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Band Of Skulls (Marsden, Richardson, Hayward) are buzzin'

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"It was. Absolutely. We were pleased to be on the shortlist, but we didn't believe that we'd made the final cut until it was confirmed in the LA Times - we didn't want to jinx it."

The song that's on the soundtrack, Friends, isn't on your debut album. Was it a pre-existing track? When did you record it?

"Friends was a part of a session we did last Christmas of new songs for our album, soon after we were offered Single Of The Week from iTunes. Basically, we just ran out of time to include it on the album. So, yes, it was pre-existing, but it's the first thing we've released after out debut, so it feels very new to us."

Have you seen an early cut of New Moon?

"Not yet. We are, like everyone else, still guessing where it will be used in the film."

Have you heard the rest of the soundtrack? If so, what's your reaction?

"We didn't sit around and wait for people to find out about us. We sort of made our own luck."

"I've heard the Thom Yorke song, which is really good. The rest will be interesting to hear, especially songs from the likes of Bon Iver and Grizzly Bear."

So let's talk about all that's happening for you. Attracting attention, becoming a 'buzz band' - it's one of those mysterious things. So many bands try and few succeed.

"Yeah, I wish I could say, 'Well, it's because we're so damn great,' but there's so many bands out there that deserve attention as much as we do. I don't know why things are happening for us, but I'm glad they are."

You say that, but I know there's some specific things you guys did that helped you get noticed.

"That's true. I would say the biggest thing is that we didn't just sit around and wait for people to find out about us. I mean, there are bands that will form and within six months people will be throwing record contracts at them, but that isn't the norm.

"We sort of made our own luck. Part of that really started when we put out our own independent releases and got them on the web. But the biggest thing was we hired venues and put on our own shows. We didn't get on our knees to get bookings; we made our own bookings by running our own club. Gradually, we made a bit of a scene."

Pretty smart.

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