Not only do the Operators blend an exciting mix of rock and electro with finely crafted hooks, they also know the true art of showmanship. Creating a finely tuned stage show with high quality visuals and projections, The Operators have been spreading their brand of stagecraft throughout the nation.  We highly recommend that you catch one of their live performances if you can. You can’t fail to be impressed.  We took an opportunity to have a chat in the midst of their busy schedule.

You’ve just released a single. What’s the reception been like?

Ben: The single campaign was a belter. 'B-Line' was a sell out. It reached the top ten in the BBC Radio 1 Indie charts, BBC Six Music Record of the week as well making the XFM A Playlist and getting some plays on Jo Wiley's Radio One Show. It was received well in the press with coverage from NME to the Guardian. So we were really pleased to get this sort of a response to our debut single.

Who did you work with on the single?

Ben: We actually had a number of mixes back from different producers all with varying likable elements but in the end we decided to go with an edit Charlie had done. I think sometimes it's difficult to translate to a third party how you want your record to sound, hence the homegrown approach.

John: Yeah, we we're all really pleased with the mix Charlie did. I think eventually, if we were ever to release an album it would be great to get a third party involved. We're very lucky to have Charlie's skills onboard though.

What else is happening for The Operators in 2009?

Ben: We have managed to get some relatively big stages at a handful of UK festivals which we are really excited about.

John: Yeah we're all looking forward to the summer. We're also working on new material which we hope to gradually filter into our live shows.

You’ve just finished judging your own Isle band competition. Can you tell us about it?

Ben: We have grown up on the island and always been in amongst the music scene. I always looked forward to the Wight noise auditions which determine who plays mainstage at the IOW Festival, because it never ceases to amaze me what musical talent we have on the island. Recently we have

lost touch a bit with the younger generation of musicians forming groups and writing songs and in short we really just wanted to see what people were doing and if the reputation is still there and it is, massively. 

What’s the scene like on the Isle of Wight?

Ben: There's a Vibe for sure, despite it's size/population and the common misconceptions about enclosed communities. The Island has produced and is still producing some incredible music. In the small proportion of the country we have travelled we have encountered bands from all over that you would expect to be more established, better players/writers because they are from the city but most of the time that is not the case. A local singer song writer once said that ‘creative people express their surroundings in their work so it stands to reason that some of the most beautiful music I've ever heard has originated from the island’.  Perhaps there is truth in that?

 

John: Ever since I was about 14/15 I just remember getting so excited about going to see bands in their late teens/early 20's playing live music in various venues around the island (us Isle of Wighters call it 'The Island'),  from theatres to social clubs and small live rooms at the back of pubs. The majority of bands would just play covers, but they'd play some great tunes. I remember one band in particular playing funk rock, songs by RHCP, Rage Against The Machine, and Incubus, everyone tucked in. The bands were genuinely good musicians, and they were no doubt a massive influence on me, I wanted to be up on stage playing.

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