Three-piece Mancunian band The Longcut are just releasing its second album “Open Hearts” on UK Melodic label. Stream the whole album & read their interview below:

What are you up to at the moment?
Right now i’m in work. I work in an office in the middle of Manchester, its pretty boring so this seemed like a good way to pass the time.

What are your main musical influences?
We have loads of influences so its pretty hard to pin down, you can be influenced by literally anything and most of the time you don’t realise it until somebody points it out to you. There are bands that we’re all in to and the list changes constantly. When we first started out i remember we we’re all quite into At The Drive In, DJ Shadow, and lots of post-rock/post-punk type stuff. I guess that stuff, amongst other things, was quite a big influence on us in our early days together. Personally for me when i was growing up i was influenced by a lot of the brit-pop bands during the mid 90’s. It was all going on when i was a teenager, just starting to find my feet and although i don’t really think any of our songs sound like anything from that era, the excitement and energy of what was going on definitely inspired me to be in bands.

Do you think your music should ‘belong’ or ‘fit in’ to a particular musical family or genre?
Not at all. I don’t really take too much notice of genres, these days they usually have ridiculous names invented by journalists who wants to start a scene. With the mix of music around at the moment most things span several musical families and pull influences from all over the place and i don’t think you need to try and box it in all the time. If it sounds cool then great, and you can describe it as, for example, “a little bit country, a little bit rock ‘n roll.”

You are releasing records in a difficult time for the music industry: how do you see the future for it?
In some respects its going to be difficult, money for new bands will be scarce but that might be a good thing. The harder it is for a band to break through the harder they will try, some fantastic music could come out of it. In the UK i feel like for the most part the last few years haven’t been that exciting musically. Obviously there have been exceptions, but the state of the music industry could provide a well needed shake up.

Could you you tell us what is the most important source of income today? Records, syncs, tours, merch…?
I think it really depends what level you’re at. There’s still money to be made from records but you have to be careful, gone are the days when you can spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on a record and still hope to make money. Merch and tours kind of go hand in hand, and on our last tour i was surprised by how many people were still buying merch so that’s clearly still going strong. For us though tours are difficult to make money from, they cost so much to put together that if we break even we’re happy. Syncs can definitely be a good source of income, but that’s all luck so you can’t really rely on it. We don’t really have much income as a band, which is why we all have to have jobs, but i think you have to get a good combination of all four to have a workable income stream these days.

As an artist, how do you use & see the web today? How important is it for you and how do you see it evolving in the coming years?
The internet is absolutely vital for bands today. We use it for everything, advertising gigs, finding gigs, letting fans know what we’re up to, when the next record is out, previews of new songs, videos, selling music, everything. i can only see that growing. There is obviously quite a lot of debate at the moment about file sharing, but i haven’t really seen a workable solution to that yet, and i’m not too sure that i want to. For us its a really good way to spread the word, people get to hear our music that wouldn’t otherwise have known about it. To me that’s not a lost sale, its potentially a fan gained.

You have some buzz in an emerging country but no way to monetize it, would you give away your music for free to keep growing it ?
Absolutely, and we have done in the past, at least a few tracks. Its way more important to us that people get to hear our songs, being paid for that is sometimes a nice side effect but its not that important.

What do you expect from a label in 2009?
I expect advice on making, promoting and selling a good record, and support in doing it. I also expect them to be realistic, but to have belief in the bands they sign and push them as far as they can go. And its absolutely essential now that they have some vision and imagination. Basically, you want them to be music fans with some experience of selling records.

What’s your favourite: digital and physical format and why?
Physical, because that’s what i grew up with and you just can’t get the same excitement from an MP3 as you do from buying a new record or even a CD. You have to actually go out and find new stuff, its not just right in front of you, you have to make the effort and I love the artwork and reading all the liner notes.

Recommended music sites?
Stereogum, Gorilla Vs Bear, My Old Kentucky Blog, Aquarium Drunkard.

How’s the scene in Manchester? Any good bands around? Do you feel the weight of the musical history of the city?
There are always good bands around Manchester, its just that sometimes you have to try a little harder to find them. There’s a band called Airship that i saw supporting Nine Black Alps that i thought were great, and Nine Black Alps’ new album is pretty cool too. Cats In Paris recently supported us and were amazing, especially as the bass player had broke his foot and couldn’t stand.
I wouldn’t really say i feel the weight of the musical history of the city as to me its pretty inspiring. All these amazing bands have grown up and cut their teeth in this place so there must be something pretty special about it.

Places of interest in your neighbourhood?
Escape – its my local bar and i’ve just discovered that its pretty cool. They play good music and have good beer and its a nice mid-week hang out. They have some cool little acoustic shows on their too.

Best thing that happened to you recently?
I booked my wedding, I went on tour, had an awesome party for my Fiancee’s birthday, its been pretty hectic and its all been great.

Number one junk food?
Unfortunately i have to say MacDonald’s. I know it’s wrong. I am ashamed.

Best venue?
King Tut’s in Glasgow. When we played there on our last tour it was amazing, the crowd were fantastic, the sound is great and they feed you some great food when you play there. For FREE! That’s important on tour, some good food to keep you going.

A movie you would like to watch now, right now?
Happy Gilmore.

Best place to live?
Close to your friends.

Last album you enjoyed listening?
Japandroids. I’ve been saying this alot recently but i really can’t get enough of it.

Best TV shows (current and ever)?
TFI Friday, I think everyone in the UK my age loved this show in its prime. Best TV show now? X Factor. Seriously.

Best gigs (2009 and ever)?
My best ever gig weekend was seeing My Bloody Valentine on Saturday and Radiohead on the Sunday, and both were absolutely amazing.

Last book you enjoyed reading?
The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Very sad and very beautiful.

Fave night drink and morning beverage?
Rum and Ginger or Jack and Coke at night. A cup of tea in the morning.

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