In an age where social media hype seems to run the music industry it's refreshing to find a band who bring it back to what really matters, the music. With artists from across the world descending on Austin's SXSW festival in Texas, Jungle's performances represented a movement towards bucking the egotistical media trend. Not appearing in any of their videos, pictures or artwork and boycotting twitter, their live performance speaks louder than any social media timeline. Sharp, creative and original their sound is distinctive and their attitude defining.
You're getting a lot of hype across the world right now, especially in the UK and the States. How does it feel?
T: It's pretty nuts. We never expected it. We started working in a bedroom about twelve months ago so to be playing to sold out crowds is just unreal. It's a privilege that we can do it in our hometown and play a great show in London then come to New York and play a great show there. We're still trying to wrap our heads around it.
Let's take it back to the start .How did Jungle first begin?
J: It's all about friendship. We'd all meet up and make beats like everyone does. It was a hobby and then last year in February, we came up with something that we thought was really cool. It was surprising to us. It's all about surprising yourself and each other in some respect. We found a track and started rolling with it. We put something that we liked online as you do these days and from there it went a bit crazy.
Thousands of artists put music up online and nothing ever happens. What do you think was the spark?
J: It's hard to tell. You've got to put up what you think is good and you've got to believe in it. If it's good enough and people relate to that then things will happen for you. You've got to hit and hope really. You can't just sit there and try to make something that you think people will like because that's not going to be honest.
Who's the boss in the band?
T: We are!
J: There is no boss. There is no ego. Me and T do a lot of the writing and production but it's about the collective. The ego kills it a lot of the time. There's no point in negativity.
T: I think the thing about playing live is that we wanted to share it with as many people as we could and get all our mates playing with us. That's the most fun thing. Turning around and seeing our drummer hit a crazy fill when you least expect it or the guitarist hitting a riff that you haven't heard before.
Are you well behaved on the road?
T. [Laughs] Well, there is a running joke about mattresses and windows which started in Paris when we were on tour with Haim so whenever we pass mattress shops there's always a little wink and a nudge.
Was it a Double or a King size...?
T: It was a queen.
Did it have somebody on it?
T: No, but it may have landed on a street in Paris somewhere. I've noticed that they have started screwing all the TVs to the walls so the only thing you have to work with is pillows and mattresses.
J: An occasional kettle and some condiments.
T: And cutlery.
I can imagine that you guys would trash a hotel room with a smile and somehow get away with it.
J: Yeah, then we'd put it all back together again. Well, T would.
The UK music scene is flying at the moment and it seems that the genuine artists are rising to the top...
T: There has been a massive backlash against candy pop culture and the pre-written song thing. You look at X-factor and they are shitting themselves about their ratings now because people are beginning to see through it and wise up. It's moving back into an age of artistry, honesty and truth.
J: You have to embrace what's happened. The Internet has happened. It's like the car. The car came round a hundred years ago and people were like "This is the best thing ever", then a hundred years later we are going "Oh God, we're killing the planet". We're only fifteen years into the Internet but look how much it has changed music, film and the way we interact. It's had a massive effect. It's all about sharing and as much as people try to fight it you have to go with the flow.
A lot of bands have found their success through collaborating with one another. What is your opinion on it?
J: We try to keep it quite homely and tight. You've got to earn the right to work with people. People have requested stuff but we feel we have to build ourselves and be accredited first.
T: I think if we spread ourselves a bit too thinly early on it doesn't make it as honest. If we build our reputation and earn the right to work with great artists then that'll feel much more honest.
Have you guys made many mistakes along the way?
T: Some of the best sounds on the records are mistakes. It's okay to make mistakes as long as you learn from them.
J: It's all about embracing those mistakes. Sometimes people draw a sketch and rip the page out because they got something wrong. It's all about embracing that it was wrong and making that the center of it all. If you can do that you can be free in expression I think. What is a mistake? It is only an opinion from someone else. My mistake could be someone else's genius.