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Camille Troillard, guitarist with New Wave French band Neimo, had a chat with me last time they were in the UK. He explained how Neimo haven't had the simplest rise to success after struggling to be accepted by their home country's music industry, following their decision to sing in English. Camille also gave some tips on how unsigned bands can gain recognition in the industry...

So what have Neimo been up to recently?
‘We just came back from a week's tour recently which started in London, and went onto Bristol, Wolverhampton, and Guildford. It was a very small tour but we try to come here as often as we can. Every two months we come back to the UK, and have a small tour like this. This is very good for meeting English people, because our band Neimo sings in English so this is very important for us to play in front of other countries as well.'

How would you describe Neimo's sound?
‘I think basically Rock n Roll, but with a hint of Electronica because we use synths; instead of a real bass we have a keyboard. We are four but the singer only sings, so this is why I say its Rock n Roll. If you like David Bowie, Blondie or Iggy Pop, I guess you will like us as well.'

Is it true that you had some trouble being accepted by the French music industry?
‘It's harder to be accepted by music industry people rather than the audience. In France there are certain music quotas. You have to play more than fourty percent of French speaking music. At the beginning of our career we didn't get a very good invitation, because we found it hard to get radio plays. Then because we didn't have such massive airplay like International bands, or French artists, the venues were reluctant to book us on their shows. We managed to get over a hundred shows for our band which is very good, but we found we had to go abroad to extend our fan base. We knew it was the way to go to show the French industry that people like our music, and that it's not just about the language; it's more about the music.'

So would you say you've been influenced by a lot of music from the UK?
‘Yeah basically our whole music culture is based around English spoken music. We are influenced by French artists, and lots of 60's artists. What we really wanted was to be free to write the music we wanted, and when you write the lyrics in French you really have to follow like, a tradition. When you sing in French, the lyrics take a central meaning - not that because we sing in English the lyrics don't have any meaning at all - they have. But we really want the music to be energetic, and we wanted to be able to choose whatever style and arrangement we wanted; and singing in English was the way to go.'

Have you found it easier to be accepted by the UK Music Industry?
‘It's difficult because in England there are so many more bands. I guess we are just like any other English band which is good because it means a bit of competition. Here in England, Germany, and the US we have the same challenge on our hands as other bands.'

What advice can you offer unsigned bands?
‘Firstly I would advise them to play a lot of shows even if it's shows in front of five people. Also let people know that you exist. Many bands do this by having a Myspace or a Facebook page; promoting themselves on the web. Also you should sell cd's after your shows because people will probably buy them, and if they like it, they will listen to it on their I Pods or on their computer. It's good to have people talking about your music after a show.'

Do you think the Internet and sites like The Unsigned Band Review can help unsigned bands to get noticed?
‘Yes I think the Internet has given bands the chance to have more places to show their music. There are new ways to promote your band. If I was starting out in a band today, I would start by creating a Myspace page where I could place my music, but also I would start writing a blog so I could talk about what I am doing right now. Even if I don't think it will interest people in the beginning, people will start to read what I'm writing and they will start to follow my story. You can also put videos up. The Internet is very important for bands.'

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