First up, please tell us a bit about Arconna. How did the band come about?

 

The band was formed by our singer/guitarist Luke, and underwent various member changes for a  few years before the first solid lineup was established around 2002-2003. We started building a following and even managed to support an as yet unknown Biffy Clyro! Luke moved to Bulgaria to work for a few years before returning to the UK a few years back. We hooked up and began writing again and after finding a new bass player decided to get back out on the local scene.

What have you been up to so far in 2015?

 

We had a great 2014 as we released our first EP titled "Dispositions". Following that we have gone on to release our first music video at the start of this year, so we have been promoting that as well as booking shows and writing new music. We recently took part in the Cambridge band Competition which was an awesome experience and a massive confidence booster for us as we got the loudest cheers of any show we have played to date, and considering it was an out of town show it felt even more special.

 

What has been the highlight for Arconna so far?

 

Realising that after years of being apart, we could all get together in a room without any expectations and write new songs that we all felt sounded modern and relevant. Going from that to having released a self funded EP within a year was a big achievement. Also BBC Radio Cambridgeshire have shown us massive support since we released the EP as they have been regularly playing our tracks on their "Introducing" show and invited us down for an interview and to record an unplugged session.

We hear you’re going to be recording some new material in April, can you tell us anything about it?

 

Well the first EP consisted of all the songs we had written at that point give or take one or two. As we had only just got back together there were lots of ideas flying around during writing sessions, which is why most of the songs on the EP are close to the five minute mark, we were trying to fit as much into each song as we thought we could get away with! This time around we have allowed ourselves some more time to write and our sound has developed so the songs sound more focussed. I would say they are more up tempo than on "Dispositions" and they have become live favourites so hopefully people will be as excited as we are when they are released.

What are your plans for the rest of 2015? 

 

Release the new songs and play as many shows as we can!

Where would you say is the best place you’ve played so far?

 

The O2 Academy in Islington was probably the most well known venue but the show at the Portland Arms for the Cambridge Band Competition was probably the loudest crowd.

And now, just for the fun of it, any horror stories from Arconna shows so far?

 

Not really from any shows as such, our calamities always tend to happen before or after shows! One that springs to mind is driving home from a show in Leicester in our old van and running out of petrol half way home! Stranded, in the snow, in the dark! 

What is the ideal tour for Arconna to get on? Previous Introducing feature Moriaty recently supported Muse (entirely down to MNN obviously!)

 

We really like bands like Arcane Roots, Everything Everything and Queens of the Stone Age so supporting any of those would be amazing!

Is there anything else that you think the MNN readers should know?

 

The lyrics to the Fresh Prince of Bel Air theme tune, I think everyone should know those...