Jazz punk hip hop; as English comedian John Oliver would say on his show Last Week Tonight "how is that still a thing?". Indeed, how is it a thing at all. But it does exist with Robocrobra Quartet being the instigator's of this unlikely musical fusion.  With their Bomber EP released on 21st April, Chief Robocrobra Chris Ryan took the time to explain how Robocobra Quartet came to end up with their unique sound.

How did Robocobra Quartet's sound end up in it's current form?

We tend to release things quite frequently and take side-steps stylistically for each release so all I can say is that what we sound like right now is the result of the past few months of influence. I think it helps to not think too much about how we sound and rather just focus on whatever show or recording session is next. With any luck we'll mutate into something else for the next release not too far down the line!

What inspired the lyrics for the Bomber EP?

After watching the film The Assassination of Richard Nixon, I became obsessed with Samuel Byck and the idea of failed assassination attempts - people who grasp for some sort of personal or political glory but fail. I thought it would be interesting to write within that framework and consider the background stories a little bit.

Does the band's sound reflect your taste in music or is a sum of each individual in the band?

All of the people in Robocobra Quartet have trouble finding any artists we all enjoy equally. It certainly is a cliché for a band to talk about how they all take influence from such a range of different artists but I suppose it's true.

What comes first - the lyrics or the music?

I guess the answer to this is often that "it depends". Sometimes I write entire songs musically and lyrically, like Wicker Bar, which can be fun because I get to do very specific things like arrange parts for a choral ensemble amongst the sax lines. Other times, ideas come together in rehearsals and then vocals are placed on top, like '98 - '01 for example.

Is seems like music without a boundary - where do you see it going?

That's a cool way to think about it - I think it is really easy to accidentally set up boundaries when writing and it definitely helps to divorce yourself of the idea of thinking about genre or whether the music will work well for certain audiences or on the radio. It may seem self-indulgent but I think it's probably more honest and truthful to your listener to write like that instead of trying to pander to them.

How does the live shows differ from record?

It seems that we are much more of a live band than a studio band. We tend put pockets of improvisation in certain songs and things can end up very different than on the record. Recently we've spent a bit of time toying with the line-up and are in the process of bringing a few other players in so that we can interchange membership depending on availability for recording and shows. This way we'll hopefully be able to make sure things stay fresh and interesting as the different players' styles and personalties clash together. I'd love to get someone else to take on my vocal & drum parts for some shows some time!