"I've been getting e-mails from Italy, Spain and America. I had one from Dallas today; people just saying they like the records, and thanks for the music. That, to anybody, is pretty cool."

Mike Lindsay is noticeably delighted. As the producer behind Tunng he is responsible, along with singer-songwriter Sam Genders, for one of the year's finest releases so far, Mother's Daughter and Other Songs. The duo's outstanding debut, which melds folk with gentle electronica, has deservedly been attracting rave reviews, and the reaction since its release has surprised Lindsay.

"It's the first time that there's ever been a situation in my case, that anyone's paid any attention at all, so it's amazing. We're not getting rich out of it or anything maybe one day, I don't know. It just feels really good. We both didn't expect anything; we just enjoyed doing the music, and as the reviews came in we were thinking, 'Okay!'"

With such excellent reviews under their belt, Tunng have also enjoyed airplay courtesy of Rob Da Bank, one of the replacements for the late John Peel, who was himself a fan of their music, and Stuart Maconie, whose BBC 6 Music show The Freak Zone has supported Tunng extensively since the release of Mother's Daughter.

While the hugely gifted duo prepare for a summer of live dates and festivals, including a show at Birmingham's Custard Factory and a slot during the city's annual Supersonic Festival in July, they look set to win over even more admirers.

"The live show is pretty different from the album, but also kind of similar," laughs Lindsay, confusingly.

Luckily, not everything in the world of Tunng is quite so cryptic. "There's a lot more people ' there's five of us on stage, and there's lots more voices. There's Becky singing with us, and Ashley; we've got Martin who's playing ambient percussion, like teeth, bits of wood and seashells, and he's also playing clarinet and melodica, both of which aren't on the album.

"Phil's doing all the electronics - all the live samples. We've tried to make it into a full live band, so everyone's singing and playing the tracks that are on the album, but with a slightly different twist to it. I didn't want to do a laptop set with a couple of guitars. I've tried to branch it out and make it more of a live experience.

"It kind of brings the album back to life. We find new ways of doing stuff, and it helps us come up with ideas for tracks for the new album. We haven't played that many gigs, so it's kind of new and exciting.

"It's not the main thing, because producing is what I'm into, but I haven't been in a band for something like five years. I've just been working in a studio by myself, so for me this is really enjoyable to get together with other musicians and play music in front of people, and hopefully they'll like it."

As well as their own shows, Tunng are slated to perform at a number of festivals this summer, including the Big Chill, Newcastle's Version festival, and the Green Man Festival, where they will be performing alongside such folk luminaries as Bonnie Prince Billy, James Yorkston, the Earlies, Micah P Hinson and Joanna Newsom.

It marks just how far Lindsay and Genders have come since they first began working together as Tunng.

"I was a producer doing stuff like electronica and working with sounds, and [Sam] was a singer-songwriter. So, it was us getting together and just messing in a studio on a Sunday and evenings; just coming up with some sound that we thought was pretty cool, and going from there.

"I guess we both listen to folk music and electronica, and all sorts of things in between; we've brought it all together with our own sound," says Lindsay, whose day job includes creating music for television adverts.

"It was just us two doing it for ourselves, really. I had this studio available to us, a really ropey studio in a basement, and as we found a sound that was unique, it just happened. Our initial plan was just to get something out on a record, and then that happened. Now it's like, 'Okay, let's do some more'."

Tunng's subtle collage of acoustic guitars and electronic sounds has seen them compared with other similarly folkindebted, experimentallyminded artists, with the catchall term 'folktronica' being used to describe them.

"Our music in particular, I don't think it's necessarily just that. There are songs on the album that could be pop songs, and there's instrumentals on there that aren't necessarily folk music. It's like any generic term; it's just easy to place things in that bracket so you can market it, or as a record buyer you might want to go and buy something like that.

"We're supposed to be folktronica, so are people like Four Tet and Manitoba [now known as Caribou], and they don't sound anything like us. So is Adem, and I don't think he sounds like us, and we don't sound like him. I like Adem and I like Four Tet's production, but I like to think we've got our own individuality."

Despite being lumped in with other musicians, it's Tunng's sheer range of ideas that distinguish them from the rest of the ambient folk crowd. Lindsay is certainly happy with how things have gone so far, and excited about the future.

"The album only came out in January, but it's opened up so many doors and we've met lots of people through it. I'm really pleased with the music.

"This isn't everyone's full-time job, so what would be really nice is if this could be a full-time thing, and to bring other sources of music to it. I'd like to, if I had time, be able to just experiment with music and hopefully relate that back for Tunng.

"It's just a case of carrying on making music, and see if people still like it. Hopefully it will end up nice and smiley!"

n Tunng play at the Medicine Bar, Digbeth, on Saturday with Dollboy and the Quantic Soul Orchestra. Tickets: £10. Tel: 0121 603 0033. They also play at the Supersonic Festival at the Custard Factory on July 9. Info: capsule.org.uk