VENTNOR on the Isle of Wight may not seem the most likely place from which to launch an assault on the music business.

But to their credit The Bees have stuck to their roots and retained their base in their laid back island surroundings, and are thriving on making some of the sunniest sounds around.

"We like it here and we're all happy to be doing what we are doing. All of us in the band are old mates from school, it’s not like we went round the island looking for all the best musicians," explained the group's amiable frontman Paul Butler.

"It’s actually quite good for music now, there’s a bit of a scene and all the hippies who are were here for the original Isle of Wight Festival in the 1970s and stayed on here are now starting to clear out their record collections."

As he explained, life across the water is fairly laid back for them and all their friends and family ensure their feet are kept well and truly grounded.

In fact, there’s little that could be described as glamorous about them as their Mercury nominated album Sunshine Hit Me having being bashed out in a ramshackle shed. It may not have shifted many copies, but gained them valuable exposure.

"It was good getting nominated for that award, but I think it could have been a bit of a curse for us. We got to sit next to Miss Dynamite at the ceremony, but the night wasn’t all that really," added Paul, who has family connections with the Medway area and has been recording music under various guises since his mid teens.

Inspired by everything from retro pop grooves to Aphex Twin’s alternative dance, The Bees have never been ones to blindly follow the musical herd. Their work is definitely all the better for seemingly existing in its own little world.

It seems 2007 may well be their year and have started to make inroads into the US market- where they are known as A Band Of Bees after another group tried to sue them over their moniker.

Their third and most critically received album, Octopus was released by Virgin records earlier this year. Its raw positivity bears testament to band who are on top of their game and willing to take more than a few risks.

The album’s a heady mix of 1960s tinged psychedelia, country and Mowtown and the recently released single Listening Man ensured a respectable chart placing.

"It’s quite strange really, we are now associated with the number 26, our last album got to that position and so did the new one," said Paul.

"I am not worried about being in the top 10, just the top 25 would be nice. It has taken a lot of time for us to build our new studio, but we are really happy with the album we’ve made – with about eight of the songs from it used in our live set."

Known for their strong musicianship, their gigs are always upbeat affairs and are a perfect soundtrack to the summer. Anyone who hasn’t caught their act yet should definitely check them out at this year’s lounge on the Farm.

They share a fantastic bill over this weekend with the likes of the Super Furry Animals, Dub Pistols and Alabama three headlining.

"The kind of music that we write has an edge to it and hope people respect us for that. I see us as being quite stealthy in our approach, we’ve not made a big deal about promoting ourselves.

"We’ve done so much lately we even had to turn down the chance to be Nancy Sinatra’s backing band for some shows she was doing. But we always enjoy playing festivals and are really looking forward to Lounge on the Farm."

If the sun isn’t shining by at least mid-way through their set then at least they’ll be lending a some sunny vibes and a genuine buzz to the atmosphere of this most eclectic of festivals.

* The Bees play Lounge on the Farm on Sunday, July 15. Tickets £20 on the gate.