The Scholars : Q&A

The Scholars are a quintet from Oxfordshire whose particular brand of alt-rock has been singled out by BBC Introducing as one of their success stories.  

Their debut single ‘Turbulence’ released this year will be followed up with second offering ‘This Heart’s Built To Break’ in early 2010.  A track that is already garnering attention across the airwaves and the one, which the band hope will bring their politically and culturally aware lyricising to a wider audience.

So as we enter a new decade and all that it holds musically, The Scholars have their foundations firmly in place as they build on a year that amongst other highlights saw them play along side Supergrass, Ash and support The Cinematics on tour.

4or The Record put some questions to guitarist Tim Mobbs of The Scholars to give you an introduction to the band whose vision is to be the next big band from Oxford.

4or The Record: For those people who maybe haven’t heard of yourselves, what sort of a band are you and what are your influences?

Tim Mobbs: Hello! We're The Scholars and we're an alternative rock band from North Oxfordshire. We came together over a love for post punk and alternative music but have recently starting shifting more as we've become more confident to include elements of new wave and synth pop in our more recent songs.

4TR: Last time I saw you was at Birmingham Academy back in February? Just how significantly have things changed since then for the band?

TM: Obviously getting on board with some proper management has really stepped things up a gear for us. We've also been lucky enough to have earned the support of the BBC Introducing program from Tom Robinson at BBC6 and Tim and Dave and BBC Oxford in particular. This has really raised our game and got us out there. Since February we've been gigging relentlessly and earning our keep as a solid support band playing alongside The Cinematics, 22-20s and Four Dead in Ohio in London and Oxford respectively.

4TR: You’ve had the fantastic success of being victorious at a battle of the bands and subsequently played alongside Ash and Supergrass at Truck Fest? Was that the point where you thought that you could really make something of yourselves here? Or have you always had the confidence to fill your ambitions since day 1?

TM: Right from the very beginning we all had the love of music to consider the band as our primary goal, but until we won the battle of the bands with the BBC we mainly did it for a laugh. I know its an old cliché but performing music is what we all love. When we got the spot at Truck though, it was definitely a major turning point for us and after we came off the stage pouring with sweat we all knew that we could really take this so much further.

4TR: You’re gaining a fast reputation for being a terrific live act. From my own experience you engage the crowd very well. I think it was Adrian or yourself said ‘come on, there’s a big void here at the front, come closer’ at the Birmingham gig. From local bands I’ve seen it’s rare to have such a confident approach to performing live. What’s the best thing about doing the live thing?

TM: We're all quite shy, as people so when we're up on the stage and we've warmed up we'll always really go for it. There's nothing better than to be giving it your all and to see the audience really responding and getting involved. In the heavier and faster numbers we feel like the audience feeds off of the effort we put in and the quality of a show we put on and appreciate that. We pride ourselves on putting our all into our live shows so without bragging, its nice to know that we're getting the sort of reputation as a band that can always pull it out live.

4TR: As I’m sure you’re aware, there have been many comparisons with ‘Editors’. Does it irritate you that much? Or should every new band expect to have a comparison to a popular current band?

TM: On the one hand it’s inspiring to know that we are considered good enough to be comparable to such great bands. You have to remember that we appeared on the scene pretty much as soon as we had done a few practices so we were very fresh as a band and comparisons were inevitable. Editors is what originally brought us all together and all of us range from massive fans to downright obsessive. When you're starting out I think that influences are obviously clearer, as you're unsure and lacking confidence as a unit and as songwriters. I feel that now we can really lock into each other musically and I'm sure the rest of the guys will agree that we are now very much our own act, especially with our newer material.

4TR: Your debut video has just been uploaded to the great website that is YouTube! Its use of strobing and sharp cuts really make the video. It seems to give it a pacey accompaniment to the track itself. Did you get what you wanted out of the video?

TM: We have much to thank to Mike O' Connor and Matt Bragg who shot and directed the entire video themselves. It was put together very, very quickly considering the tight time limit we had before the release date so it was shot in a night and edited in a few days. 'Turbulence' was a heavy number with a theme that is more ambiguous compared to say, 'This Heart's Built To Break' so it was always going to be a tricky one. I think Mike and Matt did a fantastic job though making a sports hall and some benches and crumpled up newspaper look like an actual music video!

4TR: Did you enjoy shooting the video? Was there a lot of waiting around like you hear on most music video sets? Or was it a fairly simple quick process?

TM: It was great fun but a bit odd at first. Seeing Chris in a suit and everyone all dressed up was very funny at first, and I'm always the worst one to break down in laughter on the spot, but we're at the point now where when we have to do something, we just knuckle down and get it done. I remember being very uncomfortable in my brown winklepickers, but I think it definitely paid off. Mike and Matt were such a laugh to work with that it never felt like a chore, bring on the next one I say!

4TR: What gigs and events do you have in the pipeline for next year?

TM: Yeah the calendar looks very pathetic now summer gigging has all finished up. We're planning on organising some massive launch parties in Oxford and Birmingham for the release of 'This Heart's Built To Break' as a single on the 15th of February, and we're also working to put together a Christmas Party at The Fly in London with our good buddies from Glasgow, The Cinematics which should be amazing! There's a lot up in the air at the moment, but we're doing our best to get together a tour at some point for next June at the very latest.

4TR: What do you currently think of the state of the music business at this moment in time? In terms of the quality of music out there and the debate on illegal file sharing. I know Radiohead’s Ed O Brien has had his say on the matter…

TM: It’s a bit of a no man's land at the minute as CDs are still hanging on and no one is sure where they stand on illegal downloading. While everyone will condone it in public I'm sure we all know plenty of people who do it. I'm all for bringing down the establishment that is the music industry in one way as its so cluttered and brought everything away from the point of actually making good music, but on the other hand we still need it. As a vulnerable unsigned band in the big band world, we need all the help we can get after all as will any band out there trying to scrape by. It’s a very tricky one and something I could go on about for a lot, lot longer!

4TR: Living in the same part of the world(!) Do you think the music scene for your type of music is a bit flat and apart from maybe the Mill; there are no major/ consistent venues for live bands to perform?

TM: While we still have time for Banbury, Banbury seems to have very little time for us so the surrounding cities have taken us under their wing, particularly Oxford this summer due to Truck and everything. We've always been of no fixed abode and love to gig in Birmingham as well as Oxford so we don't like to tie ourselves to one area too much. We do however love representing Oxford or Birmingham or just the midlands in general whenever we travel to further climes.

4TR: You’ve had a lot of radio air play and interviews including 6music and BBC Oxford and Steve Lamacq as well I believe. Do you listen back to those interviews with distain or a regret of ‘oh, shit, that shouldn’t have been said!’ Or have they all run smoothly?

TM: My only regret is that I definitely talk too much and never let the rest of the guys talk enough! I do think however that I can handle myself well enough in these situations and am always one to get my point across! My interviews on radio are getting less cringey as I get more confident and more used to it, but we all tend to 'ride the shockwave' as Adam once said and drop a few clangers. We're only human!

4TR: And finally, what would have you wanted to accomplish in a year’s time and where would you want to be?

TM: While a lot of stuff is up in the air, we're hoping to have our debut album out before the summer around May and be on tour well in time for the summer. We're looking at branching out and maybe hitting Europe for a bit but it’s all very sketchy. Ask me in March and I'll have a much better idea. For now we're just aiming to hit our goals of releasing a few singles and recording the album over Christmas - 'This Heart' is geared for a release as a single on February 15th, and another single in April. We're also hoping to have our official website up very soon so keep your eyes peeled!

Interview: Sean Wright

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