Last updated 11:39, Thursday, 03 July 2008

When Nightlife first spoke to Ben Parkinson (aka Smokey P) he was juggling a crackly mobile while setting up a drum sculpture made from recycled blue barrels, horns, thunder sticks and plastic drainpipes.

Electric influences: Digitalis

He and two others were going to use it for drum workshops for children.

Very Glastonbury, which was just as well, as that’s where he was...

The drummer with electronic dance band Digitalis is aiming to spend most of this summer playing festivals with the band or running workshops at festivals – or both.

It’s a busy time for the four-piece who have five festivals lined up and a newly-finished four-track demo to promote.

“We have loads of gigs over the summer and we’re trying to squeeze in band practices where we can,” explained 18-year-old Ben. “And we’re trying to get a four-track demo together.”

It’s not easy to organise a practice as Ben lives in Penrith, keyboards/computer programmer Robin Gibbons (aka The Karma Kanic) is in Kendal, guitarist Mike Woodward (Miklos) Manchester and singer Gemma Webb in Carlisle.

Ben reckons that festivals are the best place to hear Digitalis.

“The sort of music we play is well-suited to festivals.

“The audience is not as judgmental as other gigs and you end up playing and performing to a much better audience.

“Playing festivals also gives us access to promoters from lots of other towns and cities.

“There are only so many times you can play Carlisle before you have soaked up the whole scene.”

The band have already played the Thimbleberry festival in County Durham last month and will be taking the stage at the Beat-Herder Festival, Lancashire, this weekend. Then there’s: the Wickerman Festival, west Scotland later this month; Kendal Calling at the start of August; Solfest at the end of next month and another Thimbleberry Festival at the end of September.

Ben admits that Solfest is his personal favourite – his friends organise it, Digitalis played a good set there last year – and it’s his birthday weekend.

“I like the Solfest crowd and the effort the organisers put into making it a nice, intimate event.

“The Wickerman should be interesting. It’s a new one for us, there are some interesting people on and we are headlining the stage we are on.”

The band came together almost two years ago when Ben heard some dance music Robin, 30, had produced using his laptop, keyboards and synth.

“I said I’d like to put some live drums to it and we were both inspired by that.”

They played live for a friend’s birthday at The Brickyard and shortly after recruited friends Gemma, 27, and Mike, 23, on vocals and guitar.

Their sound is a mix of electronica, breakbeat, drum‘n’bass, reggae, Latin and dub. Influences range from Bob Marley to LCD Soundsytem, Stanton Warriors, Orbital and Underworld.

“It’s just live electronic dance music, no particular genre. Dance music is so wide it can include absolutely anything.

“Between the four of us there are massive amounts of different influences, including folk, dub, acoustic... we don’t try to copy any style.”

So what of the chances of Ben returning to Glastonbury to play on a stage, rather than at a workshop?

“Possibly next year,”he said. “I’ve made some contacts and we’re trying to get it next year.”

For more on Digitalis go to: www.myspace.com/digitalis76