Few bands know the machinations of the music industry better than Turin Brakes.

Since emerging with a bag of mellow tunes almost two decades ago, friends Ollie Knights and Gale Paridjanian have ridden a wave of commercial and critical success which has seen them shift more than a million records. That’s not to say there hasn’t been the odd lull, but nearly 20 years on they are still going strong – among the last bands standing from that late 90s new acoustic crop.

“There’s something about our melodies, harmonies and ambiguous lyrics which connect with people,” says Ollie.

“You might not know what they are about but they resonate as they seem to be about existence, and that’s why they feel special.”

he goes on: “We’ve always made music and it would have been odd to stop. It’s our calling and we can’t imagine doing anything else.

“The nice thing about the band is it just started as me and Gale being friends and making music and doing amazing stuff.”

Highpoints include their 2001 Mercury nominated The Optimist LP and follow up Ether Song – featuring their biggest hit so far, the Top 5 single Painkiller (Summer Rain). Then there was their Top 10 album JackInABox, containing the beautiful Fishing for a Dream, and the fuller Ethan Johns-produced Dark on Fire.

Ollie, Gale and bandmates Rob Allum and Eddie Myer are now on album eight, Invisible Storm, out on Cooking Vinyl.

The appetite for their emotive and sometimes melancholic songwriting and stripped back honesty, knows no limits, though Ollie admits it has been a roller coaster ride.

“You can’t be around for as long as we have and not have a few peaks and troughs,” he says.

“When we left EMI we had to rebuild from scratch. 2016 is when we jumped up to a new intense level and the venues started getting big again.”

He is referring to their acclaimed album Lost Property, which re-established them as a favourite on the thinking-person’s playlist.”That’s when things took a turn for the positive, and we are still riding that wave into 2018.

“A lot of other bands might have disbanded and done other things, but we had so much good stuff to come out we continued, even without a major label.

“It was a long journey back but it is very rewarding. Now we are very appreciative as we know what it’s like not to have it. It’s easy to fall into a trap and think things are always going to be the same, but if you adapt and have strength of will, you’ll come back – and come back stronger.

“The entire music industry has changed over that time but we feel all that knowledge comes into play. We are a really strong unit and that shows.”

He is on his way between gigs on a gloomy early afternoon, midway through a tour which has seen them regain their ‘quietcore’ crown.

Next Saturday, they return to the scene of many a triumph, the O2 Academy Oxford. First he has some time off, he says: “That’s the light at the end of a grey tunnel,” he laughs.

Olly is intensely proud of the new album, and the band’s return as a serious contender – though he is not surprised.

“We got spat out by the industry once we’d had our time but thought ‘let’s make a great record... just do it!’

“It’s all about graft. We are getting on with it, but what else can we do? It’s what we love doing. It’s a matter of getting on with it and having belief in yourself. If you build it they will come!”

Not only have the band held onto their fans, they are also attracting a new generation of admirers.

“People who came to the first gigs are still coming, but also their kids,” says Ollie.

“They might be 20 years-old and grew up with The Optimist and Ether Song. It is completely mindblowing to see those different generations in the audience. Once you are into the band you are into it – and in long term. There’s massive dedication.”

Part of that devotion, he says, is that the band’s emotive music has provided the soundtrack to many a key moment in their fans’ lives.

“It is amazing how many people say they have had life-changing moments soundtracked by one of our records,” he says. “People constantly tell us their stories and it’s lovely to have that pay off for having put so much into it. That’s what it’s all about. And it makes it the best job in the world.”

Very few of the band’s low-fi contemporaries are still around. To what does he attribute Turin Brakes’ longevity?

“We are seriously stubborn,” he laughs.

“But we get a huge amount of pleasure. You’ve never experienced anything like that feeling when you click with an audience emotionally. There’s nothing better and everyone in a band thinks the same.”

He adds: “We just decided to carry on. That love for it has driven it along – and a room full of people feels as thrilling as a big hall. There’s that same electricity.

“I don’t see a smaller amount of people being negative or a sign of not doing as well. Some other bands can’t get over that, but we did and just carried on because we knew it would click and a wider audience would love our music again.”

And they are an exceptional life act.

“We put one hell of a show,” he says.

“We haven’t been around for 20 years for nothing. And this tour is Turin Brakes on steroids. Our aim is to have you walking out absolutely buzzing, and that’s what we specialise in these days.

“We want you to come back immediately. It’s not just a show, it’s a happening.”

I suggest to Ollie that their staying power might also be a reflection of more wholesome lifestyle choices. Or are they more rock & roll than their image suggests?

“We had our moments, trust me,” he laughs. “We may have a reputation of not being very rock & roll, but have done more than most people would think.

“Of course there’s plenty of that in the music industry. Even Leo Sayer was having a rock & roll life. But in order to stay alive and not die we’ve had to not destroy ourselves physically and mentally.

“You have to find a balance. You know how much to drink and not to drink and how late to stay up. You can get it to a fine art.

“There are moments of real highs and real lows and you can see why people in bands get screwed up after all those days on the road with lots of free booze, praise and ego-massaging followed by moments of laziness.

It’s easy for people to try to self-medicate, and we’ve all been through that.”

Now 41, Ollie admits to still getting a buzz from his day job. “It’s easy now and then to stop and look around and be slightly amazed by it all,” he says.

“But it’s also so normal. Most of my adult life has been in Turin Brakes; I was getting ready to sign a deal when I was 21. I guess I’ve been institutionalised!”

  • Turin Brakes play the O2 Academy Oxford on Saturday, March 24.​ Tickets from ticketmaster.co.uk