SOUTH Wales band Mud on The Tyres recently won Rockfield Country Music Festival's Battle Of The bands competition.

Prior to recording their first single , voacalist and guitarist Akos Fortagh answers questions put to him by Andy Howells

Who are you and how did you come together?

We are a six piece country style band playing our own original songs. Band members are; Warren Ashton - Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Lee Jones - Fiddle, Vocals, Akos (Aki) Fortagh - Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals, Marek Cegielski - Piano/Keys, Vocals, Eliot White - Bass and Richard Welsby - Drums.

Warren and Akos were thinking about putting together an acoustic duo or maybe a trio playing original country style music. We also needed a fiddle player to give us that country edge. Then suddenly the whole idea turned into a full six piece band with drums, bass and piano as well.

Where are you from?

We are from Blackwood, Caerphilly and Ebbw Vale area in South Wales.

How would you describe your music style?

We would like to think it's country music well at least country orientated, although nowadays country music can spread over different genres of music such as pop, rock, progressive and so on. Most of our songs are happy sounding and easy to listen to. Our lyrics tell stories which people can relate to which we believe is an important part of the writing process.

You recently won the Battle of Bands at Rockfield Country Music Festival how did that come about?

We made some enquiries to play live at Rockfield Country Music Festival and we were told that this year's line-up was already full, however, there is still an opportunity to appear at the festival as part of the battle of the bands. So we said yes we'll do it. We really weren't expecting anything from it other than play live on stage in front of people. It turned out that that we won the battle of bands with 100% of the votes from that day's audience. The winning prize is two days and the great Monnow Valley Studio in Rockfield with producer and engineer. We cannot wait to record our first single.

What are you currently working on?

We are choosing two songs from our set to record at the studio and we will be rehearsing to be ready for the time we go to record them. We cannot wait.... Meantime, we are also working on brand new material as well.

Have you got any live dates planned?

We currently have no live dates however that might change on a daily basis and we are always looking for opportunities to play live. People can see our up to date events on our facebook page at www.facebook.com/mudonthetyres/

Where can people hear your music?

We have a few live videos on Youtube. It is best to go via our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/mudonthetyres/ or our official website (under development) at www.mudonthetyres.com