Hybrid - 'Just For the Hell of it'

For over a decade, Hybrid have been surprising and delighting audiences across the globe with their unique and eclectic sound. Their DJ sets and live shows are played to packed houses and their remixing and production skills are put to use by a plethora of artists as varied as Jazzy Jeff, Carl Cox and Alanis Morissette.

After a long wait, this Swansea based trio, (Mike Truman, Chris Healings and Lee Mullins) have released their highly anticipated second album 'Morning Sci-Fi.' Part recorded in Russia and in their Wales studio, their latest work sees collaborations with NYC based DJ/remixer John Creamer, Kirsty Hawkshaw, the legendary Peter Hook (New Order) and The Hermitage String Orchestra.

"Again it took us two years - It always seems to take us two years to write an album," explains Mullins.

"Our studio actually got broken into about halfway through the album and that kind of pushed us back but gave us some time to really listen to a lot of stuff. We actually found Adam, our lead singer while the studio was down."

"We also did a track with Kirsty Hawkshaw called 'Blackout' and we did a little thing with John Creamer just because we think he's great. We were in a hotel in Toronto with him one night and we were a bit twisted and he was doing all this mad poetry stuff - just being John Creamer. We were like 'John you're going on the album, whatever happens, you're going on the album.'"

Hailed by many as the world's best bass player, Peter Hook from New Order, has co-produced and collaborated exclusively with Hybrid, on the two killer tracks 'True to Form' and 'Higher Than a Skyscraper'. Hook will make his debut stage appearance with Hybrid at selected and exclusive live shows across the country.

"Peter Hocking was moaning to our manager one night because no one ever uses his basslines when they have New Order remixes done, they only ever use the vocals," says Mullins.

"So our manager said, 'Well I'm sure my lads would love to use your basslines,' and then we sent him the 'True to Form' demo and he loved it. He's a lovely bloke, Peter Hopkins - top man. He's just doing it for fun and he comes out live with us just for the hell of it."

It has been a long wait between albums for Hybrid. Their highly acclaimed debut LP 'Wide Angle' was released over four years ago. Mullins explains,

"The problem was that because the last album was so long ago we actually almost forgot how to write our own record because we'd done so much remixing and had so much fun with DJing."

"For the first eight months we couldn't decide what we wanted to do. We couldn't get the sound that we wanted. Nothing was good enough. Then it just kind of clicked when we met Adam and we just started churning it out so, we're not going to stop now. We're just going to keep going."

According to Mullins, the trio is keen to release a Hybrid hip-hop album "just for the hell of it." He says it is one of the first styles of music he and the rest of the group became interested in at an early age and says they have always followed hip-hop no matter what music they have been into, including dance, Indy or orchestral.

"We've already started on the hip-hop album," he reveals. "So, we've got some rough ideas down for the third Hybrid album. There's not going to be a four-year wait like there was between 'Wider Angle' and 'Morning Sci-Fi.' There's going to be a lot of stuff around very quickly."

Aussies will have to wait until early next year to catch the trio in action. According to Mullins we can expect to see their DJ sets late February or early March but we might have to wait a little longer for the live show due to Hybrid's hectic promotional schedule.

"I always look forward to coming to Australia - in fact I'm going to have a long holiday and bring my family over," says Mullins, recalling his last visit.

"We did the Gatecrasher tour over there. It basically spells trouble when you're with Hybrid in business class all the Tags