The Plastiscines formed six years ago when Parisian school friends Katty and Marine, both now 22, decided that forming a band was more interesting than studying for the Baccalauréat.

'We went to gigs together and thought, "We can do that,"' says Katty, 'even though neither of us knew how to play an instrument.'

They recruited bassist Louise, 22, and drummer Anaïs, 21, at gigs and within a year they were signed by EMI. Their catchy choruses à la Girls Aloud and thrashy chords soon caught the attention of Nylon magazine, which signed them to its record label.

Earlier this year they played at New York Fashion Week and will soon be shooting two episodes of the new series of Gossip Girl. Their latest single, 'Barcelona', was produced by Butch Walker, the brains behind Katy Perry, Pink and Avril Lavigne. Their second album, About Love, is out next year.

What do you say to people who think you are just another girlband?
Anaïs: It's tough at times because we are just girls who like shopping and reading magazines.
Katty: We never planned to create a girlband. We were looking for a guy bassist initially.

French or English?
Louise: It's easier to write in English, because the music we listen to is in English, but we embrace our native culture and we sing French songs.

Pourquoi Les Plastiscines?
Marine: Because of the 'Plasticine porters' in our favourite song, 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds'.

Are you excited to be on Gossip Girl?
Louise: Yes. All we know is we will play on a beach. Maybe we'll get to see Chace Crawford shirtless.

Who's the coolest person you've met?
Katty: Iggy Pop. We even got to perform with him. He's such an icon and has been an inspiration to us. Long live rock'n'roll!

Europe or the USA?
Anaïs: When it comes to the crowd, the US kids are really open to discovering new bands.

What do you miss when you're on the road?
Anaïs: French food.

'Barcelona' by the Plastiscines is out on Monday 2 November 2009