Having spent more than four years on their new album, anti-folkers Misterlee return with the brilliant, dark, and even more experimental The Disquiet Dog.

We caught up with frontman Lee Allaston for a quick Q+A about their history, life in rural Leicestershire, and the new record.

To someone who has never experienced a Misterlee gig, what can they expect?
The live thing is on hold at the moment. There’s just too much to do with the album release and everything which goes with that. It would be great to think of live shows in the way artists with more of an infrastructure plan these things to coincide, but for me, working as a micro label means having to take things more steadily. I do have some ideas though and things could possibly be really quite different.

You’ve been gigging and writing for years, what has been your proudest moment?
In terms of Misterlee, I think probably listening to the first mastered playbacks of this album in the autumn of last year. We mastered the album at Fluid in Hammersmith with a genius by the name of Tim Debney, who unearthed a whole extra level of dimension and detail to the recordings. Obviously it’s not all about the sonic polish on an album, but the sense of closure - with the music feeling just right was a real catharsis for me.

What was the best gig you ever played?
We’ve played well over 200 live shows and every one of them has been different, and so many have been so great in so many ways. The last Hunting for Teeth night we played in Derby I would say was a particular highlight in terms of atmosphere and performance. I always really enjoy the shows we play where the audience are less aware of improvised or leftfield music and they get inspired having heard something totally new to them. In a way, the last Summer Sundae Weekender we played was like that.

And what’s the best you have been to?
The Secret Garden Party is a favourite of mine - if I can have that, as it is technically a festival?

What is the general makeup of your audiences?
Right across the board really. We’ve never held Misterlee back to playing only niche events and really just threw the thing out there to be picked up by whoever, wherever it landed! We’ve played everything from tough estate pubs through to rather glitzy awards ceremonies. I don’t think we have a typical audience and I quite like that.

Have you ever had any desire to jack it all in and write a straight pop record?
If the muse struck and it were at the right time for the right reasons, it could happen. To my mind there are some pop elements to what I write anyway, but I certainly wouldn’t contrive that.

If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be?
Once again I’m going to cheat here by choosing a fellow who is no longer with us and say Charles Ives. I feel the breadth of emotional content in his music very deeply and it would be just amazing to even consider what he might do with a Misterlee track or what I could offer lyrically to his music. Actually, that’s all too intimidating to ever comprehend. I feel cheap even conjuring it in my head!

Who were the first band you ever got into?
I used to drum along to the band Pig Bag and their single Papa’s Got a Brand New Pig Bag.

How do you feel Misterlee has progressed since you started?
I think I’ve distilled the ideal to a far more channelled place. Early Misterlee was a more eclectic sonic experiment, but since the live thing has happened the material and arrangements have consolidated. I see the whole thing as constantly shifting more than necessarily progressing. It’s always different.

How is it living in Leicestershire, and is there much of a music scene?
I moved from the city of Leicester a couple of years ago and I love the pace of the country. It does feel like ‘retreating’, both in lifestyle and also on a daily commute basis. There is indeed music out here, though as you might imagine it is more pub-band oriented – which again is no bad thing as I get my fill of challenge daily anyway. Having said all this, Krautrock favourites Black Carrot and also Volcano the Bear’s Aaron Moore are all from this same area.

When did you start working on This Disquiet Dog, and how was it all recorded?
I started writing specifically with an album in mind probably as early as 2006. Jamie and I started the recordings late autumn 2008: the recording job took the best part of 18 months and I am still in process of documenting that work. We did the tracking at Jamie’s studio in South Leicestershire, developing parts from the huge folder of notes I had amassed from the previous 2 years writing. Much of the drums were recorded in a huge dance studio space and some effects were captured with a palm top recorder in the car!

Describe the album in three words.
Labyrinth. Measured. Psyche.

Who would you most like to go for a drink with past or present?
Mozart - genius and party animal. We could go wig shopping beforehand and sing drunkenly around the harpsichord.

Finally, what are you most looking forward to in 2010?
Sorry, but it has to be the summer!

words: Joshua Lachkovic