Talking to me today is Jonny Allen, who plays guitar, bass, and sings with the alternative rock group Happyness. That's with a 'y'. In April, they released their second album 'Write In' via Moshi Moshi and Bar/None Records. It sees them progress on the foundations set by their debut album and they cite the likes of Roxy Music, The Beach Boys, Randy Newman, Sonic Youth, Big Star and Pierre Cavalli as influences. Quite an eclectic mix. Remarkably the record cost only £500 to make and was recorded on an 8 track. That's cheaper than an iPhone. We chatted about all kinds of things ranging from Larry David to H.G. Wells to theremins and beyond. We also touched on how one can sometimes create rather unique music when presented with the task of writing on instruments one is not familiar with, the benefits of collaboration, ostriches, and the band opened up on their latest album.