“Ross is such an inspirational human being and his experience, his excitement and mainly his positivity is something I’ve never seen in another person. I think if you listen to his records, they all have this ingredient he calls ‘fire’; it’s that pure pedal to the metal exuberance, and it’s a wonderful thing to be part of”.

Known for discussing at length the purpose and theme behind a song prior to recording, Robinson also drew on repressed memories to get the utmost from each Klaxons performance:

“He goes as deep as he can individually, with your upbringing, your fears and your excitement. Every single thing you put in a place in the back of your head with a lock and double-bolt, he picks open…it’s a very emotional and honest state he gets you to, and its all channelled into the music”.

Prior to working with Robinson, the band did initial sessions with Myths Of The Near Future producer James Ford. Despite reports of their label rejecting this material or the band scrapping it, these songs look set to be released in the coming months:

“I guess the main confusion with that material, is that we somehow scrapped stuff. What actually happened is that we made a whole collection of work we were just not entirely sure what to do with. It seemed quite specific to the place they were recorded and a moment in time, and lineage wise it didn’t seem right to put it out before the (follow-up) record. It’s just being mixed at the moment. I was listening to it about an hour ago and I can’t wait for people to hear it. It’s another wild leap, and quite a polar opposite to this record.

As eager as Simon is to unleash further material upon the record buying public, he’s still awaiting mainstream reaction to Surfing The Void:

“We’ve been playing a lot of places where the single hasn’t come out or the record yet, and we’re kind of waiting. We want this weird pop project to be like a cat amongst the pigeons and I really hope we’re embraced by that world again…towards the end of touring the last record it certainly felt like we were a part of those waters”.

For all the delay and hearsay surrounding “this weird pop project”, Klaxons sound prepared for whatever comes next:

“Like all best friends occasionally you don’t see eye-to-eye, and that’s just something about being in a band with your best friends. You go through those stages, and the minute we get together and excite each other that’s when we make music and that’s when it works. We’ve just got back from demoing another 10 new songs for the next record and we’re feeling super-productive at the moment”.

Coupled with this purple patch creatively, the band have also relished playing live again, with plans to tour Ireland set for this autumn:

“We’ve played 16 shows now as a five piece with Anthony Rossomondo (previously of Dirty Pretty Things) playing keys and they’ve just been absolutely mind-blowing. So far we’ve mainly been in the Balkan islands, Slovakia, Serbia, Croatia, but I’m pretty sure we’ll be over in Ireland the third week of October”.

The transition into new songs hasn’t proved difficult either for these energetic festival favourites:

“It’s all been moving seamlessly between new and old tracks, without a strange or quiet moment. It’s been quite overwhelming and special really”.

After speaking to Simon, the title of Klaxons new album seems rather apt. With Surfing The Void, he and his bandmates appear to be riding high on the crest of their own creative wave – rising above their post debut void, and strong enough for the mainstream that left them dead in the water. Here’s hoping their cat can swim.