Transglobal Underground spent some time telling some very lairy jokes to Anna, but here are some questions they answered later.

How do you reconcile being a predominantly white band and producing ethnic-sounding music?
Count Dubullah (guitar/bass/programming): It's not predominantly white. It never really was. The majority of the band aren't black, but aren't from white culture. Natacha [Atlas, vocals] is from Europe, but her roots are Arabic. I'm Greek and part Albanian. We used to have an African guy storytelling, an Indian guy on tablas and a Sikh guy. We have a real variety of religious, cultural and social backgrounds. It wasn't deliberate, but London's basically a country, perhaps not the best country, but there's more people in London than in the whole of Switzerland.
So would you say your music comes from the London ethnic background, or have you travelled?
CD: We have travelled quite a lot. To the Middle East, Margate...
Why do you have a penchant for kaftans?
CD: They're light and it's very hot onstage. The Greek national dress is a bloody kilt. A skirt!
Neil, you've had some poetry published. What inspires you?
Neil (vocals, percussion): Oh God. One of the things that really interested me was how to combine poetry with music. One of the brilliant things about being in Transglobal is the opportunity to drag poetry into the Nineties using contemporary forms. Writing's a discipline. I'm not a rapper, but I sometimes nod towards it. People don't try to combine poetry with technology, so I've been trying to do that.
Why do you all have made-up names?
N: It's about subterfuge. Larry Cool [MIDI sax] is really called Burt Young, my name's real, but everyone thinks it's made up.
CD: Natacha Atlas really is Natacha Atlas. That's for real.
N: We're quite content to play around with names. We don't want to give too much away.
[Count Dubullah starts waffling on in a foreign language]
What does that mean?
CD: It means I listen with my instinct. It means the infant conqueror of America was a medieval god.
So how would you describe your music?
CD: Surf. Arabic Surf. Ask Natacha about Arabic music. Ask her about Abdel Halim Habez.
Natacha?
Natacha: I found out the other day that my solo album was next to his in Virgin Records. I was well pleased about that.
But who is he?
Na: He's huge
N: He's Elvis. Actually, he looked more like Jack Pallance.
Have you been hired for bar-mitzvahs and weddings?
N: We've done all that. We've been in loads of different bamds. No-one ever gets to grips with all the elements in the music. That's what's really important- the texture, the music. that's all that matters.
Do you do drugs?
N: You can have a world exclusive. Transglobal Underground enjoy alcohol!
Your music's very spiritual. Are you religious?
N: That's personal. Music's spiritual in that it's tribal, it's ancient.
Is God male or female?
All: Both!
Who would be your ideal drinking partner? God, Neitschze or Sartre?
N: Larry Cool. He's cooler than Jesus.
And he's quiet as a holy lamb throughout the interview.

TGU were talking to Anna, in June 1996.