‘L’etat C’est Moi’ is the new single from Manchester based trio The Blinders and the second track to be taken from their forthcoming debut album, Columbia.

The track is the follow up to ‘Gotta Get Through’ which has been featured heavily on 6 Music (they played their first session for the station last month on Steve Lamacq’s show who described them as "the fastest emerging UK band at the moment") and hit the number one slot on Amazing Radio.

The band have been playing several shows since the start of the year including many sold out dates. They have a busy summer planned with headline shows in Manchester and London and festivals, many more of which are to be announced.

On 8th June the band played Manchester's Gorilla, met with both enormous enthusiasm and unanimous politically-charged aggression. They certainly appeal to a young northern crowd, their loud and bolshy take on punk music igniting not only musical admiration, but also social fury. Thier intelligence shines through not only their lyrics but their mature, thrilling live impact. Influenced as much by the daily news as other bands, their impact, even at this early stage, cannot be over stated. This is a very important band.

So you guys are based in Manchester now - how much of your music is influenced by the northern music scene?

The northern and Manchester music scene obviously holds such a weight in history that it cannot be ignored. Although we do take influence from bands such as The Smiths or The Fall, we're intrigued more by their wider spheres of influence such as literacy and art, as opposed to being heavily influenced by the bands themselves. We have our own take on these things.

 There definitely seems to be growing support for you guys up here, do you notice that?

Absolutely, yeah. We feel very at home here in Manchester. As the crowds build and the reactions get wilder, it’s something we'll never take for granted but the people here seem to have taken us in as one of their own.

 Are you excited to be playing at Manchester Academy 2?

Of course, it’s obviously exciting to be playing a venue of that size, if not a little daunting. 

 For those who don’t know your music, how would you describe your sound?

That's always been a difficult question for us which we've had a long time to dwell on, but still have no real answer for because of our ever-changing sound. All of our music is electrically charged in some way, be it sonic or politically. The drums are thunderous and the bass kicks like a mule. In one word: loud. 

 Your music reminds me of some of Cabbage’s material - do you like their stuff?

We owe a lot to Cabbage. They’re the band that really got things rolling for us. Not only have they become dear friends but we all are huge fans of their work and their creative ethic. 

 When is the album arriving?

We've just announced our debut album Columbia, to be with you in the month of September. 

We love the new track ‘L’etat C’est Moi’ or ‘The State Is Me' (if I’ve translated correctly) - where did the ideas for that come from?

It’s a historical phrase attributed to Louis XIV which we picked up mainly because it’s a very powerful and romantic statement. In an attempt to narrate the world as we see it we have been using dystopian parallels, and there is nothing more dystopian than a king declaring 'I Am The State'. Whether he really said it or not may be debated, but that’s not really the point. It’s just a phrase we’ve re-purposed and the song therefore speaks for itself. 

Are there any artists you’re listening to at the moment that we should know about?

Afghan Sand Gang, White Room, Strange Bones, Avalanche Party, Hotel Lux, Phobophobes, Calva Louise, Proletariat. 

What’s next for you guys, are you hitting some festivals over the summer? More touring?

We’ve got a few festivals to play including the likes of Kendal Calling before we hit the long road for the Columbia tour in early October. All dates are on our socials.