Ashford's Bossk craft sprawling, scorching post metal built on engulfing walls of sound that consume. Known for spectacular live showcases featuring incense, low-lighting and engulfing atmospherics, I grabbed a brief moment with the boys as they prepared for a headline date at Nottingham's Old Angel. Crammed into an unsettlingly well-maintained tour van blasting ambient drone, I halted an ongoing game of cards to discuss touring with Swiss outfit Kruger, the band's unique live settings and future plans for fresh material..

T: Tom [Bass]

A: Alex [Guitar]

N: Nick [Drums]

Plus One Magazine

We're catching up with you mid-way through a series of U.K dates with Swiss metaller's Kruger, how has it shaped up for you so far?

T: Yeah man it's been wicked. Our first date was in Kingston and that was really good. A really full venue which was wicked. The Kruger guys are awesome. I've been a big fan of their record for ages and they're really good live. Really nice guys too. It's just been wicked every night!

You've been playing the dates with a number of bands of varying genres. Looking back at the history of the band you've shared the stage in the past with many different styles of bands as well. Any particular bands that you've gained the most from playing with?

T: We have been lucky enough to play with a totally different spectrum of bands. To be honest, we do like the challenge of playing with different bands. It's more challenging than playing to your target audience. It's more of a target. It's better to be a cross-genre band than it is to play to just your own regular fan base.

A: Torche!

T: Yeah Torche. We played with Baroness and Torche in Brighton last year and that was the best show anyone could ever have done. Pretty much the best gig ever. There are some pretty random ones. Like during a hardcore punk all-dayer here which was quite funny. I wouldn't say it was a good gig but it was interesting.

N: We also played in a country pub..not enough room down the road for two cars. A sign saying 'please drive carefully through the village' and everything! [laughs]

You also recently supported Japanese post-rock come soul crushers Envy at the Underworld in London. How was that?

T: Ah that was wicked man. Really good. They were really nice guys and the crowd was amazing that night. They never come over here as well, and I got to see them for free. I don't think they'll be back here for a while!

How did the band originally form?

T: We'd all known each other for a very long time. I went to school with Nick and with Dan and Alex as well. We were all in bands together. Since we were like 13. I was in a band previously with Nick and Rob and I was in band previously with Sam and Alex so we've all sort of been together. We're all from the same town which is really small.

Any inspiration behind the origin of the band name?

All: Star Wars!

T: We couldn't agree on something cool so we took up that instead. [laughs]

Any particular musical inspiration towards your sound?

T: Individually there's loads of different bands, yeah. Collectively there's quite a few. It is varied to be honest.

Your music is sprawling, ambitious and very immersive in that sense. How does the song writing process work for you guys, is it a gradual process?

T: Very! Time... Hours! It has to be pieced together over a long period of time rather than something that just comes out straight away.

What sort of emotions do you want your listener to go through whilst listening?

T: All of them! Especially with a live show. Definitely. We also like to have our own sort of 'look'. We have lights and smoke, as well as burning incense. Whatever we can do to make it more than just standing there and watching the band. I mean I feel more comfortable on the stage if I can't see anything else. You can get more into it, you focus on what you're playing.

N: It sets the mood.

With your first record ['1'] we were given a taster of the Bossk sound. Would you say with your second effort ['2'] there is a more refined, matured sound? How different are the two?

T: The first record were the first two tracks we've ever written. I mean we've only ever written four tracks. There was a track on the second record that we wrote differently to how we recorded it. We changed it during the course of playing it live. In terms of how the second one differs to the first, the recording of the first one is totally different. We spent a lot more time and money on it. The whole recording 'process' was totally different to the first. The first one was pretty much our first time we recorded anything as a band. We recorded it as a demo, releasing it ourselves, with hand-made packaging and art. Then it was released again on a label. I mean that stuff is nearly three years old now..

Are you hoping to start writing on the next album?

T: Yeah, after this tour.

What can we expect?

T: I don't know! [laughs] I have no idea. It's going to be a full length album. Other than that we don't know..

What have been the highlights so far whilst performing? When crowd, band, everyone, is 'into' it?

A: Holland.

T: Yeah, the Dutch! Holland that we just did was pretty amazing. Likewise the tour we did with Cult Of Luna last year in February was pretty good. Probably my best tour we'd ever done, personally. We've met a lot of really nice people in Leeds and we did Spain and Portugal last year. That was fucking amazing every single day. We played a lot of really good shows last year and we hope to play a lot more this year.

So the future plans for now?

T: Finish this tour. Write the next album. Maybe do a small tour half-way between writing the album. We'll see!

The Bossk boys were brimming with calm and composure throughout an interview that gave insight into how focused this band are towards their ambitious music. Spending hours in the perfecting of each sprawling epic, you can almost picture them reeling on the floor, dripping with sweat in a darkened studio for hours on end as they try to conjure the right mood, making everything fit. Speaking with passion about their live show, it's an element crucial to allowing the mass of ideas and emotions existing within this collection of talented musicians to roam free. It's music to take seriously, delivered by a band who seek to welcome you into their haunting world of shifting soundscapes. Promised album number three may just be the one that takes Bossk to the peak of their genre. Not to be one to heap on the pressure, obviously. Only time will tell, but you certainly wouldn't want to bet against them.

Interview by Jim Hall