We sent The Hickey Underworld some questions over through email to see how the band got together, what we can expect from their live show and much more.

First of all how did you get together and come up with the name The Hickey Underworld?
Younes Faltakh (vocals, guitar) and Jonas Govaerts (guitar) have been playing together since they were about twelve years old, in different high school bands with unlikely names like Vagina Eyes, 10.000 Watt Jazz Men and Gemini Luv Deluxe. About four years ago, they recruited former hardcore drummer Jimmy Wouters, and The Hickey Underworld was born. The band was actually named after a song by The Nation of Ulysses, a legendary band on the Dischord label. We hear there’s also a book about rapists called The Hickey Underworld.

You released your, self titled debut album back in March, are you happy with the response the album has got with your fans and also the press?
We’re delighted, of course. We come from a scene where it’s called a success when you sell 2000 copies in two years. We sold about twice that in the first week, which was something we didn’t expect at all. In Belgium, the album is still going strong, so we couldn’t be happier.

What songs and themes do you cover on your, self titled album?
No one knows for sure what the hell Younes is singing about, exactly –not even the rest of the band. We like to keep things a little cryptic and mysterious. A lot of animals are mentioned in the lyrics, though, like walruses, albatrosses and blue-tongued cows.

I have been looking online at various different stores such as play.com hmv.co.uk but none of them have your album listed for sale, does this mean the album is yet to be released in the UK and if so when can we expect it to be released?
For now, the album has only been released in Belgium and Holland. The UK and other European countries will follow in September.

Your latest single is ‘Mystery Bruise’ what made you decide to release this over all the other songs on the album?
Because it’s the quintessential THU song: aggressive and catchy at the same time.

The video for ‘Mystery Bruise’ is very colourful and random with even a dancing Sponge Bob Square Pants, who came up with the idea for the video and what was it like to make?
We had actually planned a much fancier, more complex video for Mystery Bruise (something to do with aliens, futuristic guns and strange-looking street kids), but like usual with THU, something went horribly wrong and the shoot was cancelled. So we just called up some friends, asked them to bring their weirdest outfits and rock out to the song. The video was shot in half a day by our good friend Nicolas Karakatsanis, who also shot our latest video (for Blonde Fire). Those are not the real band members playing the instruments, by the way: the real THU is hidden somewhere in the video, though.

Your music is very heavy and driven by massive guitar riffs so who would you say your main musical influences are?
We grew up with grunge and post-hardcore, so that’s probably were the heavy riffs come from. But we’ve always had a melodic side as well. Our musical influences are all over the place really: we like metal, Ethiopian jazz, Blue Oyster Cült...

For someone who has never seen you play live what can they expect from your live show?
Four enigmatic, beautiful young men in the prime of their lives, doing what they were put here on earth for to do. I’m talking about our roadies Danny, Jos, Theo and Jean-Louis, of course.

Can we expect to see The Hickey Underworld touring across the UK any time soon?
Some more UK dates will be announced very soon!

If you met someone who has never heard of The Hickey Underworld, what one song would you suggest for them to listen to, to get what the band is all about?
Of Asteroids & Men, which is a 6 minute epic about a lusty albatross. If you can get through that one in one sitting, you are ready for The Hickey Underworld.

You are from Antwerp in Belgium, how would you say the music scene is there? And are there any upcoming bands that you would recommend from Belgium?
The music scene in Antwerp is flowering: lots of great places to play and cool bands to check out. If you like THU, you should definitely check out Belgian bands like Deadsets, Drums Are For Parades, and White Circle Crime Club.

One last random question that we ask everyone, if you could be a Zebra or a Giraffe which one would you be and why?
A Zebra. Because I’ve always wanted to have a striped nutsack.

Interview By Trigger