Paul Golder writes for the Brentwood Gazette

We’ve featured many different genres of music over the years on air but it’s always good to pick up more.

And we did that last week when Johnny and Tony from local steampunk band Metropolis visited the station and chatted to Claire Gevaux and Natalie Bays on our Sunday Arts Programme.

Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and aesthetics inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery.

If you can imagine people in Queen Victoria’s time having access to a lot more technology than they actually did, but it’s mostly powered by steam, then that’s steampunk.

Even the band name recalls one of my favourite films, sharing its name with the classic movie considered to be the first great dystopian science fiction film when it was released in 1927. Well, it beats Dancing On Ice.

Johnny and Tony chatted about the ethos behind the band and some of the shows they have played over the years, which has led to plaudits from influential musicians such as Youth from Killing Joke and the late Andy Gill from Gang of Four.

You can hear the interview again at www.phoenixfm.com.