WHEN he first saw his uncle plying his trade, seven-year-old Dean Oldfield knew he wanted to be just like him.

But unlike most youngsters hero-worshipping an older relative, his uncle is Martin Gore, guitarist, keyboardist, singer and songwriter for legendary Basildon band Depeche Mode and the defining moment took place as Dean watched him on stage at Wembley Arena.

Fast forward and Dean, now 20, and his cousin Louis Hyde, 16, and also Martin’s nephew, are in conversation with Mute Records, Depeche Mode’s label, as they look to make their own mark on the music scene as two-piece Basic.

The pair, who both live in Basildon, seem to have inherited some of Martin’s musical finesse and are carving out a reputation for themselves, with just the tiniest helping hand from their famous uncle who bought them the laptop they used to record their first tracks.

But growing up with an uncle as famous as Martin wasn’t always fun.

Dean explains: “If anything we got a bit of stick. People would say, ‘Your uncle’s this so you can afford that’. It was quite hard, but apart from that it’s always been quite normal.”

There were plenty of good times too, as Dean remembers having kickabouts with joker Martin.

“I remember having a laugh and that,” he says. “He was influential. That’s probably the best I can describe it. After you see him on stage and that, you want to do what he does.

“He’s funny. He was always a joker and always up for a laugh. We used to go out the house and have a kickabout and that.”

Although Depeche Mode’s music has naturally been a huge influence for them, Dean and Louis are keen to do things their own way, “You can tell that in our music,” Dean says. “If we said they had not been an influence, we’d be lying and you’d know we were lying if you listened to our music.”

He says: “We’ve been contacted by Mute records, the same label as Mode are signed to . We went up and had a meeting there and straight away the owner said, ‘I’ve not called you up here because of who you are. It’s because we like your music’.

“That was really good for us to hear. We don’t want to claim our fame off Martin. We feel we’ve done well doing it ourselves and we don’t like using their name to get us out there.”

Dean and Louis began recording together after sitting down and penning their first tune, Drive.

“We had two keyboards set up and we kind of just went from there,” says Dean. “We started playing a few keys, thought, ‘That sounds good’, and it went from there. We still play that song today.”

The song got the Depeche Mode treatment when Martin let the boys record it in his studio and even lent a hand mixing it afterwards.

“He said the track was basically there, it just needed a bit of beefing up,” says Dean. “The main structure was there and he’s just done his bit of magic.”

The duo have worked hard since then, recording tunes in their bedrooms and fine-tuning their sound. Dean says he’s not bothered by comparisons to his famous uncle’s band.

He says: “We read one blog the other day which said we were a bit crap but then another praised us. That’s the good thing about music, you’re entitled to your opinions.”

Basic have an Essex gig at the Barhouse, Victoria Road Chelmsford, on February 3 at 8pm. Entrance is £3. Listen to Basic at www.myspace.com/ basic2005