Rendez-Vous 001: The Rambling Wheels

A ramble in the Swiss Alps...

Dressed up like some kind of hip, Swiss Hives, The Rambling Wheels certainly make a good first impression with their sharp suits and coiffured hair but is there more to this band than just top 'tasches and a good tailor? With the cold of winter nipping at their Furry Tales [co-incidentally the name of their most recent recording], The Rambling Wheels get cosy and cuddle up for a little rendez-vous as we talk about their countries fine time pieces, the great Surrealist Salvador Dali and the joys of the Rubix Cube. Lets get these Wheels in motion!

Chéri Amour: You've been a very busy band this summer playing a multitude of shows and festivals in Europe, how has that all been this going?

The Rambling Wheels: Very well! We’ve been busy touring mostly in Switzerland and France and had the chance to play in some great and important festivals. Besides the tour, we also recorded our new album between July and August... so we were on the road on week-ends and in the studio during the week !

CA: Having recently moved to Paris myself, there a few things that I am already missing from old Blighty [namely Tetley teabags, twixes and pork pies] can you name three essential items you always take on tour with you when you leave snowy Switzerland?

TRW: What we miss the most when we’re abroad is chocolate and cheese...OK, this might sound like a cliché but it’s true! Watches are easy to take with though so we’re always on time !

CA: As for the music scene in your homeland, all female 70s punk band, Kleenex became the first Swiss Wave export hit, reaching the UK Charts and nabbing a contract with [the still celebrated today] Rough Trade Records but what is the music scene like in Switzerland now?

TRW: There are a lot of very good bands in Switzerland, but it’s still very hard for them to get known abroad.... What is special in Switzerland is that we are kind of 3 countries in one ! There are a lot of musical and cultural differences between the French, Italian and German parts. We’re confident about the future of Swiss music though; things are moving now and some artists could really reach an international level, people like Sophie Hunger or Young Gods.

CA: I am sure you have often been compared to bands like The Hives and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion for your hot riffs and rock and roll swank but how would you describe yourselves and what would you say are your influences as a band?

TRW: Yes, we’ve already been compared to the Hives, probably because of the stage outfits and some sharp punk riffs... but we consider ourselves more like an electro-rock band, with a proper identity. We were influenced by 60’s and rock’n’roll music at the beginning and are now moving to something more new-wave, with electro-sound and synthesizers.

CA: As readers of my blog will know, you are a very well dressed bunch of fellows, indeed, and sport both impressive haircuts and facial hair. Would you say that the look and style of The Rambling Wheels is an important aspect of the band?

TRW: Yes, of course. We always considered the band image part of the whole project. We like developing a strong visual identity and, of course, moustaches, outfits and naked cats [check out the bands myspace for this] catch the audience’s attention!

CA: Who had the better moustache, Salvador Dali or Friedrich Nietzsche?

TRW: Salvador Dali

CA: Your album 'Furry Tales' was released last November, are there plans for more recorded Rambling Wheels material soon?

TRW: As we mentioned, we’ve been busy recording a new album this summer in between touring which will be released in March 2011 in Switzerland ! We hope that a release will follow in France close to that date.

CA: We Are Scientists actually did a series of comedy lectures alongside their last release, would you ever consider doing anything similar?

TRW: We like shooting lots of funny videos, like acoustic sessions in the lake or wherever. One day we’ll have more time to make all our dreams come true; who know we might even shoot a Rambling Wheels’ movie ?!

CA: Finally, according to your biography, The Rambling Wheels play rock and roll with real soul but in a game of rock, paper, scissors who would win?

TRW: We prefer playing Rubik’s cube or chess, sorry about that....

A band full of style, wit and clearly a grasp on a good game or two, The Rambling Wheels seem to have cracked the colourful cubed conundrum. Surely it's only a matter of time before they crack Europe too?

Check out the band and get all the latest tour dates at www.theramblingwheels.ch