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Do what do you do when you realise that things ain’t what they used to be in clubland? Run away and hide? Say things like, “There’s always been a rock element to my trance, mate”? Or perhaps you think, “Yes, things are changing, but no, I’m not going to give up this music, not me, no way, no how.”

Yep, despite the great dance music slump of 2003, Nottingham-based Crazy Penis aren’t for turning. The six-piece – the brainchild of Chris Todd and Jim Barron – have grown from bedroom-based house music producers into a fully-fledged live band of some repute, eschewing the boring ‘two blokes behind a bank of gear’ appproach in favour of live drums, bass, percussion and powerful vocals. It’s quite a sight and quite a show – and having played two well-received gigs ‘round these parts before, the Penis are on their way back for another round in Dublin and Galway.
But back to the start. “Crazy Penis started out with just myself and Jim in his bedroom, really, making house records. Things just grew out of that. We started getting requests to play live and for a while the two of us did, just pretending to do things behind a keyboard, twiddling a few knobs. It was… pathetic! We decided that we had to get some more people in – and that took quite a while to get everyone together.”
It may have taken a while to find the three musicians, but Jim had a delightful stroke of luck finding a singer close to home.
“There was this house that Jim used to go to for parties. He met this girl there, Danielle, who was drunk and did a great Shirley Bassey impression! She had never done anything like this before but it worked out great.”
Indeed it did. Danielle is the perfect frontwoman for the Crazy Penis show – a little bit wild in an acid house style, but with a great voice and the right amount of stage presence. It’s a proper combo.”
How does the music make it from brain to stage? Given the fact that there are now six people involved, is it a team effort? Or are Jim and Chris still in control?
“Well, it’s mostly me and Jim – though the others have a lot of input too,” he offers diplomatically. “It’s more a question of time and effort – getting six people together is quite difficult, so we tend to come up with ideas ourselves and then pass them on to them, where they bring their own ideas to it.”
Who looks after songwriting duties?
“Everything Danielle sings on, she writes.”
Has the ‘crisis in clubland’ affected you?
“Well, not really. The house scene in Nottingham is pretty much dead, but then you look at a place like Leeds where there are places with an atmosphere just like there was 10 years ago. I suppose it’s the way things go – you can’t expect today’s 20-year-olds to grow up listening to the same stuff we did.”
Now two albums old, the band’s sound has grown with each record. From the sparser stylings of A Nice Hot Bath With… to the last release, the fuller, funkier The Wicked Is Sound, it’s a definite sign of progression. Describe the Crazy Penis sound for all the hotpress dance luddites.
“Well, it’s house-based,” offers Chris, “but I don’t think we are a ‘house’ band, we wouldn’t call ourselves that. We’re heavily influenced by all the usual late ’70s suspects – Chic, War, that kind of thing and then some newer stuff… it’s impossible not to pick up on the likes of Daft Punk and that.”
Daft Punk meets Chic down the disco? How could you not want to check that out? b

Crazy Penis play Cuba, Galway (July 23) and the Sugar Club, Dublin (24).