Graffiti Island seems to have walked straight out of the bar in Twin Peaks' One Eyed Jacks into an episode of Kojack: The Night Stalker via the set of a Jodorowsky film. Hailing from the Dalson area of London, their simplistic, lo-fi approach has garnered comparisons to early K Records acts like Beat Happening. But between Conan Roberts' string work on bass and guitar, drummer Cherise Payne’s propulsive rhythmic counterpoints, and lead singer Pete Dee’s deadpan, pop-culture-soaked delivery, they offer something wholly original. In a few short months and without a release yet, the band has already shared stages with acts as diverse and established as Les Savy Fav, Effi Briest, Be your Own Pet and Rings.

psychoPEDIA caught up with Dee to talk about the Internet obsession that colors the band’s sonic and lyrical palettes, creating twisted and compelling tales of werewolves, haunted picnics, and mountain men gone nuts:

Tell me a bit about your blog, Voodoo Village.
My friend Jiro and I were in his bedroom relaxing and listening to "Love Theme" by Vangelis when we got the idea to make a blog. We share similar interests and get annoyed by how much crap is out there, so we decided to make a blog full of our favorite stuff like Italo disco, outsider art, Ancient Egypt, Down syndrome, GG Allin, aliens, heavy metal, and any kind of freaks.

Where did the name come from?
We got the name Voodoo Village from a compound in Memphis, Tennessee, which goes by the same name. The people who live there are a mixed-race of African Americans and Native American descent. They are led by a 100-year-old man called Chief Wash Harris.

What kind of stuff are you looking for when you sit around browsing the Internet everyday, or are you just flailing around in the dark?
This week I’ve been looking for old pictures of sideshow freaks. I found a good one of a pony woman whose leg joints bend the opposite way. I’ve been watching a lot of New Jack Swing videos too. My favourite is "My Heart" by TROOP. The dancing in that video is intense.

How long do you spend in front of the computer screen every day?
I sit until I can't feel my legs.

Are you sure this isn't all an elaborate front for solo cranking sessions?
I do some of that too. Shh.

You are also into the occult and UFOs. How did this obsession arise?
I like watching interviews with airline pilots and astronauts who've seen UFOs. I trust those dudes, they seem like good guys. I'm into UFOs of all shapes and sizes but probably the ones I’m most interested in are the black triangles, because I saw one when I was 15. My favorite alien theory is the one where people believe that lizards live under LA. Some guy back in the 1930's even mapped out where all the tunnels are that lead to the underground lizard cities. I wanna go check them out.

That seems to border on a conspiracy theory. Are you into those too?
I'm into the hollow earth theory. That is the belief that the earth is hollow and full of weird lands and ancient creatures. Supposedly you can get inside the earth through a big hole somewhere in the North Pole. Some people think this is where a lot of the Nazis escaped to.

Without giving away the secrets to your online gold, what websites do you recommend?
jah jah spinXXX is great for images. There’s no text, just hundreds of images of weird stuff. The Mutual UFO Network is best UFO website out there, and you can look at a UFO weather map that shows you what cities in what countries the UFOs have been visiting over the last few weeks. Unexplained Mysteries is a goldmine. On Ghana Movie Posters, you can buy some of the most amazing hand-painted movie posters by some of the most talented painters now living, for only $100! The How's Your News? team have made one of the best documentaries ever. And the site for McRorie – the best one-man band on earth.

How does all of this online intake and assimilation influence Graffiti Island?
The Internet has an infinite amount of information on weird places and weirdos. That is the kind of information I need to write the songs I need to write, that’s all.

Do you think without all this stuff knocking around your head, you would be the same band?
I don't think so. We'd probably all be wearing straw hats, pointy shoes, low cut V-neck T-shirts and singing songs that go “oh eh oh oh oh eh oh oh eh oh eh oh.”

~James Knight

Graffiti Island’s debut 7” is forthcoming on House Anxiety Records.