Indie-electro, dance-rock, nu-rave. call it what you like; as far as The Whip are concerned, it all boils down to the same thing.

“It's all about getting a big party going,” says bass player Nathan Sudders.

“That's the only thing in The Whip ideology. We've been going out clubbing for years and have also been in bands. Now, suddenly, people are starting to like dance music again. Which is where we come in. We are just a band playing live dance music – rather than one guy Djing. We are a fusion of man and machine. I'm like Robocop!"

Coming out of Manchester, The Whip are not some precious, posturing buzz band. They are way too down to earth for that.

These guys are the real thing, and have been thrashing a round the indie circuit for years. The Whip's origins go back to ill-fated indie-electro pioneers Nylon Pylon.

And when that fell apart, the current line-up was convened in the supposedly haunted cellar of a Salford pub.

Building on the rave heritage of their native 'Madchester', Nathan, singer/ guitarist Bruce Carter, synth man Danny Saville, and drummer Fiona Daniels have built up an underground following of gig-goers who, as they say, just want to 'get on one'. Their break came when they were spotted by former Daft Punk manager Gildas Loaëc, of super cool French record and fashion label Kitsuné, who put out their Divebomb single.

That was followed by album X Marks Destination, featuring tunes like the funky Divebomb and tough electro-pop killer Fire. And, to celebrate this tour, they have released a new download-only remixalbum – Remix Marks Destination, featuring the likes of Hadouken!

Urgent and new, they may be, but their references go all the way back to the start of rave. The highlight of their debut album is a tune called Blackout – written in tribute to the late lamented Hacienda club, where DJs perfected the trick of cutting all the lights at peak moments and watching the crowd go wild.

And it's that sense of euphoria that The Whip are busy, well, whipping up.

“One of our friends told us about being at the Hacienda when they threw a blackout. All the lights would go off and everyone went crazy!

"But that Manchester dance heritage isn't something we are leaning on. It's not a conscious effort; it's subliminal. It's a part of where we grew up.

“You can't get away from it,” adds Nathan, 29, speaking to The Guide from a cluttered makeshift studio in Bruce's terraced house in Manchester, while preparing for a gig in Japan – where they are very big news indeed.

“We are a continuation of bands like New Order, who were doing the same thing.”

And that genre-bending crossover of rock and dance is inescapable. "When we were gigging in Manchester in the '90s you'd be into either indie or dance, and there was nothing between them.

“Then bands started mixing it up. Now the melting pot is open and the boundaries are gone. People want to dance again. Especially us!”

So what can gig-goers expect from their set at the Oxford Carling Academy on November 20?

“It's going to be big dirty sweat box!" Nathan laughs. "People should get in there and be prepared to move. We'll be getting everyone dancing and the vibe going. We want people to forget about how their week is going, and just have a good time. Because that's what we'll be doing!"

The Whip play the Oxford Carling Academy on November 20. And, to keep things interesting, the band are inviting fans to leave the show with a limited edition USB wristband containing a gig recording, and additional storage space.

The wristbands can be ordered on the Whip's MySpace page, myspace.com/thewhipmanchester, where you can get a special wristband and gig ticket package for £20. Standard gig tickets are £8.50.

Remix Marks Destination is available for download from iTunes, Beatport or the band's myspace site.