Imagine switching on your answerphone to find a cheery message from reclusive 1970s artrock icon Kate Bush.

That's what happened to Sunderland postpunkers The Futureheads after they went to Number Eight in the charts in 2005 with their racy cover of the Wuthering Height's star's hit Hounds of Love.

From his home in Glasgow, vocalist Barry Hyde recalls: "It was just
before Christmas and she said (does passable imitation of Bush's kooky voice, bizarrely fused with his own distinctive Wearside lilt), 'Hi Futureheads, it's Kate Bush! Just wanted to say I love your version of Hounds of Love' - she'd obviously just got her royalty cheques through! - 'And I wanted to say, hope to meet you one day, have a nice Christmas and Happy New Year'.

"And that was it. It was like hearing a voice from the grave or something. Kate Bush, speaking to you! Amazing!"

But this year has been one of the weirdest yet for the Sunderland four-piece, although fans could be forgiven for thinking it's all gone a bit quiet.

But, behind the scenes, they've secured a longed-for release from their contract with Warners, and set up their own label, taking charge of their future.

And they've also recorded what they believe is their best album yet with one of the industry's truest mavericks - former Killing Joke and now Orb bassman Youth, genius producer and, frankly, all-round out and out weirdo.

Barry is clearly still in awe: "Youth. Wow! What a man! I'm convinced he's a time traveller! He's a cosmic being. I've never met a freer spirit. I've never even read about a freer spirit.

"The man is... I've never seen anyone produce an album lying down before! He's cosmic, basically, that's the only word for it, he's a cosmic being. We'd go into the control room and he'd just be lying down on the settee with his laptop on his chest looking at photographs of trees and putting them on negative, you know, when all the colours are inverted?

"And he would be sitting there pressing this button and it would be blowing his mind. And meanwhile, we're making this record that he had huge influence over - but in a very strange way."

The Futureheads decamped to Youth's studio complex in the Sierra Nevada mountains and spent 16 mindblowing days there. Barry says: "Have you seen A Fistful of Dollars?

"It was like that because that's where they made it, in the Sierra Nevada. It's the only desert in Europe and every morning, we would drive a hire car up a mountain to get to his place. And we'd start just before lunch and go on till about midnight, then drive down the mountain in the dark which was always terrifying.

"You have this really intense day and what you really need to do after a big day of recording is switch your mind off from it. You shouldn't go to bed and be mulling over what you've done.

"Some people drink excessively or take mind altering drugs. What we did was drove down a mountain every night. We were so happy to be alive when we arrived back at the hotel, we'd forgotten our names, never mind what we'd been doing that day!"

Meanwhile, Youth's unique approach was working wonders. Barry says: "He played psychological games. Like, in some cases, he'd be a bit antagonistic and I'd be thinking, Why is he trying to create this atmosphere?

"But what he was doing was, he was making us tighter as a band, he was making us gang up against him for no reason at all other than to make us more of a team.

"Whenever we'd show him a song, the thing he always used to ask was: 'Guys, guys, where's the arrival? I haven't arrived yet, guys, come on!'

"And he'd be standing there, standing up, shaking his hands like he was at a rave somewhere and then he'd suddenly start smiling. And it was because we'd have done something that he felt was right to the point.

"We recorded 20 songs with him in 16 days of recording. Youth's ultimate producer goal is to make an album in three hours because that's what the Beatles used to do.

"Write an album in a week, record it in three hours. If he achieved that, I think he'll probably go straight to Nirvana."

The Youth sessions were a welcome relief after some tense moments earlier in the year as the band struggled to obtain their freedom from their label, Warners.

The contract was due to expire and, after lacklustre promotion on their second album, they were expecting - and hoping - to be dropped.

Barry says: "There was a certain day where they had to let us know whether or not they were going to keep us on. So I was sitting at home in Glasgow, fingers crossed, please drop us, please God, for God's sake, drop us.

"I'm really nervous, really anxious all day. No phone call from anyone, no phone call from management, no phone call from anyone at the label.

"So I'm like, 'Hang on a sec, I'm sure that by law we should have found out by now'. So next day, our management gets a phone call and the label go, 'Oh sorry, we forgot the deadline, can we have another two weeks to think about it?'

"Our management was, like, 'No way, you've missed your chance, you've broken the contract, you've lost the band'. And since then, everything's just been getting better and better."

They've formed their own label, Nul Recordings, and now, remarkably for the music business, they actually own their own copyright.

Barry says: "It's amazing not to be basically on the downtrodden side of it. I mean, it's going to be a lot more stressful for us but at the same time, every decision is going to be made with our intentions kept in mind."

Now they're braced to get back on the road - and they are looking forward to returning to Preston's 53 Degrees this week. Barry says: "Our last gig in Preston was fantastic, the audience were amazing. They blew our minds, I cant wait to play there again, they were going mental.

"It's always great when you walk out onstage and you can tell the audience are excited because you get a wave of not only noise but heat coming from their bodies. Then the juices start to flow and it's like, 'Right, now it's time to turn it on'."

The Futureheads play 53 Degrees on January 23, supported by Preston's Underdogs. Tickets £10 in advance from SU reception on 01772 893000 or Action Records on 01772 258809.