For those who've yet to pick up a copy of your self-titled debut, how would you describe your sound?We've been compared to Fugazi, Nirvana and The Strokes, which I can kind of understand, but also to U2 and Keane - bands we have no affinity with whatsoever!
Can you give us a brief run-through of The Hickey Underworld story so far?
Younes (lead singer of The Hickey Underworld) and me went to high school together, and we have been playing in various bands since we were about thirteen years old.
Jimmy, formerly a hardcore drummer, joined us in 2005, which is when we decided to name ourselves The Hickey Underworld.
In 2006, we won HUMO's Rock Rally, a big Belgian rock contest, which is where Bent Van Looy from Das Pop saw us play, and suggested to produce our debut album.
Last year, our single 'Future Words' got a lot of airplay on Studio Brussels, the biggest alternative radio station in Belgium, and things have been going uphill for us since then.
If you had to recommend one The Hickey Underworld song to someone who's never heard of you guys before, which song would it be, and why?
'Mystery Bruise', maybe? Because it's only three minutes long, and it's both melodic and aggressive, which is always a sweet combination.
The artwork that accompanies your music seems particularly important to you. Why is that? Have you got a specific message you're trying to get across? Or do you think musicians need to go the extra mile now that music fans can borrow and burn a CD to their iPod, or listen to songs on YouTube?
We just wanted to create a world for the listener to get lost in while listening to our music. A colourful, violent, sexy and occasionally very silly world! The artwork gives the album a more epic feel, we think: hopefully, the listener gets the feeling he's been taken on some kind of mystical journey.
The artwork that accompanies your single and album releases is really detailed, with pictures inside pictures, and loads of symbols. Are there any messages hidden in the artwork?
The artwork was done by a very talented friend of ours, called Gerard Leysen. You can see more of his work at www.afreux.be. I'm pretty sure there's stuff hidden in there that we don't even know about!
Did you have specific requirements for the artwork, or did you give the artist free reign?
Actually, we spent a few months brainstorming with Gerard, until he got everything just right. I think we made him draw more than ten different temples before we saw one we thought was perfect.
Let's talk about the video for 'Blonde Fire'. It's kind of disturbing! Is there a censored or alternative version? Or aren't you garnering for television airtime?
There is no censored of alternative version, nor would we allow one to be made. If you give TV channels more than one option, they'll always go for the safer one, so it's better to stick to your ground. And who cares about TV, anyway? We always thought the video would do well on the internet, which it did.
Do you think having a controversial video - resulting in people having to go out of their way to find said video - ultimately creates more interest in the band, than a video that's non-controversial, but receives extensive airplay?
Maybe so. It's certainly the kind of video we would go look for if someone told us about it! But it wasn't really meant to be controversial or shocking; we just wanted something other than the usual "four guys pretending to play their song in front of the camera" video.
Has there been any particularly over-the-top, outraged reactions to the video? I notice it's still available on YouTube, with just a Parental Advisory banner in the title.
It's still available on YouTube, yes, although I'm pretty sure they'll take it down soon! It's amazing how many people have seen it already, and who. Kanye West even posted it on his blog - which was pretty cool! As did Tom Kaulitz from Tokio Hotel; not so cool.
Was the concept or any of the imagery your idea? And how would you describe the concept behind the 'Blonde Fire' video?
The concept was dreamt up entirely by the director, Joe Vanhoutteghem. We only suggested little things, like the painting in the background, which appears in all our videos. Joe says he was mainly inspired by the first line from the song, which is: "Don't let me walk out the door".
Next to the video to 'Blonde Fire', the psychedelic, party-themed video for 'Mystery Bruise' looks all sweetness and light - why are they so radically different?
They were made by two VERY different directors! Actually, there was a much darker, more narrative-based video planned for 'Mystery Bruise', but when that one fell apart, we just decided to invite some friends over and have a good time. But we like 'em both: they show two very different sides of the band.
You're named after a song by obscure post-hardcore band Nation of Ulysses - I take it you're big fans of the band? What is it about Nation of Ulysses that you find so appealing?
We discovered their albums when we were about fifteen years old, which is always a very impressionable age. iTunes didn't exist yet, so Younes and I were always mail-ordering stuff from labels like Dischord, Quarterstick, Touch & Go, Southern, Alternative Tentacles. And the title The Hickey Underworld just sounded like the perfect band name: sexy and mysterious at the same time.
Your debut album was released in Belgium and Holland in March, but has only just been released in Europe. Is it less nerve-racking releasing an album that's already done well in your native country? Or are you nervous as to whether a European audience will "get it"? And does it feel like you're starting from scratch, despite already being known in Belgium and Holland?
I can't speak for the entire band, but I enjoy playing club shows much more than playing festivals. It's more intimate, and somehow more fitting for our kind of music. So it's actually a joy for me to play in front of 200, 300 people again. You do feel like you're starting from scratch sometimes when playing abroad, but that's actually a good thing: you have to work harder, which in turn makes the shows more intense.
Lyrically, your songs seem vague - what inspires your lyric-writing, and what themes do The Hickey Underworld typically cover?
From what I can tell, Younes' lyrics deal with the usual stuff: heartbreak, sex, frustration... he just likes to be a little more cryptic about it.
What's the music scene like over in Belgium? Are there any Belgium bands you'd recommend checking out?
Drums Are For Parades is a pretty cool band from Ghent: they play tuned-down sludge, very heavy. They're playing a few shows with the Masters of Reality soon, and Chris Goss is supposed to produce their next album. Also very good are Deadsets, from Antwerp: very dreamy, moody, melancholy music, with beautiful male/female harmonies.
Is your local music scene supportive of one another?
Sure. dEUS (probably the best-known Belgian band, after Soulwax, maybe) invited us to tour with them before our album was even released. And Das Pop, the band we're touring with now, were also the producers of our first album.
Have you been over to the UK before? And are there any UK tour dates in the pipe line?
We've played a few dates in London, though those gigs weren't terribly well attended, to be honest! We're coming back soon though, supporting Das Pop for one show, and possibly touring with the American band Dead Confederate.
And, finally, what does the next twelve months hold for the band?
Mainly playing abroad: we have gigs lined up in Holland (opening for Das Pop), Germany, France, England, Switzerland. Also, we hope to record our second album sometime around February.
