Spooky stuff

It’s a couple of hours until they’re due on stage and the three members of Spooks assembled in the Ambassador dressing-room are partaking of a collective yawn. I know I go on a bit, but is my interview technique really that boring?

“No, man,” smiles Mr. Booka-T benevolently. “We’re in the middle of a seven countries in seven days situation, so we’re a bit tired. Not that I’m complaining. The success we’ve had this year – especially in Europe – is something I’ve been waiting for all my life.”

Yup, knackered or not, the American hip-poppers are having a giant-sized ball. Moreover, with nary a “yo”, “ho” or “bitch” in sight, they’re being hailed in all the right circles as the biggest crossover phenomenon since The Fugees.

“Oh no, the F-word,” his partner-in-rhyme, Water Water, grimaces. “On one hand it’s very flattering to be compared to The Fugees, and on the other hand it’s frustrating ‘cause we’ve got our own message and way of spreading it. What we do share with The Fugees is a sense of positivity, which doesn’t always sit well with the media. We’d certainly get a lot more coverage in the States if we went on about ‘40 ounces, blunts and blowing your head off, motherfucker!’ What’s good for sales isn’t necessarily good for your soul. Y’know what I’m saying?”

Spooks’ non-conformist attitude becomes even more evident as they profess to liking U2, Radiohead, Tears For Fears, Hall & Oates, Metallica, Sade, Coldplay and – in the case of lead chanteuse, Irina Perez – the Cranberries.

“I’d love to go on tour with a group like them, but promoters in the States are still really nervous about putting rock and hip hop acts on the same bill,” she reveals. “That attitude carries through to radio whose main concern is whether an artist’s black or white, not good or bad. You guys are lucky ‘cause the radio stations here mix everything up.”

While way behind the likes of Dre, 2-Pac and – chortle – P-Diddy sales-wise, the East Coast collective certainly aren’t paupers in terms of plaudits.

“At home we perform with the likes of Jurassic 5 and Slum Village, and afterwards get pops and respect from people saying, ‘You guys are keeping the underground real,” Booka-T resumes. “That’s just as important to me as ‘Things I’ve Seen’ being number one in France, which it was a few months ago.”

Pressed further, the T-ster admits that there are aspects of international pop stardom that the band aren’t entirely comfortable with.

“Something like Later With Jools Holland is great, but providing the musical entertainment before they give a car away on a Belgian game show isn’t really us. That said, I’d much rather have the cross-genre thing going on than to be ghettoised. Being able to play shows like this one, tonight in Dublin, is a privilege that until recently I didn’t think I’d have.”

For the benefit of those who don’t yet own it, Spooks’ S.I.O.S.O.S debut marries razor sharp rhymes to melodies that are almost Bacharach-ian in their lushness. Throw in the same James Barry fixation that made rich people out of Portishead, and it makes for one hell of a calling card.

“The same people who a year ago were slamming doors in our faces are now going, ‘Hey, can we come and tour with you in Europe?’,” Water Water grins mischievously. “There’s a part of me which finds that real satisfying.”

Spooks’ S.I.O.S.O.S Volume One album is out now on Epic.