Indietracks interview #4: The Middle Ones

Next up in our whistlestop chatathon with the faces of Indietracks 2008, are Anna and Grace, frequently known as The Middle Ones. This girl duo have been spending their days in Norwich gathering up enthusiastic friends, strange instruments, dance trios and themed costumes, all in the name of super-harmonised folky-pop. If you're very quick, you may even be in time to join the vote on their Myspace to help decide their future costume choices!

Anna writes the songs, sings and plays guitar, while Grace harmonises, re-arranges and plays melodica, glock’n’roll and musical eggs. The band are playing a string of dates in April and May, from Leeds to London and Manchester to York. They'll also appear at the Holmfirth Folk Festival, before heading to the Midland Railway for everyone's highlight of the summer. (Indietracks).

Hi Anna and Grace, tell us a little bit about yourselves...

We never know how to answer this but we have been described by various audience members as:

1. 'musical genius and profuse cuteness all in the one go. like pavarotti holding a puppy.'
2. 'hopeless romantics. but with hope.'

3. 'serious music that doesn't take itself seriously'

4. 'lo-fi ramshackle pop'

5. 'a latter-day Sonny and Cher'

Have you played any weird or unusual gigs in the past?

We once played on a train from Norwich to Huddersfield. We were mostly playing for our own enjoyment but the ticket inspectors had a few sneaky peeks. We later found out this was technically illegal. We felt quite empowered.

What's going to be on your compilation tapes as you travel down to Indietracks?

Jeffrey Lewis, Mat Riviere, Cheese on Bread, The Andrew Sisters, Belle and Sebastian, The Felt Tips, Pat Benatar, The Lisps, Diane Cluck...

Do you have any surprises planned for the Indietracks festival?

We normally just play as a duo but for indie tracks we're making a 'big band' with lots of our friends. Hopefully it will involve a kazoo orchestra, ukulele strum-off and comedy props. It's going to be lovely! Also we're planning to dress as a train. That won't be that much of a suprise now...

Actually, it still might.Thanks Anna and Grace! And they've kindly left us with a free MP3 to download.

Free MP3 download: The Middle Ones - Fall In

Next up: Strawberry Story talk about hairdressers on fire and avoiding gigs with Status Quo covers!