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Feb 12, 2014 Web Exclusive By Under the Radar Staff

For Under the Radar‘s 11th annual Artist Survey we emailed some of our favorite artists a few questions relating to the important issues of the last year, as well as some quirkier subjects. Check out our next print issue and digital issue for surveys from My Morning Jacket, Foals, Amanda Palmer, Local Natives, Wild Nothing, These New Puritans, Lanterns on the Lake, Xiu Xiu, and Summer Camp.

Here are answers from England’s Teleman.

What was the highlight of 2013, either for you personally or for the band?

Thomas Sanders: Recording our debut album.

Pete Cattermoul: Personal and band high point would have to be playing at the Glastonbury Park Stage. The whole weekend was awesome.

What was the low point of 2013 for you?

Pete: Probably getting home from Glastonbury.

Thomas: Coming home from tour and finding our rehearsal room flooded (with sewage?).

What are your hopes and plans for 2014?

Thomas: Doing our first headline tour, and it being amazing.

Pete: I hope we’ll be invited to play at lots more festivals and I hope that lots of people listen to our record, which will be out in March. We plan to start working on the next one.

What are your thoughts on the passing of Lou Reed? Did his music influence you at all and in what way?

Thomas: He’s always stood out for me as belonging to a certain group of singers, who while not technically good in the traditional sense, have a fantastically characteristic voice which is recognizable a mile off. People like Bob Dylan, Mark E. Smith, Mark Knopfler, etc.

Pete: In my teens I took a great deal of influence from Lou Reed. The whole style and approach of his playing and writing still feels very close to my heart.

What are your thoughts on the U.S. government shutdown and the debt ceiling debate?

Thomas: In the words of David Bowie, “I’m afraid of Americans” (especially Republicans).

Pete: Seems like a crazy blip on the political landscape. I don’t know the ins and outs of it, but it seems like it was probably a dumb idea.

What are your thoughts on Obamacare, now that it’s being implemented?

Thomas: I feel very fortunate to come from a country where healthcare is free and for all. You take it for granted.

Pete: Is that like free healthcare? It’s a no brainer to me, it should be free for everybody. Let the rich pay, they can afford it!

What is your opinion on the extensive government spying on the world’s Internet/phone usage? Is Edward Snowden a patriot or traitor?

Thomas: It’s inevitable and will always happen. Get used to it?

Pete: It was bound to happen. It’s funny to imagine governments are all listening to each other, and then having meetings where they pretend they haven’t. Edward Snowden is a hero. I really hope he gets out soon.

What are your thoughts on music streaming services such as Spotify and Rdio? Are they good or bad for musicians?

Thomas: When I was growing up I think I spent about £10 per month on buying CDs. Spotify and Google Play charge this amount for their premium services. So it could—if enough people use it—work really well as a model to generate good revenue for artists. Unfortunately, it seems that those with the clout (the majors and share holders) have no interest in seeing the artist get paid anywhere near to what is a sensible percentage.

Pete: They are neither good or bad, it’s like natural evolution. Maybe some people don’t appreciate music as much as they used to because it’s so readily available, but how can you measure that?

Who was the first person to break your heart? Whose heart did you first break?

Pete: No one has ever broken my heart.

What was your most embarrassing moment in high school?

Pete: Oh my God, this one time in band camp….

Thomas: In our first year, in the school talent competition I sang a cover of a Crowded House song. I was very nervous and my legs and hands were shaking so I couldn’t play or sing. This is still a problem sometimes.

Do bad reviews bother you and which negative review has affected you the most?

Thomas: I find it really hard to not to be affected by negative feedback! But as long as people are having some kind of reaction, it’s good. I’d rather someone hate it and remember it than to not even have a reaction. Salvador Dalí used to get his press agent to cut out all his reviews each month and weigh them.

Pete: (Dalí used to weigh his press, not read it.) I try to live by that.

What moment in history do you most wish you could’ve witnessed in person?

Pete: I would like to have seen Mozart conducting his last symphony.

Thomas: The Big Bang.

What is your favorite word and why?

Pete: “MIDI,” I just love “MIDI,” is that geeky? It’s actually an acronym but I think that’s okay.

What was the first R-rated (17+) movie you remember seeing and how old were you?

Pete: Night of the Living Dead, aged five.

What’s the weirdest/grossest thing you’ve ever eaten?

Pete: Ox tongue or brains, maybe.

Thomas: Pigs’ ears…at a service station…on tour in Spain.

Which lyric written by someone else do you most quote?

Pete: “It’s been a hard day’s night.”

What’s the biggest scam in the music industry today?

Thomas: Spotify.

What’s the weirdest and/or worst place you’ve slept while on tour?

Pete: Definitely in a van in Berlin on the street. Our hotels had been booked on the wrong day. It was hellish.

Did you attend your senior prom? What was that experience like?

Pete: Pretty shit.

How and with whom did you lose your virginity?

Pete: With my first girlfriend, we had sex.

What was your favorite bedtime story as a child?

Pete: Fantastic Mr. Fox [by Roald Dahl].

With Pixies, David Bowie, Suede, and My Bloody Valentine releasing new music after years away from the studio, what rock icons would you like to see make another album?

Pete: That’s probably enough, isn’t it?

Who would you most like to sing at your funeral?

Thomas: Robert Wyatt.

Pete: Elvis.

Do you have any other thoughts about the current state of the world or the state of the music industry?

Pete: The world is fucked up. The music industry seems to be all right, though.

Thomas: Every era looks back with disbelief at the past. I like to think about what future generations will find unbelievable about us.

www.telemanmusic.com