Chris Herbert meets a dance band on the slippery slope to success

ALTERNATIVE dance band Specimen A are set to perform at a two-day snowboarding extravaganza just weeks after becoming the first group to sign to their own label, Squeaky Clean Records.

The two brothers behind the music, Morris and Philip Jones, of Swaines Lane, Flackwell Heath, are set to release an album Pulse on October 12 and a follow-up single Hate This System two weeks later.

The duo, who write all their own music, is just one of the bands taking part in the snowboarding event at Wycombe Summit on September 19 and 20. Specimen A will be playing on Saturday, September 19.

Squeaky Clean Records was set up earlier this year by the band and their management so that they could have control over what music is released.

Morris, 19, said: "Our music is just a collection of all sorts of different stuff, really, from dance to more guitar-based music. We play it all live and we wanted to start up our own label so that we could do whatever we felt like doing.

"It is quite like The Prodigy, The Beastie Boys and Rage Against The Machine, just alternative dance. At the moment it is just me and my brother, but we are hoping to get a bassist, guitarist and keyboard player."

The pair, who have been composing for the last five years and are Howard Jones' nephews, are busy writing their next album.

Morris added: "It has really taken off over the last year or so, and it is really exciting -- everything is going well, it's great fun.

"I'm a bit worn out by it all at the moment -- we've been doing a lot of recording and we are just gearing up for a move to London in the next few weeks to get things going.

"It's a bit of a shame, but we haven't been playing much in High Wycombe because there isn't really a proper music venue, so we have to go elsewhere, usually to London.

"We've also both got part-time jobs in Covent Garden market, so if we can sort out a flat in Camden it would be just right.

"Both me and Philip, who is two years younger than me, have always been musical and we have always listened to a lot of music."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.