Music Q&A:
The Scheme

Independent London three piece The Scheme are self-releasing their new single Can’t Stop this month. They tell Big Issue North why they’re happy without the pressures of being signed but look forward to rose petal carpets when they are. They’re currently touring, visiting Leeds Stylus, 9 Sept.

Tell us a bit about your sound and your influences.
Individually our influences range from Hendrix to Justin Timberlake, so our sound can be very eclectic, having one track with a funky bass line and then the next being very jazzy. As a collective we’re inspired by bands like Maroon 5, Coldplay and The Script – basically great songwriters with great music.

How have you evolved as a band over the years?
We have definitely evolved. We’re growing older so our taste grows with it and as you mature you’re always finding new inspirations. Having Aleksey as a relatively new asset to the band has brought a new dynamic to the group as well.

Were there any alternative band names before you arrived at this one?
No. We were actually nameless for a very long time before we stumbled upon this one! Thing is, when you come up with a name like The Scheme you don’t need to keep searching for a new one!

What are you up to at the moment artistically?
We’ve just been very busy in the studio writing our EP and also filming our latest music video for Can’t Stop. Now we’re just getting ready to go on a tour supporting American band The Tide and looking to gain another support slot to promote the new material before we head back into the studio to start writing our album.

How do you stand out from the crowd in a saturated industry?
As we’re currently unsigned our music is all genuine and completely a product from us, as we don’t have any outside influences. We hope the music we’re creating is not following the same trends because unfortunately some of the pressure of being signed to a label is having to release music that the artist isn’t 100 per cent happy about.

What’s on your rider?
We currently haven’t got a rider but once we do it will look something like this: petals laid out on the floor wherever we walk, velvet toilet paper and bottled water kept at exactly 28.5 degrees.

Tell us about your worst live show.
Recently we did a gig where we weren’t allowed to play our instruments live, and we hate miming! Obviously when it comes to playing in TV studios and events running on strict timing it’s understandable that live instruments aren’t always going to be possible. However, when you play a festival you expect to be able to play your instruments live.