Music

Who are they?

They formed at Oxford University in 2003 after drumming singer Ed Seed – who currently works for a government think tank – met pianist Tim Burke and discovered a mutual obsession with The Band. In time, they brought in James Lesslie (bass), Duncan Brown (guitar) and Nico Beedle (fiddle). They started out rehearsing ‘awful’ versions of songs by The Flying Burrito Brothers.

What do they sound like?

‘For a while we used the term electrobilly, but that doesn’t help anyone,’ says Seed. ‘It’s a carnival of sound: vaudeville, country, experimental music and post-punk. But when you start tossing around those labels, they become loaded. If you say post-punk people think you’re aping The Futureheads. I’d probably boil it down to texture: it’s part wood, part glass, part metallic, part plastic. After that everyone’s baffled.’

What makes them different?

Not for them the vogue-ish influence of Joy Division, The Mules’ tastes range from leftfield hip hopper Mr Lif and Balkan folk to ’30s swing, Pere Ubu, Navajo Indian rituals and oddities plundered from the vaults of Oxford’s music faculty. Burke, who rehearses singers for the National Opera, and jazz man Beedle also bring a disciplined, ‘schooly’ feel to rehearsals. Feature continues

‘Let’s be honest,’ says Seed. ‘Indie is a very middle-class scene. It’s lots of well-educated, well-mannered kids and that’s nothing to be ashamed of. I find it embarrassing when bands affect backgrounds or accents they don’t have. The truth is, we’re over-educated posh boys. And there’s a long, illustrious history of posh boys in rock: the Stones, Gram Parsons and Tom Verlaine.’

Who would they like to play with?

‘It would be incredible to play with Tom Waits,’ says Seed, ‘or equally unrealistic and amazing, Radiohead. Anyone who we really respect that has enjoyed longevity. People like David Thomas, Richard Thompson, Ry Cooder. But there are no sacred cows or heroes for this band. If there was we’d probably borrow too much from a particular music.’

Do they have any famous fans?

‘It got back to us that Harvey Keitel likes us,’ says Seed. ‘One of our old EPs found its way to a record shop in New York and “Polly-O” was playing when Keitel walked in and said, “Who the hell’s this? This is great.” I suspect it’s something that fell by the wayside five minutes later. Alan McGee said we’re “fucking weird”, but then he said we sounded a bit like The Libertines. That’s probably the most unsuitable comparison we’ve had.’

Why should we care?

Because The Mules make a swinging, schizo noise that could be the soundtrack to a very boozy Balkan wedding. And boozy Balkan weddings are no doubt a lot of fun. As are their breathless live shows, which see fiddler Beedle sweat pints. Oh, and Lesslie is in another band that we like: noir-ish Americana outfit Fireworks Night. So, come to Time Out’s On The Up show at Bar Academy on September 6 and enjoy the party. It is Ed’s birthday after all.

The Mules debut album ‘Save Your Face’ is out on August 21. They play 93 Feet East on Wednesday August 9, Brixton Windmill on Sunday August 13 and Academy Islington on Wednesday September 6.