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Garage gurus Scott 'Angry' Anderson and Leon McCormack, famous for the recent Balearic Anthem 'You Used to Hold Me', spoke to Drowned in Sound in preparation for their comeback single in April.
You've been away a long time. Remind us precisely what you guys are all about?
Scott: Good quality garage, not the MCing you can't understand, but old-skool, tunes you can dance to, with proper skilful vocals you can sing along to. Kind of like 'girly' garage.
Why the long break?
Leon: We parted company acrimoniously with AM:PM records because they weren't looking after us properly. Y'know - the promotion side was extremely poor. We had to go through a hundred people to find out precisely what was going on. They were a major label attached to Universal, with so many people under their umbrella. We wanted a company where we could have more of an input. So we moved to Attitude and they've been great ever since. We plan to come back in April, with our new single.
What happened to the hotly anticipated album?
Scott: Album? What album? I didn't know we were meant to have an album out. We were working on the 'Sounds of Eden' project.
DiS: It was supposed to be in the shops on June 18th last year, and the record shops kept saying it was delayed until January, and come January they confessed they hadn't heard from you.
Leon: We will have an album out. In the next millenium, haha. Sometime.
So since you've been gone, What've you been working on?
Leon: I have a side project, that I'm trying to get a deal for. It's called Cormack. My brother and I, who were in Brother2Brother together.
DiS: The band that supported boyzone when I was ickle?
Leon: Haha yeah, I remember.
How was it, the whole boyband experience? Leon: Good fun at the time, though we left the label because we weren't happy with the music we were being given to look at, and started writing our own stuff.
Really, what instruments do you play in the band?
Leon: Piano, guitar and I sing.
What is the sound of Cormack like?
Leon: BBMak.
How well did Brother2Brother do anyway?
Leon: 250,000 records sold in Asia, and we went gold in Spain twice. That's why I'm trying to get a deal for Cormack over in Europe, we've got more support.
Who have you worked with on the album?
Scott: MCAlfie and Sylvia Mason James - the vocalist on 'You Used to Hold Me' and 'Shine On'.
So who are your main influences?
Scott: Old skool rap, dance, soul. Madonna is a legend.
Leon: Breakbeats obviously for Scott and Leon and Tracy Chapman.
Interesting...So do either of you dance?
Leon: No, I go to clubs to DJ.
What's been your favourite club to play in?
Leon: 'Twice As Nice', at the works in Kingston.
Scott: Tenerife. The atomosphere's wicked out there.
And what tips do you give to an aspiring DJ?
Leon: Just be yourself, listen out for new music and be original most importantly.
One last question. Where did Scott get the nickname from?
Leon: His temperament. He can get really angry.
