Koopa

Koopa could quite easily call themselves one of the bands of 2007. They struck a blow to the heart of the music industry in January by romping into the top 40 without a record deal; then they topped that by smashing into the Top 20 with 'The Crash', despite still being label-less. Koopa were a beacon to bands that placed touring and pleasing fans over getting the right haircut or schmoozing the correct execs. They had made it the old fashioned way - through gut-busting hard work. But their story shall not end there. The band have now jumped over to the dark side and are in the process of exchanging signatures with some nasty industry people. We caught up with Joe from the band to chat about their success in 2007, meeting Lily Allen, and their plans for the coming year.

What have been Koopa's highlights of 2007?
"Ooh, blimey! Obviously being the first ever unsigned band to break into the top 40 in January was a good start. And then finishing it off with 'The Crash' last month, which got to number 16, making us the first unsigned band in the top 20!"

Were you surprised by the success of 'Blag Steal and Borrow' at the start of the year?
"It took everybody by surprise. We'd worked on what we were doing for a long time. Back in November 2006 we released an EP called 'Three In A Bed With Bobby George', which had 'Blag, Steal and Borrow' on it, and it got a good response, but we didn't expect what happened to happen. It went mental."

Are you proud of what you achieved without a record deal?
"Of course we are. What happened in January can never be taken away from us. To be heralded like that, all three of us are well chuffed."

How did you come up with the name for your 'Three In A Bed with Bobby George' EP?
"To be honest, I have to give the credit for that one to our manager. [Famous darts player] Bobby George is from Colchester, like me, and we wanted a catchy name for our EP. We phoned up his manager, who happens to be his wife, and we said we have this great idea for our EP, so we actually got Bobby George to appear on the cover of the CD in bed with the band. He's been great to the band and we've even had our CD reviewed in Darts Monthly!"

You're credited with being one of the first MySpace 'Sensations', but do you think the site has had any negative effects on the music industry?
"MySpace is a good thing and a bad thing. I think MySpace is now being banded around too much as the only way of promoting artists and people are forgetting about going out and playing live. Before charting you used to put in four years on the live circuit, playing as many gigs as possible. We used to play until the point of exhaustion and I think some bands now think 'We've been around six months, got 30,000 friends on MySpace and we're going to try and get in the charts next week'."

Having spent several years touring the UK, how do you keep your spirits up on the road?
"We're a close-knit trio. We might have had three singles in the top 40 this year, but we've still got the same sort of funding as a pub band, which means we do sit in cold vans and cold rooms. We motivate ourselves by focusing on what we're doing and trying to have a laugh as we do it."

What's been your worst ever live experience?
"Well, we really have played to one man and a dog. The man left half way through, but at least the dog stayed and enjoyed the set. I think when you come through the real roots of it all, and then you get a little bit of success, you appreciate it all a bit more."

There's a lot of talk in the music industry at the moment about a shift in power away from record labels to bands and fans. Do you think that's true?
"Going back to MySpace for a minute, there is loads and loads of hype. The Arctic Monkeys didn't just market themselves on MySpace and Lily Allen didn't just appear on MySpace. Sandi Thom didn't just do a couple of gigs in her bedroom. These were all manufactured by labels."

What have been Koopa's musical highlights of 2007?
"This year I really, really loved Biffy Clyro. I think they are an amazing band and I think the album is fantastic. They are a band that I want to get around to seeing. I also love Lily Allen. We met Lily Allen in Texas at the South By Southwest music festival - I have my eye on her as the future Mrs Murphy, but I haven't got anywhere with that one though."

You got on well with Lily then?
"She's fantastic, yeah. She likes a drink, which is all good because we like a drink in Koopa."

So what can expect from Koopa in 2008?
"I can't say too much about it, but we are in the process of signing a record and publishing deal and will hopefully be heading off to the USA."

Will there be an album to look forward to then?
"Technically-speaking, we've done an album before, but it wasn't an official release, so we're going to Tennessee to work with a producer that I can't name. He's a very well-known musician that everybody will have heard of. The album will hopefully be ready for the festival season, so we can go touring around the USA, the UK and Australia."

'The Crash' is out now.