The rock music scene has been inundated with new signings in recent years and thanks to the Kerrang generation, the market has never been so healthy. One band who have catapulted their way to well deserved critical acclaim are InMe, an Essex three-piece initially formed back in 1996 under the name Drowned and signed to the Music for Nations label in March 2001.

Prior to their big break in 2001, Drowned had entered numerous Battle of the Bands contests, as Simon recalls: "We actually came second place in one, and won a local contest at a venue in Brentwood, which is, actually, where we did most of our performing". This ensured their popularity among locals in the lads' home county, and Simon is adamant that performing in front of such large numbers, so early on, has built up their confidence enormously.

Thanks to a freak coincidence the last song in InMe's set ( Lava Twilight) was caught by Music For Nations A&R department, thanks to a broken cymbal which had caused a delay. Originally going to see the headlinig act in march 2001 MFN's was struck by the energetic, brutal, electric talent of the young teenagers (still known as Drowned), which finalised a signing with there record label.

After being signed MFN's, InMe began practicing, and writing songs which would eventually from "Overgrown Eden" their debut album,set to be released in september 2002, however was delayed until january 2003. During this busy time InMe found their current name (Drowned) had been taken, and therefore had to change it.

"We found out a few other bands had copyrighted the name - even one group from Brazil!" he laughs. Fortunately the name change wasn't too huge a loss - "Joe come up with the name when some guy said 'Look, you really need to have a name we can refer to you by', so he just said the first thing that come into his head, which was Drowned". InMe, though spellcheck's worst nightmare, has a much more interesting story, referring to the level of personality in the group's work. "All our music comes from deep, within. So, we just thought 'Where does our music come from?' Y'know? And that's how we ended with InMe."

When questioned about defining InMe's style, Simon admits that it's very difficult to pin point a "type" for their music to be branded with. "Half these terms people come up with are things we haven't considered - in fact, the more they come up with, the more we have to choose from! I think we're basically "straight rock".

Dave and Joe began practicing their talents, aspiring to the likes of Nirvana. Simon, who joined the pair later in 1996, is quick to point out that InMe's music is far from being derived from other sources - "It might sound a bit pretentious of me, but we try not to be influenced by other groups' work" he says. "We try to make our work as original as possible."

Several sources have inevitably made reference to InMe as being "the new Coldplay", in the same way that any guitar-based band circa-1999 were labeled "the new Travis". Simon, on the other hand, isn't so convinced: "Really!? To be honest, I've never heard of that one. I don't think we're anything like Coldplay, to be honest, certainly not musically. Of course, to be compared to a group of that caliber is a great honour, but I don't really see similarities myself."

Having destroyed the Coldplay theory Simon appears unsure to whom the band actually do resemble, rightly almost certain that there is no one quite like them, before finally contemplating some similarity to Muse. In recent months, InMe have supported some pretty big names, including JJ72 and Puddle of Mudd. Despite admitting it a great privilege to be on stage alongside such acts, Simon admits that JJ72 wouldn't be his first choice to support again: "Hmmm, it was a mad night, that one. They're not my favourite band. Don't get me wrong, they've got some amazing turns and, of course, it's incredible to support another band of that caliber, but..." Not wishing to enter into a feud quite so early in their career, Simon decides on silence as the best option, before recalling the times with Puddle of Mudd more fondly: "They were much more fun than I thought they would be. We had such a laugh."

As well as the guys' evident strong bonds, both musically and personally, their talents extend beyond the obvious. Dave is a self-taught singer and guitarist and Joe has a grade eight qualification for playing the violin. It's also not out of the question to feature talents such as Joe's violin playing in their material - "We've actually done a recording of a track with Joe in the background with the violin which worked really well - yeah, it was really nice. It might make a good B-side one day." Simon links much of his interest in performing to his parents' love for "old music", as he refers to it, and that his father shares his passion for drumming, with a career in music always his ambition - "School wasn't for me - I just didn't suit it... I knew I wanted to do something musically related."

And there's no doubting that their music is full of soul and passion. One only has to listen to Crushed Like a Fruit, as a prime example of the immense energy in their work. The group is all pretty much in agreement that the basis for so much of it is teenage angst. As Simon explains, so much was written while they were at school, that it was almost a foregone conclusion that their work would reflect the stress of those turbulent years. Dave has openly said that the three friends' closeness has been a large source of inspiration for his writing.

All the Lyrics and music is unleashed from the soul of the members. The lyrics are taken from the problems that haunts them. Their inner emotions are set free to make the music overwhelming and powerful. 

So what's next on the agenda for InMe? Already planned for this year are tours of Japan, Europe and Australia, as well as concentrating on a follow up album to Overgrown Eden, released 27th January. "2003 is going to be our year!" says Simon, and InMe darn well deserve it to be.