The independent UK label FatCat Records is considered to be among the most forward thinking imprints out there today. Their ability to discover and nurture a multitude of diverse musical talents is well documented by a series of considerable successes.

Previous diamonds in the rough, uncovered by the Brighton label, include the free-wheeling psych-folk of Animal Collective, the epic and otherworldly chamber rock of Sigur Rós, the gentle, pulsing electronics of Múm and the percussive-heavy indie post-rock jams of Mice Parade. With such considerable successes in the bag, its easy to understand how the FatCat brand has become such a viable commodity in the indie word.

When the labels approval is bestowed upon a band, those in the know generally tend to sit up and take notice. So when a trio of young American upstarts, clearly raised on a diet of FatCat artists, most notably Animal Collective, were signed to the label on the basis of some songs posted on their myspace page, people were naturally curious. What made this scenario even more strange was the fact that the three teenagers in question had never played a gig together. In fact all three had never even been in the same room. Welcome to the world of the ghostly, ethereal, free-folk post-rockers Our Brother The Native.

"I used to run Delude Records and I released bands around the US who I enjoyed," says Chaz Knapp, the 20 year old Californian Native. "OBTN was one of them. At the time it was Josh and John Michael. I released their EP, Cheer Up My Dear, and Josh and I became friends because of the release. After speaking daily over the phone we decided to form a band, Moses Grandy. We recorded two songs over the net, loved the turn out and Josh and John Michael let me be part of the band. Thank God for myspace. When creating the album, we of course wanted to maybe get signed though we knew it was not possible. FatCat was the second label we contacted and we told them that we didn't expect to get signed, but because we respected them so much as a label we just wanted to get their opinions on our music.

"My email was rather childish, but they decided to check it out. They liked what they heard and we talked for about three months until we finished 10 of the 12 songs of the album and they told us the good news. It is kind of difficult touring and going to school full time and work full time. That is why when we tour we usually just do about two weeks. It makes things very busy, but that is what being young is all about."

Since emerging in 2005, the music of Our Brother The Native has progressed from the obviously Animal Collective-inspired free-folk of their debut to a more ambiguous collage of disparate influences, a sound that reflects their growing appetite for new music and illustrates an increasing grasp on the understanding of the tools at their disposal.

Josh Bertram takes up the thread. "In the beginning we were really just imitating bands we were listening to at the time. We had a lot of growing to do, and that involved a lot of experimentation. It was such an exciting time for me in the beginning, especially because I had never been in a band or created my own music before, so there was this huge vastness in my creative mind, the possibilities were endless and I was starting to see that the only thing that limited me was my imagination."