They’ve been carrying the ‘next big thing’ tag for a while now and are (apparently wrongly) associated heavily in the press with the ‘Underage Gig’ movement that has swept the country. They’ve even worked with Bernard Butler at Edwyn Collins’ studio… all very impressive stuff indeed for a band still studying for their GCSE’s.

Now they’ve escaped the shackles of school life things are really picking up for Cajun Dance Party so Robbie Stern of subba-cultcha.com grabbed the chance of a chat before the chaos really started!

Cajun Dance Party are the figureheads for the underage gig movement that’s growing across the country, how important are they to you?
Its flattering to be described as “figureheads” – but in truth we’ve always been a bit baffled with why people link us with the underage gigs. Its great having younger fans allowed into venues, but the ‘underage’ show we did a while ago was no more important to us than any others.

Playing with so many young bands, are there any that have caught your eye in particular?
Again, its an understandable assumption, but we haven’t played with a great many “young bands”…We’re fans of Bombay Bicycle Club, who we know well. Laura Marling also seems to be making some really good music.

For your album (The Colourful Life) you were produced by Bernard Butler, how did that all come about?
He contacted us through our myspace in the very early days, but naive as we were (and perhaps remain), we had never even heard of him. But prior to recording our second single (Amylase), ironically his was one of the first names that came up. It was through recording that single that we built a relationship with Bernard and “West Heath Yard”, Edwyn Collins’ studio where “The Colourful Life” was recorded.

I bought my copy on vinyl, does it seem strange to you that your album is released on a format that mustve seemed pretty much extinct by the time you all started buying music?
No, not at all, it seems as if fairly standard for artists to be releasing on both CD and vinyl formats. There’s nothing more satisfying than being presented with a copy of one’s record on 12″! But yeah, when I started buying music, cassettes were the thing…

As a band its pretty rare to be viewed positively by everyone from the broadsheet newspapers to NME, how have you found coping with the spotlight?
We’re greatly indebted to and again are flattered by positive things people have said in the press, but we don’t feel like we have to “cope in the spotlight” as such…the most important thing is that we remain vehemently self-critical and only put out music that we feel is worthy of ourselves and the fans.

The big question releasing an album and studying for your exams at the same time mustve been tough, how did you do?
It was indeed tough at times…how well we did is for listeners and reviewers of the album to decide.

I’ve got to say, a lot of the interviews I read with teen bands seem a little condescending, do you feel being so young causes some writers to look down on you and have you had any real experience of this?
It has been frustrating at times when people have made exceptions for us or written the most hyperbolic statements on account of our age. On the other hand, there’s the inevitable knee-jerk backlash – “they don’t want to talk about their age and so we’ll just say their music is rubbish” kind of thing, which is equally aggravating. It didn’t get to us too much, but we’re enjoying being a full-time band now, on the same playing field as any other professional musicians.

A lot of bands bemoan their inability to lead a normal life, but you all seem really balanced, is it important to you all to keep your feet on the ground?
It’s awful to feel victimised like that; one has to accept that being in a band is an unusual job and there’s a lot of travelling and “dead time” – the downsides of which you have to weigh up against the joy of playing, writing and recording. Nevertheless, it is important to us that we “keep our feet on the ground” – again through remaining self-critical and trying to maintain normal relationships and lifestyles outside of the band.

So, whats next for Cajun Dance Party?
We’re touring the UK, Europe and Japan all before the end of the year – around which we’ll continue writing and recording the second album. It’s going to be a very busy, hopefully very couple of months for us.

Cajun Dance Party are playing Central Station this Sunday (28th September).

Tickets are £7 in advance and are available from; Yales Café Bar, 15-17 Hill St, Wrexham – 01978 358780, seetickets.com or Ticketline – 0870 444 5556. This night is open to over 14s. I.D may be required to purchase alcohol.

Links

www.cajundanceparty.com
myspace.com/cajundanceparty
www.centralstationvenue.com