The debut release “Centuries” from Dark Dark Horse could be described with one sentence: it is pleasant anticipation set to music. Their pop influenced electronic sound is romantic in the best sense or as Charles Baudelaire used to say: “Romanticism is precisely situated neither in choice of subject nor exact truth, but in the way of feeling.”

And the best thing about feelings, they don’t stick to any rules. Neither does the sound of Dark Dark Horse. Erik Satie like piano tunes meet IDM beats meet spherical synthesizer soundscapes all kept together by James Stafford’s flowery lyrics and his gentle voice.

If you’re a fan of Postal Service, Anderson, The New Wine or American Analog Set you must not miss out Dark Dark Horse. And if not, listen to them anyway!

Unfortunately this dazzling debut is not available in Europe at the moment, but I reckon it will be pretty soon. Check out their myspace site for more infos and have a look at my interview with Jamie Ward.

First of all, who is Dark Dark Horse? Please introduce yourself!

Dark Dark Horse was started by me (Jamie Ward) and James Stafford. I do the music and James writes and sings all the vocals. Joe Norledge who plays guitar and Robin Southby who plays keys have since joined the band.

Describe your musical style in one sentence.

Max Richter meets New Order, and odd fit of styles and sounds that shouldn’t work but hopefully do.

What do we need to know about your debut release “Centuries”?

It’s not out in the UK or Europe yet but we’re working hard on that.

What kind of music inspires you?

Anything with the spark of something new, it doesn’t have to be groundbreaking but just has that special something that sets it apart. I get pretty inspired by music when I can’t grasp who it’s been done. Being a producer I get pretty analytical over music so when something comes along that  can’t over analyse I get pretty excited about it. Clark’s ‘Totems Flare’ is an example of that for me.

Are there any other musical projects in your past, present or future?

I used to play in Kyte, the now Defunct Tired Irie and still play in Maybeshewill. James also plays in Kids in Carsand Robin’s real baby is Maybeshewill.

What is the best thing about being a musician?

Creating something that wasn’t their before.

What is the worst thing about being a musician?

Trying to get people interested in what you’ve created.

Where and when can we see you live?

It’s early days yet so we’re just tentatively stepping into the world of live performance. We’re playing Leicester Firebug on the 11th of Feb and Nottingham Bodega Social on the 16th of February.

What are your plans for 2011?

Push our music to a much wider audience, release centuries or maybe something a little updated in the West, write another album (we have most of the demo’s already) play live a lot more.