"Cue the noise"
Ahead of Friday's album release – read this great interview by The Quietus's Paddy Clarke with The Utopia Strong, it reads:
Kavus Torabi, Michael J. York and former snooker player of impeccable taste Steve Davis have formed a new band, The Utopia Strong. Here, they tell Patrick Clarke the tale of their extraordinary debut album, compare snooker to Supernormal, and explain why they want their music to be joyous and generous
Interviewing Kavus Torabi, Michael J. York and Steve Davis about their band, The Utopia Strong, feels a little bit like talking to three teenagers who’ve just had their first single played on the radio. You’d never guess that Torabi and York are musicians of considerable standing with the likes of Coil, Gong, Current 93, Knifeworld, Teleplasmiste, Guapo, Cardiacs and more on their CVs, or that Davis was the most dominant force in snooker throughout the 1980s, the fourth-greatest player in the sport's history on the all-time rankings and a man who once single-handedly organised and promoted a three night residency for French prog-leviathans Magma just so he could see them play. The three are giddy with excitement for the release of their self-titled debut album on September 13, forever interrupting each other to poke gentle fun, constantly in hysterics at each other’s jokes.
“It really did feel like finding your best mates at school,” Torabi says, beaming. “Three is a funny number for friends, sometimes you get two people who are always in competition, but we got on so well together. Steve’s girlfriend describes The Utopia Strong as the sound of three guys falling in love!”
“It’s pathetic, isn’t it?” Davis laughs. “I’ve just had my 62nd birthday and all I’m looking forward to is when my album comes out! What fun that I can do that. It’s so easy to become tired with life, but the thrill of this has given all of us such a boost. From my perspective I didn’t think I’d get as much enjoyment from anything in my life in a work capacity once I’d retired from playing snooker.”...
Read the rest here: The Quietus
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