Home grown

If the start of the Air Traffic fable can be pinpointed to a specific location, Mudeford Spit is probably it.

It was here, back in the summers around the turn of the century, that Chris Wall, now Air Traffic's fully fledged frontman, found his voice.

"The only reason I started playing guitar was being down there by the beach huts," he recalls, somewhat misty-eyed.

"I came out of my shell."

From the garish colours of the Mudeford huts to the bright lights of the USA, Air Traffic's ascent has been a swift one.

The band - Chris, guitarist Tom Pritchard, bassist Jim Maddock and drummer Dave Jordan - stand on the brink of a major breakthrough.

Signed by EMI in one of the last old-fashioned record company rucks in 2006, they are already well accustomed to top 40 singles and headline tours, thanks to a hectic 2007.

Next up comes the big one - trying to crack the States.

So the future lies further afield, but Air Traffic's origins lie far closer to home.

When I meet the boys on Bournemouth beach on a bright early January afternoon, all four have just enjoyed the luxury of a full-on family Christmas at home in Bournemouth and Christchurch.

It shows. They're clearly in relaxed mood, happy in their natural environment. Well, almost.

"Oh no, I've got sand in my shoes," curses Jim. These rock stars...

Though now based in London, you sense their home town still means a great deal to them.

Not only does January's UK tour (their biggest venues yet) end at the Opera House, but they treat an Echo interview with the sort of nervous reverence you might expect to be reserved for the NME.

All four went to school locally - three at Highcliffe, Chris to St Peter's - all leaving after their GCSEs in 2002.

It was at a charity gig at St Peter's that Tom and Dave first stumbled across Chris and Air Traffic had some sort of lift-off.

Months of rehearsing in a warehouse next to Bournemouth Airport at least earned them their name, but it wasn't until Chris returned from travels in Australia that the full line-up came together They advertised for a new bassist on the web, with the tagline Help us fly' - a revelation that prompts a lengthy inquest as to who came up with the naff line, though Tom's head-in-hands reaction seemingly incriminates him.

Jim answered the ad. He'd been at Highcliffe with Dave and Tom, though the trio had not been mates.

"I turned up and was, like, oh, it's you'," says Jim.

Momentum soon began to gather with gigs at the Central, Mr Smiths (RIP) and an ill-fated one at the K Bar with "some dodgy heavy metal band in front of one person".

"We did a few gigs and realised people were taking interest - it all started to fall into place," says Dave.

Barely registering a murmur on the rock Richter Scale, the band believe Bournemouth's lack of musical pretence helped them evolve organically.

"In places like Liverpool and Manchester, you must feel like if you grow up there you have to conform to the Merseybeat or Manchester sound," says Tom.

"Bournemouth's not got that and you feel free to do your own thing."

Having relocated to London, labels were soon slavering after them, with EMI trekking all the way to the south coast to finalise a deal with the boys.

"Someone rang us and said we were about to be signed, so we just ran around like a bunch of schoolgirls on the crazy golf course!" laughs Tom.

In an age of breaking through on MySpace and free downloads, a record company chase seems like something from a distant age.

But the band admits the DIY route does have its appeal.

"Maybe if we had done it on our own, things could happen quicker," Chris reflects.

"It can take 10 bosses 10 weeks to make a decision - it can be quite suffocating."

Dave chips in: "The music industry has changed and no-one is changing quick enough - companies need to come up with new ideas."

Despite this, Air Traffic's lot is not a bad one considering they've been signed for all of 18 months.

"I was initially quite frustrated with what we achieved last year, but if anything I think it's made us more credible - we're building a career," says Chris.

Certainly you can envisage a US audience lapping up their sound, a frighteningly assured one for ones so young.

They name-check the likes of Coldplay and Snow Patrol as bands who have successfully tapped the American market, though insist they don't want to be pigeon-holed alongside such acts.

"Our songs are not about English street culture or growing up in a certain town, like, say, the Arctic Monkeys, so when you go to the States it's easier to adapt," explains Tom.

At which point, Jim forages into his Dunlop satchel and pulls out some home-made cheese rolls to munch on.

US tours or not, they're home-grown through and through these lads.

Air Traffic play the Opera House on January 26.