These days, nothing soothes me down more than the music of A Lily. It takes after Boards of Canada perfectly – the super-melodic music, the magical atmosphere, the cuddly feel. I loved A Lily's debut album "Wake:Sleep" so much, but I could hardly find any info regarding the project – so I've sent a MySpace message to James Vella, the main man behind A Lily, and asked him to do an interview for 8hands. Of course he said "yes" – you can hear through his music how nice of a person he is.

Dreamy music in a blurred photo. James Vella.

So… what is A Lily?

"My full time band, Yndi Halda, are often quite geographically scattered – we’re all at university, and so during term time we rarely have any opportunity to play together. During those times, I keep writing songs, some of which become Yndi songs, and others, which are a lot quieter and more suited to acoustic/electronic music becoming A Lily songs. The project was previously dedicated entirely to songs for a girl - my first record, "Wake:Sleep", was written for her".

What happened between you two?

"I'd rather not answer questions about the girl..."

OK, so let's leave it. What have you been up to since "Wake:Sleep"?

"I’ve mostly been working with Yndi. Our record was released in January of 2007, 6 months after the A Lily record, so during that time I was busy making arrangements and touring and recording with that band. For a while I had in mind that I was planning on abandoning A Lily and moving on to something different – a new band or solo project to occupy my time away from Yndi, but recently I’ve changed my mind and have just started work on some new songs, which I’m confident are the best I’ve done".

That's Great. I think my favourite A Lily song so far is "Lights Shone Brighter. My Delicate Sun Is My Sparklin' Sun" – it's just so magical! Does that atmosphere reflect your everyday life?

"That song was written to express a certain serenity that I found with the girl I mentioned, but I was thinking of one specific moment when I wrote it - it’s not demonstrative of everyday life, but more of one millisecond of time when it really felt like the lights were shining brighter. I hope that I’ve expressed that magical sensation well enough in the song for people to perceive the same thing".

Which artist would you describe as the complete opposite to A Lily?

"I find that any artist that intends to express a sentiment really shares such similar ground to any other that no-one is really different. I guess musically, a band like Merzbow or Wolf Eyes, who seem to work with unease and distress than the converse (which is what I find most appealing), is probably at the opposite end of the spectrum from my songs".

I guess that you know that 8hands is all about social networks (MySpace, Last.fm, imeem and such). How do you fit into that online world?

"I find that as an artist, those sites are so closely linked to success that it’s difficult to fight the urge to rely on them completely. Of course, we still work hard and play lots of shows and maintain more tangible contact with the people we work with. I visited Philadelphia recently to spend some time with the guys from Burnt Toast Vinyl, who release Yndi’s records in the US, during which time I wrote and recorded some songs with Soporus – a Saxon Shore side project – which will hopefully find a release soon".

"I also run a label, O Rosa Records, and really find that a combination of good use of sites like those you mention and the ability to work outside of their domains suggests a band that I would be encouraged to work with".

"As a band, we use MySpace actively, and tend to sporadically check out last.fm and YouTube. Personally, I just use MySpace to keep in touch with friends and YouTube to watch live performances of bands I like, but none of the others".

Yndi Halda

Do you think that networks like these helped you to achieve recognition?

"I think the fact that we made initial contact with the labels we work with in the UK and in Japan through MySpace, and contact by proxy with the guys in the US and Taiwan and Hong Kong suggests that we’re quite indebted to that site. I think the ability to search through a network dedicated to bands, and that the bands are able to upload free songs on that network is something that is undeniably a huge help for bands like ours that people might not necessarily hear otherwise".

Does it bother you that a lot of fans will listen to your music online instead of buying the album?

"I guess as an artist, my interest and concern is just expression of sentiment, rather than earning anything from the physical CD or achieving any particular notoriety. In some respects it does feel a little frustrating that so much time and effort was spent on the artwork and packaging of both the yndi and A Lily records, and that aspect of the actual CD is important to the songs themselves, and so if people just download their copy of the record, then they miss out on part of what makes it a whole".

I completely agree… But do you still find new music online?

"Yes, but not exclusively. I work in a record store at home, so I’m exposed to a lot of new music there, and also in working with the band and with the label, I spend a lot of time with people in the industry, people whose main area of conversation is new bands, and so I share a lot of recommendations with friends and colleagues, and we keep each other informed and up to date. Working in this business necessarily equates to being constantly bombarded with new bands and their songs".

And what are your recent findings?

"Asobi Seksu – Citrus. We played with this band in Taiwan, on our recent tour to the Far East. I had heard the name before through our booking agent in Japan, who also works with this band, but after seeing their live set I was very keen to track down the record; Fionn Regan – The End of History. Recommended to me by friends who work for Bella Union, the label that released this record; Artanker Convoy – Cozy Endings. Found online through their label’s site; V.A. – Ghana Soundz Vol. 1 and 2. I’ve been interested in Ghanaian music for a while, and wasn’t aware of this comp until recently when I was looking for some African recordings on ebay; Brightblack Morning Light – s/t. Recommended by a friend who works with Joel from Matador; The Drift – Noumena. The Drift emailed yndi to say hello a few months ago and we’ve been in touch and mutually admiring each other’s bands since then; Noughts and Exes – Act I / Scene I. My friend Nic Tse, who used to play in Unwed Sailor, came to a yndi show in Hong Kong recently, and bought this CD of one of his new bands with him, and it’s excellent; Tubelord – s/t. These guys are teenagers from the UK, and they’re a sort of poppy, dancey At The Drive-In style band. I’m very impressed with their home-recorded demo CD-r. Their drummer came to a yndi show recently to give us their CD".

What would you do if you had eight hands?

Have a fist-fight with an octopus, or eight snakes.