honest, passionate and unmerciful

Caimbo are different. They are swimming against a tide of indie and electro lovers with their old school Rock sound. Inspired by bands such as The Police and Bon Jovi, they aim to bring the sound of rock back into the twenty-first century. Their look fits with this ideal – they sport big rock hair styles, resembling some of the shaggier bands of the era. Leo Robarts , the band’s frontman sports a Guns n Roses – esque blonde mane. Apart from having large hair the band also have a hell of a lot of ambition. Leo, Piers Mortimer (guitar), Ali Sloane (bass) and Dave Cullin (drums) formed when they were just fourteen at boarding school and have since found themselves working with the producer Ben Mason (Arctic Monkeys and Razorlight) and even the likes of Tim Palmer, Pearl Jam’s producer out in L.A.

What has got them this far, as Piers claims is that they stick to their mantra: ‘Never say no to a gig’ till the end. They started out by playing to their school friends, then going on to the Cambridge pub circuit, to private parties and are now playing at festivals such as Download and at venues like Proud Galleries (Camden) and Water Rats (Kings Cross). For the four of them, forming had a lot to do with rebelling against their strict boarding school. Dave says with the nonchalance of a typical drummer that the bands formation was all to with ‘loud instruments’ and getting the most out of them, anything that juxtaposed with the strict, quiet atmosphere of their boarding houses. This coupled with their American rock influences ultimately led to the honing of their rock sound. Their single Heart and Soul seems to convey this love of rock completely, and one can just imagine them playing in a massive Stadium in the very near future. The bands rebellious streak still hasn’t left them, now at the ages of 21 and 22 ‘a normal day for the Caimbo lads’ is all about having fun and it definitely sounds like they lead a typical rock lifestyle – they are brimming with stories – they have been known to get into fights with bouncers at their own gigs, and in LA they managed to have the whole of Venice Beach dancing to their tunes after randomly persuading a hat vendor to play their CD on their speaker system – this experience they say was bizarre; ‘it was surreal’ Piers explains ‘everyone was dancing – from tramps to men in business suits’. The band were out in LA to record and mix some of their tracks for their up and coming album which they hope to releaser this summer. It is difficult being a new band in the current climate, getting one’s first step into the music business is easy in comparison to then making it big. The band are still holding out for a major record label to pick them up and this is one of the reasons that their debut album has been put on hold. Not lacking in ‘stadium rock anthems’ Something In The Way with its catchy chorus and ambitious guitar solo courtesy of Piers, could not even be attempted by an avid guitar hero fan. Treading In Deep Water, sees the band tackle the blues, which if you didn’t know any better could be an 80s Bon Jovi release. But the band do not want to put ‘all of their cards on the table at once’. And they’re right – making it big is all about timing, not just getting lucky. Fortunately for Caimbo, though, they are definitely on the right track – Classic Rock named them their unsigned band of the month this January and they have had raving reviews from, amongst others Q and Kerrang. Hopefully these reviews will pay-off soon as the band have made sacrifices in order to make the game of ‘Rock Band’ a reality. After finishing school they didn’t to go to University, instead deciding to ‘live the dream’ of rock stars, even if they don’t have much money to do it: Ali says bluntly but enthusiastically that ‘we try’, plus they are all the best of friends and have been together through thick and thin since 2001, Leo and Dave even live together in Cambridge. The band’s loyalties clearly lie with their native home; they even named themselves after it. Caimbo, Leo’s coined term for Cambridge is a word they have always used and stuck with them since they first formed. Leo has strong ambitions for Caimbo and even wants to ‘get the word in the dictionary’. Far from being your average 21st Century rock band they want to be playing in more than just the typical gig venues up and down the UK. They want their music to be enjoyed by club revellers, bringing a modern edge to the typical electro and baseline tunes we are all familiar with. The band recently played at the infamous Shoreditch club 333 Mother. But with Summer looming who doesn’t love a good festival? T

he band are currently partaking in the Road to V competition in order to get onto a stage at V festival; so vote for them at www.roadtov.com/artists/cambridge-caimbo. You can download their latest single Heart and Soul for free by checking them out at caimbo.com.

Words by Esme Anderson and Clare Harrison