Group bringing new album Semicircle to the QMU

“I still feel like I’ve only scratched the surface in a way,” he says, ahead of bringing new album Semicircle to the QMU on Friday, February 9.

“I could start work on another album tomorrow if I had to, so it doesn’t feel like we’ve run out of ideas yet. I still feel like we’re unique in a way and I can’t hear anything that sounds like us at the moment.”

If 2015’s The Scene Between was mostly a record made by Ian on his own, then Semicircle seems him welcome others back on board, from long standing collaborators Ninja (on vocals) and Sam Dook (on guitar) to new faces, including the Detroit Youth Choir, one of the results of a trip to the home of Motown and the Stooges that Ian went on.

The result is a typically joyful, colourful album laced with psychedelic tones, marching band flourishes and pop harmonies.

“I wanted this record to be more ambitious,” explains Ian.

“I wanted it to have a psychedelic gymnasium type of feel, something that was trippy and had colour to it. I think we have a reputation for getting some samples, putting a bow on top and then calling it a song, so I was really keen this time to make sure the songs were very singing based, but still with breakbeats and grooves.

“I’m always simultaneously being pulled in lots of different directions. I like a sunshine funk feel to things, I guess like Saturday morning TV, but with noise and distortion there too, so it’s a balancing act with the Go! Team all the time.”

Ian also decided that he wanted new vocal talent, hence using the Detroit Youth Choir. He deliberately hunted for something that wasn’t polished, and had some rawness.

“I’m into the idea of capturing singers who might not call themselves singers, because the minute someone calls themselves a singer, you can get trapped with this idea of how a singer should sing,” he argues.

“You over emote, you go through the motions and I don’t want that, I want something that’s rough around the edges. It’s a tightrope where someone suits the song and is in tune, but there is also a purity and sincerity that the singer-songwriter brigade today don’t have. They all have the same tics, they all copy each other and it’s becoming this vicious circle.”

The group’s own exploration of styles and genres marks them out as ahead of their time. In a way the Go! Team’s acceptance of different ideas marked them out as a Spotify band before the service existed, although Ian isn’t sure if the modern way that music consumed is a good thing.

“Music certainly used to be more tribal and you’d be in your own camp all the time, whether it was drum n’ bass, indie guitars, whatever,” he says.

“The problem is that if you ask people what they like, nowadays they’ll say ‘a bit of everything’ and it’s a lifestyle thing, like for when they go running and nothing else.

“I mean, something like funk can be both the best and worst music ever made – it’s not as easy as saying ‘I like funk’ and that’s it.”

One thing he does like though, is Glasgow, where their upcoming gig has been upgraded from Oran Mor to the QMU due to demand.

“We’ve always had a bit of a thing with Glasgow,” he adds.

“Even going back to the early days, they always seemed to get on it way faster than anyone else – the shows were always a bit more manic. I’m pretty sure we had our best ever show was Glasgow, it was just a blur but mental. The whole place kicked off straight away…”

The Go! Team, QMU, Friday February 9, £16, 7pm