The Duke Spirit are looking forward to coming to Australia in a few week’s time. That is, if they can resist the temptation of scaring each other to death in the place they’ve put themselves up in for now.

“We’re in Wales at the moment, sticking it out in a weird old farmhouse,” Luke Ford, guitarist of The Duke Spirit, gleefully announces on the other end of the phone line. “It’s fairly isolated where we are. The place is battered, old and pretty damned creepy. It’s got about forty odd rooms, and we haven’t gotten around to exploring them!”

The band are locking themselves up for some writing time before making the big trip down under, hoping to gain some inspiration from their surroundings as material for their next album. “That’s if we don’t hide in the unexplored rooms and jump out at each other first!” Ford laughs. “We haven’t decided where the next album is going to be recorded. With [ Neptune ] the last one, we were holed up in the desert, eating great food, drinking well and it was quite a liberating experience. We try to avoid sanitised environments, despite management not liking it much.”

“Well, if you’re looking to be literal about taking inspiration from your surroundings…” I begin.

“Then we’ll do a 40-track concept album based on the 40 rooms in the manor!” Ford finishes, before erupting into a fresh bout of laughter. “Could you imagine that?”

The upcoming trip to Australia will be the first for The Duke Spirit, but musically, Australia has featured quite heavily as inspiration for the band. “We love Nick Cave and all his associated projects. We also love The Drones – they’re simply amazing. Their live show has so much energy and power, and we’re trying to infuse our shows with a similar vibe.”

“What we’re going to bring to our Australian shows is a great night for all,” Ford continues. “More importantly, we want it to be a great shared experience for both ourselves and the fans. We want to play music to make you move – both literally and metaphorically.”

Despite his candour, exhaustion tinges the edges of the guitarist’s voice. “It is something we’re all looking forward to though [coming to Australia]. Neptune has taken us over to the States numerous times, and we’ve had great exposure over there, but this will be the first time we’ve come to Australia ever.”

I assure him that Australian punters are possibly equally, if not more excited then they are about their impending tour. “One little thing to consider though,” I inject. “You’re renowned for losing personal artifacts – particularly your passport. You will need that to get here.”

“I don’t know why I tend to forget everything,” Ford moans. “I’m such a forgetful person. But I’m also very lucky, because I usually recover whatever I lose. There was this one time when I left my backpack at a club, right in the middle of the dancefloor. It had everything in it, including my wallet and my passport. I went back the next day to ask the staff if anyone had handed it in, and it was just sitting there, in the same place I had left it the night before.”

“Consider leaving important articles with the other members of the band,” I suggest.

“Maybe I should,” Ford muses. “If I can’t leave the country, we can’t make the next album. Then there would be more then just angry band members to deal with by then.”

“Don’t be the one to scare them these few weeks then. Be good,” I implore.

“But…it would be so fun,” Ford chuckles. “It might even be worth it!”

Catch The Duke Spirit on their East Cost tour next week, proudly presented by FasterLouder.

Wednesday 25 March – The Zoo, Brisbane
Thursday 26 March – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney
Friday 27 March – East Brunswick Club, Melbourne