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With a guitar, keyboard, sampler and a computer at hand, Tom Lowe had less of a vision and more of a thirst for making beautiful noise from his Leicestershire bedroom. And he succeeded. Hurrah.

Formed just over a year ago, Kyte are based around the song-writing duo of Lowe (guitar/songs) and Nick Moon (vocals), who record songs on the former's bedroom computer with "talented friends" (as Lowe refers to them) making up the remainder of the line-up; Jamie Ward (guitar/keyboard), Ben Cox (bass) and Scott Hislop (drums). Limited edition debut single Planet was released at the end of September on shoegaze connoisseur Nat Cramp's label, Sonic Cathedral, before the band hit the road with superlatives ringing in their ears.

Lowe admits that there's "no big concept" behind Kyte's sound and that Planet's unanimous positive press is "pretty surreal". The enthusiastic press has also seen eager bloggers and scribes comparing them to The Postal Service, Arcade Fire and (from the guardian) "like Sonic Youth's Daydream Nation played in a church." The B-side, Maps' mix of Secular, caught the ears of many, and was a total departure from the original's mellow ambience to what Lowe excitedly describes as a "euphoric dance track".

Inspired by Death Cab For Cutie, Sigur Rós and Jimmy Eat World, Lowe says he'd never heard of the oft-coined 'shoegaze' term before writing the main body of Kyte songs, and despite the obvious comparisons, My Bloody Valentine or even Maps didn't even crop up on the songwriter's radar until very recently.

"We write ambient pop songs. If they were 'shoe gaze' type songs they wouldn't work. Its self-indulgent in a way, but the music we write makes me happy."

Indeed, Kyte actually have more in common with Sigur Rós and ambient-hero Ulrich Schnauss, than with aforementioned recent Mercury nominees.

"We've never taken ourselves too seriously, and it wasn't until we put the MySpace page up that things started happening for us."

It's there that fans have found the gorgeous, ethereal Sunlight and the sweeping, early Verve-esque Boundaries (which featured on a Sopranos trailer in America earlier this year).

Barely into their twenties, the band's recordings are crisp and beautifully recorded. Live, the noise is louder, lyrics are breathed out, instead of sung, while guitars battle for space with the keyboard and bass sounds. "It's a different experience live, more like a rock band with live drums. We don't want to have too much of our music sequenced," says the guitarist.

At a recent show at the London's Luminaire, the band hit the geekcool look perfectly, and despite a couple of technical problems, warmed the whole room. At the front of the stage, fans sat down to observe their new heroes, echoing early-80s drone-rock outfit Spacemen 3, who's band members usually sat down to play. Epic live closer These Tales of Our Stay (which Lowe says will bookend a planned mini-album next year) hinted at Kyte's rock crossover potential.

Back in song-writing mode, a typical Kyte soundscape begins with Lowe building up a guitar or piano sequence, adding noise and loops and then Moon's vocals. Constantly writing, the former admits from his bedroom base that he "likes to have control". Indeed, his computer starts making noises in the background. This young man, it seems, never stops.

Kyte's immediate aims are to keep writing and playing live, while one eye is also
trained on the impending mini-album. This time next year, Kyte will be soundtracking
your every move.

Be warned.

words: Alistair Beech

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