Los Campesinos! 'Aren't Bothered' By Illegal Downloads

Los Campesinos! have admitted they “really aren’t that bothered” by unlawful downloads of their new album.

“I have downloaded music illegally in the past,” Ellen, the band’s bassist, told Gigwise.  “And if I really like it I’ll buy a tangible copy. We’re not that driven by money anyway, with seven of us in the band.”

Their debut record, ‘Hold On Now, Youngster’, is released on Monday, but was leaked on the internet a month ago.

“We’re excited that it’s finally coming out, but it’s almost an anti-climax because we recorded it so long ago and it’s been leaked.”

New single, ‘Death To Los Campesinos!’ came out this week, and Ellen explained the idea behind its rather colourful video, which sees the band ‘killed’ by the likes of flowers, feathers and unicorns.

“Making videos can be a long and boring process, but we were all incredibly excited to be surrounded by kittens,” she said.

“We always get associated with the word twee, so it was nice to be murdered by twee things.”

Los Campesinos! are currently on a UK tour, with dates still to come in Kingston tonight (February 22nd) and Portsmouth on Saturday.

They then head off to Europe for a series of dates in such glamorous locations as Paris, Berlin and Milan, but Ellen insists she favours the homeliness of Britain.

“I prefer touring in England. It’s a lot colder in Europe. The food’s amazing, and the sights and stuff, but I like the routine and familiarity of the UK.”

The Cardiff collective will be doing the rounds at festivals this summer, with All Tomorrows Parties and South By Southwest already confirmed.

However, thoughts are already turning to the next album. “We’ve got lots of songs left over, and will be recording over the summer whenever we get chance.”