One of the most eagerly anticipated appearances at this year’s Great British Rhythm and Blues Festival at Colne over the August Bank Holiday weekend will be that of Dutch outfit My Baby.

The trio of Joost van Dijck on drums his sister Cato on vocals and New Zealander Daniel 'Dafreez' Johnston on guitar blend blues, funk, soul and clubland rhythms to create their own unique sound.

Ahead of headlining the Hippodrome stage on Saturday, August 25, the band took time to answer a few questions

For those who haven’t seen you live before, what can the audience expect from your set in Colne?

We describe the music as roots driven hypnotic dance.

So it’s blues, folk and gospel informed but played with a dance floor orientated beat.

For live shows we like to get more energetic. So if the audience responds similarly it might turn into something more like a rave.

Tell us a little about how the band came together?

Cato and Joost, being siblings, have been playing together since childhood in their family band with two other sister and various other groups.

After meeting New Zealand guitarist Daniel about 15 years ago, we included him in a seven-piece soul band playing a lot of funk and rhythm and blues.

When we continued as a three piece in 2012 we were essentially a distillation of the previous band’s sound with the addition of gospel and folk roots. The idea to emulate electronic sounds with guitars and other traditional instruments came later.

Your sound combines driving almost hypnotic dance rhythms and soulful vocals – what has influenced this musical direction?

When starting out as a band you try and play as many shows as you can. We ended up playing shows at a lot of dance parties in and around Amsterdam. Whilst Trying to compete with the surrounding DJs at those events we improvised and played a more high energy dance infused set. That combined with the dubby and psychedelic drums and guitars forged our MyBaby sound

Do you think coming from the Netherlands has helped you put together this fusion of different styles?

Perhaps the EDM scene in Amsterdam influenced us yes. And the lack of musical heritage in Holland sparks a musical inquisitiveness across many musical genres from abroad, that explains our liking of West African desert blues, Indian raga and various folk music styles across the globe.

Your most recent album, Prehistoric Rhythm could almost be described as the dreaded ‘concept album’. What was the thinking behind the album?

It’s really just an exploration of what we do live and searching why our music has evolved in that certain direction.

The tribal, primeval connection is there in all music with a rudimentary beat. The idea and appeal of electronic dance has its origins in early tribal times. It’s part of the history of our social behaviour. We explored that to some extent on our first records. There is an intrigue for us , in why electronic dance music is such a global phenomenon. Those different elements aren’t all that opposing. Whether you beat a djembe or play samples out of your laptop, the basic principle remains the same.

We just blend those elements according to our own taste.

It’s unlikely that many of the audience at Colne will have seen or heard anything like My Baby. What do you hope they will take away from seeing you?

A positive uplifting vibe

With Joost and Cato being brother and sister are there any sibling rivalries in the band or does this actually help the band dynamic?

Everyone has quite a clear role in the band. And the dynamic of a three piece seems to be strong enough to withstand any sibling rivalry.

This summer you are playing a number of festivals over here. You clearly enjoy playing to a festival crowd.

Festivals are about celebrating and connecting, I suppose that’s how we approach playing live so it makes sense.

After Colne, what does the rest of the year have in store for you?

We have a new album coming out in October, followed by a European tour until December. And several album release dates in the UK. So full on for the rest of the year really.

Playing fantasy festivals, which three artists or bands (alive or dead) would you put on for your line-up and why?

Jimi Hendrix, Sly and the family stone and Santana Why? To relive the best of Woodstock!

What is the one album (yours or someone else’s) which they must have in their record collection and why?

Robert Johnson - King of the delta blues singers.

Robert Johnson is the most pivotal blues influence because he was able so profoundly to depict the struggle of human existence and describe in poetic imagery what that entailed for him personally. It's where blues music becomes more than entertainment. It’s in part folk myth and it becomes a form of art.

The Great British Rhythm and Blues Festival runs from Friday, August 24 to Sunday, August 26. Details from www.bluesfestival.co.uk