Here we are! We Reached Phil, singer and guitarist of 'Nurotica'. Just came back from their U.K. tour and launching the new video of their latest single 'Trasportation to nowhere' produced with Gordon Rapahel. Nurotica Results to be a band plenty of energy, pure feelings and passion.. Here is what front mab Phil said to us…

Hi Phil! You are the singer and guitarist of the band... can you introduce Nurotica and its members to 'The Rock Explosion' readers?
Timmy Fingers plays bass, Icen on drums, Phil Honey-Jones, vocals/guitar. I met Tim about five years ago, and we had similar ideas about what we wanted a band to be. We'd spent some time trying to think of a name that suited our sound, and nothing really worked; The name Nurotica came to me in a nightmare, and seemed to fit. Icen joined us a year ago.

Is this the first band you are in or do you come from different previous experiences?
Tim was in a punk band called The Glory Strummers who toured the UK constantly for 4 or 5 years gaining quite a cult following. Icen played with the U.K. Subs for 10 years, and I was in a various bands, all the time looking for that right combination.

What about your first single 'Very Close To Beautiful'?
It received very good reviews from the major UK magazines and papers and was followed by a tour in the all UK. Good start for a debut album, isn't it? Want to tell us something about this..."Very Close to Beautiful" was single of the week in Kerrang which we didn`t expect…We were hoping for a review but to get 4 kkkks and a wicked review was better. We toured last April and October to promote the album... Lots of towns, lots of different people...

Instead now you just released your second single 'Transportation To Nowhere'. Is it right that you have been working with Gordon Raphael, The Strokes' producer? How is to work with such an important man of the music industry, both here in the UK and in the States?
We recorded the second single, "Transportation To Nowhere", off the album with Gordon Raphael and released it in the latter part of last year. We`d met him socially, he came to see the band, so it seemed like a natural progression to work together. The key to his sound was getting us into a liveroom together, telling us to take off our headphones and just play! We did a few takes and chose the best one. He works quickly...

How did you find your particular sound? And which sound are you looking for? It's quite clear you wish/want to be the odd one out...
The sound comes from writing as a band in the rehearsal studio. We look for a vibe, or feel first and foremost, then build the arrangements, making sure not to lose the original mood. I stand in a semi-circle of boss pedals. I tried using a boss multi effects pedal instead but couldn't get the same sounds. The sound as a whole has come of its own accord as a result of the combination of our different influences. We don`t try to be different, its just the way we play, what comes naturally.

In which sector of music contest do you think you you should be classified? Voices around you are in huge disagreements: gothic, romantic, decadent, classic rock, rock, old-school...
We seem to cross over into all of the mentioned categories and more. Personally I don`t look to classify or be classified as anything specific. I don`t think life is classifiable so why should music be?

Sister of Mercy, Bowie, Cure, Bauhaus, Suede, Killing Joke... Your name has been associated to many different bands. All bands with pretty different sounds but Nurotica is able to group them all together, how do you explain this?
I can`t!... These are all bands we respect, and that have influenced us in one way or another, and obviously those influences find their way into our music in different ways. Any comparisons to such bands are taken as a compliment...

Which are your heroes (meant as music artists, bands...)? and which are the actual artists you most appreciate or you suggest to have a look at?
I`m a fan of David Bowie, Velvet Underground and Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, Queens of the Stone Age, Primal Scream, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks etc... As well as The Chemical Brothers, Fourtet, Aphex Twin and other electronic bands. When I party, it's often to psychedelic trance and techno (check out a band called t23, its another project I`m involved with.. www.t23.info).

Apparently your glittering glam pretensions is growing up with the image of your shiny black leather and your scribbled eyes... Do you think your look is important for your music, your live shows and for you band image?
I`m surrounded by hairdresser friends and make up artists who constantly create new looks for me. I`m actually having my hair transformed again as I write this by the legendary Albertas Banana! Pepi's hairdressers in Camden Stables market are always helping out (check out the website, www.pepis.net), and the now sadly defunct Vicious clothes label, who provided clothes for performances and the videos (they also made lots of the clothes I wear offstage!) Tim is pretty handy with the eyeliner and is into his leather and fishnet, and Icen goes more for tribal war paint. We aim to entertain, and I think of music performance as a lot like theatre, so the dressing up is all part of it...

You have particular care also to the song-writing aspect which is rich of human emotions. How do you write your songs and lyrics? and who do write them?
We write the songs together, the lyrics are a cross between Tim`s and mine... Which are quite different but seem to work. We write about fear, love, paranoia, the struggle of survival in the system, the joys of freedom... They work as a kind of self help therapy for us.!

You've been playing around in the most famous clubs in London like 'The Garage' and 'Camd Palace' and soon you'll be playing in 'The Metro Club', in the heart of the city. How do you feel about this and how are the fans reacting to you music proposal?
We`ve always had a lot of support at gigs right from the start...This has given us confidence along the way... A lot of the audience is made up of other musicians... There`s a whole network of bands in London and we all support each other... It's cool... When we played outside London, we made a lot of new fans... After gig autograph signings and groups of kids waiting outside for us to shake our hands and chat about they were doing. It was something new for me... It was lovely!

Which is your opinion about the current RnR scene, both in the UK and around the world? Do you think pure, genuine rock'n'roll is coming back? Better till the 80's or later 90's?!!
It seems to be popular at the moment, but I don't think it ever really went away, it just had less exposure for a while. There`s loads of bands who play venues like "The Dirty Water Club" in Tufnell Park, (virtually next door to my house), The Buffallo Bar run by Artrocker (check out the artrocker website), On the Rocks (in Shoredich, East London), The Metro (Oxford St). These are great places for hearing down and dirty rock and roll... There`s a lot bands from the U.S. currently playing these places.. The 80's electroclash revival is also still going strong (check out Trash, a club now based at "The End", on West Central St, in the west end.)

We all know the most famous falsetto made in UK, Justin Hawkins, but your falsetto is attracting lots of good critics as well!! Anything to say...
Also Muse, Radiohead, Jeff Buckley... All known for their falsettos... I enjoy hitting the high notes... I couldn`t always do it.

Ok, it's time for the 'The Rock Explosion' question! Is there any question you would like to be asked but nobody did yet? If there is one can you tell us and add the answer too?
Can the spirit run free? I believe so...

Our interview is finishing right now... would you like to say something to your Italian audience and final greetings...
All you musicians out there: keep playing, keep believing, keep trying different things with your music, transfer all your negative and positive energy into sound and word. Everything you see or hear or feel is an idea. All you listeners: keep supporting the bands you love, they need you as much as you need them. Don`t be afraid to check out new bands you haven`t heard of. There`s a lot of undiscovered talent out there.

Intervista realizzata e tradotta da Laura Delnevo.
Supervisione a cura di Margherita Realmonte.