're used to will hopefully bring a new, fresh element to our sound. We've never really worked with a 'producer' as such before so all it's new and exciting for us.
DiS: What's Diplo like?
JS: He's just making sure everyone is comfortable with the set up we have and that everything sounds good. He's brought some interesting ideas to the table and I can't wait to hear what they're going to come out like. It's clear that he's very involved with a lot of different things at the moment with Major Lazer and Mad Decent among many other things so we're just totally flattered that he'd want to take time to work with our band.
DiS: What's the studio like?
JS: The studio is an unassuming, a well hidden and fantastic place. The front of the studio is the background that Elliott Smith stood in front of for the cover of his album Figure 8 and it's since become a memorial with lots of handwritten messages on it. All that indicates that there's actually something inside is a doorknob. Inside the studio there's a few different rooms for recording, a control room complete with rams head on the wall and a back room for playing computer games and killing zombies on Call of Duty.
And, of course, as promised, here's the photo with Diplo from the studio. Guess which one Diplo is. Also, guess whose thumbprint it is in the bottom left.