Arriving slightly later than expected Micachu and her accompanying Shapes are sincerely apologetic whilst trying to stay chillaxed amid last minute re-arranged preparations for tonight’s launch party for their ‘Golden Phone’ single.

The phone belonging to diminutive, gruff-voiced tomboy Mica Levi doesn’t stop ringing as the gang are flitting between sound checks for tonight’s two gigs at The Social and Durr.

“There isn’t anything else that I would be doing if I wasn’t making music.” Levi, a.k.a Micachu, can barely even fathom the question. “I know it’s something that everyone says, but all my education from a young age has been music orientated. I really don’t have any other skills.”

Good job then she encompasses composer, singer, songwriter, producer, and remixer and is equally dexterous writing for orchestras as she is for hip-pop tracks. She is about all things experimental, but none just for the sake of it, from vocal looping, lo-fi, vibrant ‘lectro bursts to percussionized glass bottles and high-fiving. Micachu And The Shapes are simultaneously raucous and understated.

Levi recently visited South Africa on the Convoy to Cape Town project with the White Ribbon Alliance charity – aimed at bringing together UK artists with African performers.

“I thought it would be a good experience, for many reasons, mainly, quite realistically, for my own education. It was really different to how I thought it would be. I don’t think it’s possible to go into a totally different culture and understand it. It’s so different out there.

“I mean, there are terrible problems of course but I think that in the West most people look at Africa and pity it as opposed to realising just how rich in culture it is, and especially how much we rely on its heritage musically. Music there isn’t a luxury or for entertainment, it’s part of life and how you communicate with people.”

Which is something she clearly connects with, despite how weird the experience was for her, at times? “There’s a lot of racism,” she says.

This is Micachu’s second band, tells drummer Marc Pell. Prior to this she was doing the bedroom production thing, and the group before that was more of a collective of rappers, and rather more hip-hop based. “We just had a bit of electronics and stuff - it wasn’t the same feel as a live band with real instruments.”

The trio – Levi, Pell and keyboardist Raisa Khan - have been friends since their first year at Guildhall and are now entering their final year of music studies. They have been operating as Micachu & The Shapes since February according to Levi, before Khan informs her it was actually December when they brought out their mix tape…

“Oh yeah, sorry December”. Her head is a little scattered with the distractions of ringing phones and sound engineers head-butting microphones as we huddle around the tape recorder.

“It’s better as a live band, rather than just producing stuff for other people. I think it’s good to do both but there’s a difference between the live show and the record and it should be like that, because it’s exciting to see a band live.”

People it seems are quite excited to see them. Signed to Mathew Herbert’s Accidental Records, who got in touch after hearing her demo, Levi speaks of how kind and supportive he has been, co-producing their debut album, released later this year. She is thus tipped as his latest ‘protégé’, but that seems a little patronising to her talent and drive.

Micachu has worked with lots of different artists from Jack Penate and Man Like Me but her credibility extends further than the Hoxton hipster, having composed pieces performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

She is wearing a Man Like Me t-shirt today and also demonstrating a penchant for Burberry scarves (a.k.a scallywag chic). Johnny MLM is most often spotted rocking some sort of Burberry apparel. Perhaps this is why they get on so well?

“Yeah Johnny is well into Burberry. He’s doing a DJ set for us tonight too.” (He turns up wearing regular tartan for that).

The band consider their sound to be pop music.

“We take a lot of genre influences and our sound is quite watered down. It’s pop music ‘cos we’re not heading a really exciting new genre, it’s a mixture of a lot of things.

We’re not watered down pop as such more that it’s pop because it’s watered down. If you think about any pop act like Kylie she sings soul stuff mixed with house, or a punk tune, or a housey tuned with like maybe a hip-hop style beat under it, it’s all watered down, it’s not one genre.”

Khan is very classically influenced citing Bach and Beethoven as key elements in her musical upbringing, Pell’s vote in typical boy fashion goes to Led Zep and AC/DC etc, while Micachu listened to a lot of Nirvana back in the day, as well as hip-hop.

Raisa explains that they don’t tend to rehearse as such. Rather they wander off on their own tangents, hone something they like and bring it back to the group to perform. And it’s better that way.

“It’s music to have sex to. No don’t put that. We’re joking. Most people have music on mp3 players now so our music is probably used for that, when you’re out and about.”

Their own pods lists would include the likes of Naked and the Boys and Lime Headed Dog – both of whom are supporting at The Social tonight. And The Invisible, The Laurel Collective, The Dulocks, Golden Silvers, We Have Band, Kwes, Man Like Me, Esser… the list goes on.

Micachu runs a night with a fellow composition student ‘I Heart S ‘N’ M’ (as in ‘Society of New Music’) where young people, who wouldn’t normally have the opportunity, can have their stuff showcased and actually perform to people. “It’s quite informal, a lot of instrumental stuff, we mix it up a bit.”

They bicker over their favourite gig. Pell liked Camp Bestival because they got special treatment - like not having to do their own sound check.

“Camp Bestival was technically as a band more rewarding because people did things for us like that.”

“And it was really nice,” adds Khan, “cos it was our first outdoor gig. It was really sunny and the wind was blowing... haha it was great!”

“Secret Garden Party was better than that,” insists Levi. “I think some people actually enjoyed us at Secret Garden Party, I don’t think anyone enjoyed us at Camp Bestival! We were nervous.”

And then the key question…

“Do we have a favourite shape? Yes, mine is probably a heptagon ‘cos I like 50 pence pieces, though I quite like oblongs.”

Khan likes the circle.

“Because it’s constant, there’s no beginning or end to it.” Pell, however, eventually settles on a triangle, lamenting that he “should have picked the 50p” himself.

Micachu and the Shapes play Hoxton Bar and Grill on 28 August and Paradise on 3 September 2008.