A lot of bands take themselves way too seriously. Thankfully, Bugz in the Attic have carved out a distinctive space in Britain's musical geography while remaining delightfully level-headed about creating jazzy jump-up-and-get-down dance music that's undefinably fun. "There is no one distinguishing element of this musical mash-up," says Archie Hamilton of Spli-t Works Productions, which will be bringing the ensemble to town. "The band mixes jazz, soul, house, techno, break beat, broken beat, and everything in between. All played with the heaviest dollop of funk." The Bugz have been assembling in a West London attic for the past 10 years and will finally bring these sounds to China.

The band is jam-packed with members comprised of but not limited to Orin "Afronaught" Walters, Paul "Seiji" Dolby, Kaidi Tatham, Daz-I-Kue, Alex Phountzi, Cliff Scott, Mark Force and Matt Lord. Members hail from various musical backgrounds as DJs and producers, but found they were all striving to achieve something similar musically. "It wasn¡¯t planned; we just fell together," says Cliff Scott of the serendipitous convergence. The commercial success of the band¡¯s single "Booty La La" in 2004 signaled a kind of breakthrough for the Bugz and paved the way for last year's studio album "Back in the Dog House." "The album was something we talked about, and the success of 'Booty La La' gave us the confidence to say [that] we don't have to make music that's a particular style," says Dolby. "It meant that it's possible just to make good dance music." The Band members' various backgrounds bleed through on the album. "I loved jungle, Orin comes from house, Kaidi comes from jazz and funk, and Daz comes from, well everything," says Phountzi.

Miraculously, the messy recording process was a success despite having more than enough chefs in the kitchen, and the result bears uncommon eclecticism. The recording of the studio album also saw the band transforming their act from previous DJ and MC shows through to a sound system and now a fully live band. "It took a lot of hard work," says Scott, "but it was important to us that we translated the electronic sounds to the live act. It gives you more flexibility; we can improvise and extend parts if the crowd is feeling certain tracks." Shanghai audiences can expect a night of musical mayhem when the band blazes through Absolute House on Mar. 15. "We're really excited to be coming out to China so you can expect a lot of energy," says the band. "We've really worked hard to not be the artist standing behind loads of equipment that you often get at live dance acts."

Bugz in the Attic
Date: March 15
Location: Absolute House, Bldg 6, 20 Chaling Bei Lu, near Xietu Lu
Tel: 021-51086789 
Ticket: tickets@spli-t.com