Music preview: Maggie8 at Come Play With Me singles club launch night at Brudenell Social Club, Leeds

Self-styled '˜Hindi international hit makers' Maggie8 have been through a few incarnations over the years but their new split-single for the Leeds-based singles club Come Play With Me augurs well for the current line-up of Nivedita Pisharoty, Mark Wright, Peter Mottram and Matt Flint.

Called Connected, it impressively showcases their unique blend of indie pop, Hindi Raags, Bollywood music and samples.

“We’ve been going for quite a long time,” says Wright. “Pete and I did it as a double act on an organ and a guitar then Niv joined and then we had a really big band with violins, trumpets and the like. It was just too crazy managing it in my basement, we were having noise complaints. The drummer left to go the circus.”

Singer Pisharoty is originally from the Indian town of Chennai. “I studied over here at university and then met Mark and joined the band,” she says. “He wanted to add a bit of Bollywood and Hindustani classical music to the mix. I love parts of Indian music and it just seemed the right thing to do a mash-up of sounds.”

Ceiling Demons will also play at the single launch

Connected was written in the aftermath of a band break-up. “Pete and I still jammed in my kitchen, making a bit less noise, and we were just back to the basics,” says Wright. “We were just jamming that riff out and Niv was upstairs and she came down and sang the vocal line. That was the first song of our new line-up.

“The other band that we were in were doing quite a few Cribs’ covers and we were actually just ripping that off. It’s not our usual sound, we were just trying to get a lead guitar riff all the way through then Niv does her own thing and it just evolved. We thought it was the start of a new band and a new era.”

The other side side of the single is Lost The Way by Richmond hip-hop collective Ceiling Demons. Both bands will be performing on Thursday September 22, when Come Play With Me, in partnership with Leeds Beckett University and Broadcast Leeds, take over both rooms at Brudenell Social Club.

Though unfamiliar with Ceiling Demons’ work until recently, Wright says they’ve been in contact through CPWM. “You make new friends, new acquantances, musical connections and who knows, we might do something with it in future. We like a bit of rap,” says Wright.

Come Play With Me is inviting submissions for future releases.

The single launch night promises to be a vibrant event. “Whiskas [from Leeds band !Forward Russia!] is putting a whole festival type thing,” says Wright. “There’s us and Ceiling Demons playing on the night and lots of other bands.”

The band are planning to release their second album, Lo, in November with a corresponding tour that will start in Leeds.

“In the past In the past we haven’t done an official launch for an album and we just thought this time round let’s be a bit more organised about it and make sure that the music gets through to as many people as possible,” says Pisharoty.

CWPM have also revealed that the fifth single will be released on November 25 and will feature Her Name Is Calla and Deadwall.

CPWM is inviting submissions from artists in the Leeds City Region that think they’re at the right stage of their career to benefit from a release with the singles club to submit a track and tell us what they’re about – see the Submissions page on www.cpwm.co.

For more information and to pre-order:

Come Play With Me: www.cpwm.co.uk / Twitter: @comeplaywith