"I'm a founding member of ‘Guessmen’ – an experimental band that have released a series of records, remixed international artists and gigged across the UK."

 

Guessmen are Tommy Anderson (Percussive and Electronic noises), John Ayers (Guitars, Electronic and Woodwind noises) Alan Edge (Vocal and Brassy noises), and Jamie Thompson (Bass and Woodwind noises).

Pioneers of the contra-pop sound, the band's off-kilter beats and bizarre woodwind and laptop-derived sounds combine with dark tales of mermaids, animals and robots to create a free music that is still recognisable as pop – but only just. So extreme is their magpie mix that it prompted Isaac Hayes to exclaim "You guys got some crazy s**t!"

In winning the Diesel-U-Music award in 2003, a new category had to be invented to encompass their sound. They have since gone on to worry the genre purists with every song they construct.

"If you like your music odd, you will appreciate this record. BFTB is slightly traumatic at times, but that is what makes it great. Music is a psychological experience. It SHOULD be fun, strange, dark and malevolent. Like a homicidal Hot Chip, The Guessmen will f**k you up! On the dancefloor! Aeow!" Subba-Cultcha.com

Hooking up with Tim 'Love’ Lee's, Tummy Touch label, home of Groove Armada and Tom Vek, in 2003 saw the release of their debut 12", 'Spaceship', and a number of tracks on the Touch Tones series and Rude Girl compilations. Their debut album, 'Animals In Suits', was voted album of the year by Coldcut in UDB magazine's end of year round up, “...Animals in Suits is a fine album that you’ll continue to grow into, like a friendly pair of shoes”.· DJ Magazine summed up their releases as, "a bit of a tasty treat" and gave them 4 stars.

The band have developed their sound from the unashamedly upbeat 'Spaceship' to the darker edged hues of trakcs such as 'Black Balloons' on 'Back from the Bins' LP and EP. They have been baffling and blasting audiences in various venues around the UK, supporting artists as diverse as Isaac Hayes, Jimmy Carl Black, Shitdisco, Coldcut, Field Music, Robots In Disguise, Radioactive Man, Maximo Park, Tom Vek and Altern-8.

The Guessmen live show is a shock and awe display of huge bass, junk percussion and slick electronic manipulation. The songs warp and stretch beyond the limits of the recorded versions to a mind-melting wall of sound with a level of pure groove.

“They ably prove that they bang like the highest heeled unshaven Warp signed glam band ever” brainwashed.com

After their BBC 6 Music Hub session, their host Tom Robinson declared them "Absolutely wild!... passionate, energetic, gifted, committed, dangerous and full of life”

So effective is their low end that they have reportedly induced labour in at least one fan!

They have been played on radio around the world including a Hub Session for BBC 6 Music, an interview with BBC Radio 3's sorely missed 'Mixing It' show who described the band as "Pure Lunacy", plays from Mark Lamarr on BBC Radio 2 and a number of plays on Resonance FM, Coldcut's Solid Steel and East Village Radio in New York.

The band