After a hit debut album and a series of headline gigs, Kubb are on the up. We catch up with guitarist Adj to find out more...
With their mix of powerful vocals, rocky guitars, solid beats and delicate piano lines, Kubb have been releasing hit singles, best-selling albums and hitting the gig circuit. The London four-piece are now ensconced in the studio to work on album number two, so we caught up with guitarist Adj to find out about his Vox and Korg kit.
Korg Magazine: What got you started in music and how did you end up in Kubb?
Adj Buffoni: I started playing guitar at 12 or 13 and played in loads of different bands. I went off to Brighton to study music production, got involved doing sessions for Emma Bunton and Sophie Ellis-Bextor and also writing songs together with Feeder’s drummer Mark Richardson. I bumped into this guy who turned out to be a scout for Mercury Records; he’d seen me on TV doing session playing for Emma and he asked if I fancied doing this band, although they weren’t called Kubb at the time.
KM: You spent much of last year gigging, touring and supporting some big names... how was that experience?
AB: Touring’s really exciting... everything’s organised for you so you have stuff to do all day long, and at festivals, you get to see all different bands.
Starsailor were really good to us; they’re great guys, their music is great and we saw James doing some solo acoustic stuff... I was really impressed by that. We all got on really well, and we were there playing ping pong and pool together. It was a cool atmosphere.
KM: You’re back in the studio now, so what is your role in the whole process?
AB: It’s different all the time, but my contribution is a riff here or there, or maybe an idea for a groove. There was a period when the first album was being mixed and remixed when John and I were a bit bored and wrote lots of songs together, and Harry liked them, so some of those are going to be used too.
KM: Who are your main influences in your playing and writing?
AB: Guitar-wise, I do like George Harrison a lot, Fleetwood Mac’s Peter Green, Jimmy Page and Scott Matthews, a young acoustic guitar player.
KM: We hear that you have got an old Vox AC30, is it an original?
AB: It’s a reissue with Top Boost that I bought when I was 20 and it’s always been my main amp. I’ve also got one of the new AC30CCs, which is really good. I swear by Vox amps. My ideal amp in the world would be a Vox with just a volume control, basic EQ settings and an on/off switch; it’s ideal for someone who wants something immediate, it’s easy to understand for a beginner and at the same time, for a pro who plays guitar every day, it’s all they’re ever gonna really need, as you can cover a really wide range of sounds with it.
KM: And I believe you are dabbling with a microKORG as well?
AB: Yes. I use it for writing at home. I have a sideline in writing synth songs that sound like Depeche Mode to amuse myself! The band have been getting together to play the new songs live before we start the new album, and I play about with the keyboard, getting weird sounds from it. It’s really good and very straightforward to use.
KM: What does the rest of 2007 hold?
AB: We’re back in the studio, trying to get a first single out as soon as possible, and then the album comes after that, but it’s got to be right. As for me, I’m also playing in a blues interpretation band with a friend of mine and Adam Chetwood. That’s gonna be a lot of fun.
Find out more about Kubb at www.kubbmusic.co.uk. And you can read an interview with Kubb’s keyboard player John Tilley at www.korg.co.uk.