BRIGHTON-BASED Electric Soft Parade and Brakes co-founder Thomas White introduces his new ten-piece epic pop project who are performing at a Spectrum special for Record Store Day tomorrow.

“The band first got together in early 2014. We’ve all known each other for years, and in some cases have already played in bands together, so it was very easy to bring it all together. I started writing songs around the age of ten.

“The band takes cues from all sorts of things. We’re all massive Broadcast fans – Trish Keenan has been a huge influence on all of us over the years. Likewise Goldfrapp has had an enduring influence on my songwriting, though one of my biggest influences over the past few years absolutely has to be The Clientele. Alasdair MacLean’s writing and guitar playing hit me straight away, and I’ve been a huge fan ever since. During the very early stages of putting the band together I listened to a lot of Noel Coward, Chet Baker and Irving Berlin. The greats of the jazz age played a huge part in crystallising in my mind what it was that I wanted to achieve with this group.

“The group is probably best described as a cross between a jazz band of the 1930s and a psych-rock group of the 1970s. There’s orchestral instruments in there – clarinets, trumpet, piano – but we also have three electric guitarists, and the sound can get very layered, so there’s always lots of contrasting elements playing off each other.

“Our biggest show so far was supporting our good friends The Academy Of Sun at Hove’s gorgeous Old Market theatre back in February. It was only our fifth gig!

“We’re in the process of recording an album, which we’re making down at Church Road Studios in Hove with our engineer Paul Pascoe. Our debut single, A Promise Kept, will be released in May through our own label, Chord Orchard.

“I’ve played in quite a few bands in the past, but this time it feels different. The songs come from an intensely personal place – I don’t know how else to write – and thus they always remain close to my heart. I feel incredibly lucky to have met just the right people to make the music in my head a reality. It has taken a lot of hard work to get where we are today, and I intend to take us all the way to the top. If you don’t want that, why bother?”

The Fiction Aisle play a Spectrum special for Record Store Day at Brighton Dome Studio Theatre on Saturday, April 18. Doors open at noon, with a seminar exploring DIY culture from 12.30pm, followed by live music from 2pm. Also on the bill are Traams, Prinzhorn Dance School and Robb Johnson. Tickets £6 from 01273 709709.

The Fiction Aisle will also play The Warren’s Big Top during May’s Brighton Fringe, and play a co-headline show with Prince Vaseline at the Hope And Ruin, in Queen’s Road, Brighton, on Wednesday, June 3.

Find out more:

  • soundcloud.com/thefictionaisle
  • facebook.com/thefictionaisle
  • chordorchard.bandcamp.com