Worldpop - worldpop Watch out world!!(september 2000)

Muse have blasted onto the music scene, pulling an army of fans wherever they go. We caught up with Matt and Dom at the close of this year's festival season to discuss why the world loves Muse, who owns smelly pants and what their plans for the future. What are Muse doing for the rest of the year? Dom: We're going to start recording an album in September and then go to Japan and then Australia in october and then finish the album. Matt: About January or February time we'll be releasing a new single, the first new single from the new album, maybe April or May time. I want to get the album out about May if possible, then we'll probably do a tour. Explain the teddy sat on your knee ... Matt: It's a gift from a Japanese fan and she said I had to make it famous! It's something I definitely want to keep. We sometimes get various offerings of smelly underwear, but things like this are more friendly and rewarding, from the heart. How big are Muse in other countries? Matt: Pretty big, we're big in Japan, it's really good over there. We're quite big in France where we have played to about 60 or 70,000 fans at a festival there. That was quite a shock. A lot of fans would rather see you than Oasis. How does that feel? Matt: For me, the music Oasis makes is very different to the music we make. Whereas they are a very retro sound and take a lot of influences from say 20 years ago, a lot of our stuff is more modern and appealing to modern ideas generally. You're still classed as a new band. What's it like to headline an event? Matt: It's quite nerve-wracking. Reading was pretty much the first gig we've headlined at a festival. We had to headline straight after Limp Bizkit, so we were really nervous about that because we know how big they are, but I think you just have to get out there and do it and try not to panic too much. Do you ever get used to being a headline act? Matt: Oh I don't know, ask me in a few years time! I think it takes a lot of time and a lot of hits to get used to it. Dom: It was scary when we found out we were at the top of the bill. It was a shock when we found out we were going to headline, but we've done so many festivals all over Europe so we're used to playing in different situations. How do the European festivals differ? Matt: Well, the French festivals are much more diverse. There were a couple of gigs where we were going on after a reggae band or straight after a rap band or a very pop band and they don't mind. Over there they like the change whereas over here they tend to be either pop orientated or very rock orientated. Do you get a chance to see bands when you are playing at the festivals? Dom: Yes, we've seen Foo Fighters, The Deftones, we've done festivals with Limp Bizkit and Rage Against The Machine and we saw them in Italy, which was splendid! Matt:I think Rage Against The Machine are the best festival band I've seen. What's so special about European festivals? Matt: They're more relaxed backstage. In terms of our own gig, I prefer to play in venues as the sound is better, but in terms of the whole day and everything, I think festivals are more fun. We've done 50 festivals this summer! Dom: I'm looking forward to going to Japan and Australia and I'm looking forward to doing small gigs again. Worldpop

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