IT MIGHT be the musical version of selling coals to Newcastle, but Scottish hip-hop act Hector Bizerk managed to impress legendary rappers Public Enemy.

The American outfit, famed for groundbreaking albums like It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back, liked the Scots so much that they ended up asking for a Hector T-shirt.

The request came after the local foursome supported Chuck D and company at the O2 ABC earlier this year.

"We've done a lot of these supports, opening for Jurassic 5, the GZA and Grandmaster Flash, but with Public Enemy it felt like there was quite a connection because they play with a live band as well," says Audrey Tait, Hector's drummer.

"Some of the old school hip-hop heads, they don't want to see a drummer, but with Public Enemy it was like we had more in common with them, and people at the gig seemed to know our music as well, which was a surprise.

"There were quite a lot of people singing along and it was crazy. Louie (Hector's frontman) was chatting away to DJ Lord afterwards and he really liked us - he asked for a T-shirt! Maybe he'll be kicking about on their next tour with it on."

Hector - rapper Louie,and drummer Audrey, plus bassist Fraser Sneddon and keyboardist Dave Calder - have just launched their new EP, The Fish That Never Swim, following on the heels of last year's second album, Nobody Seen Nothing, which got rave reviews.

It's the first in a series of four EPs planned by the group, with each release titled after a line from Glasgow's coat of arms.

The EP adds brass to the band's sound and was officially launched with a typically wild gig at the Art School, while the idea to release four EPs instead of a full album was partly down to a twist of fate.

"Louie had mentioned the Glasgow coat of arms in one of the first songs we'd written after the album, and at the same time, Pearl, Kinnear, a Glasgow artist who's pretty much our fifth member, had been drawing a coat of arms for us," explains the drummer.

"When we saw that she was doing that we thought 'that's fate', because neither of us knew what the other was doing, and we thought rather than an album we'll do four EPs, each based on a line from the coat of arms."

It's the latest step for a band going from strength to strength. Nobody Seen Nothing translated the group's live energy to record, from rapid-fire social commentary in the lyrics to terrific rhythms, and it earned the band a nomination for Scottish Album of the Year.

However, the EP also marked some changes for the quartet, with keyboards player Jennifer Muir stepping aside.

"We went through a transition during the EP, because Jen was in the process of leaving as she's going to uni," says Audrey, who's from Rutherglen.

"As we made this she was phasing out and Dave was phasing in, as he's now doing the keys. That's been a key factor in this one that there's been five of us working on it, as Dave added some really good percussion and rhythmic elements to it."

Next up for the band is a slot on the upcoming Tenement Trail festival that's taking place around Glasgow on Saturday October 4.

A WHOLE host of emerging Scottish talent is lined up to play the bash, which is spread across several venues, including King Tut's and Nice N Sleazy.

Hector have also landed a management deal with the same company that look after Pete Doherty and his sometime bandmates, the Libertines.

"We're still going to be doing a lot of stuff ourselves, but it'll hopefully take us to the next level, as they'll have contacts that are unreachable for us," says Audrey.

"We're very much a group that thinks if we can't get in through the front door then we'll climb in a back window, but sometimes a bit more official help is needed."

And the band has no plans to take it easy.

"We're not going to come to a standstill," adds Audrey.

"As much as we're out playing we're not stopping writing, I suppose some bands are either recording or touring, but we just try to keep busy, and try to keep people interested."

n The Tenement Trail, Saturday October 4, £14