The Last Shadow Puppets #5

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Op woensdag 10 februari 2016 23:50 schreef Jacobuspower het volgende:
Ondertussen begint de tour toch wel echt vorm te krijgen. Naast festivals verspreid over heel Europa (zelfs Sziget, toch een van de grote festivals waar AM nog nooit heeft gestaan), nu ook al bevestigd voor een festival in Canada. Gok dat ze daar omheen dan ook wel een paar shows zullen doen. Daarnaast ook al de stand-alone shows in Italie en Dublin en vast nog veel komende aankondigingen. Ben benieuwd hoe groot deze tour uiteindelijk wordt en of ze nog meer zaalgigs gaan doen.

Vind het dan trouwens wel weer opvallend dat het merendeel van de gigs in juli in Engeland nog niet uitverkocht zijn...

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Op donderdag 11 februari 2016 00:12 schreef AMDB het volgende:

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Ze stonden hier (Canada/Toronto) bijna nergens bovenaan in de aankondigingen. voor WayHome (het festival waar ze staan) zelfs niet als sub-headliner maar ergens halverwege de lijst tussengepropt. En dat ondanks de lokale verering van Owen Pallett.

Kijken of ik ze hier ook mee kan pakken

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Op donderdag 11 februari 2016 00:19 schreef Jacobuspower het volgende:

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Vond ze daar inderdaad ook behoorlijk weggestopt, maar daar zal de naam toch nog minder mensen iets zeggen. Waarschijnlijk hadden ze hoger gestaan als ze the Owen Pallet Orchestra hadden geheten ja. Terwijl ze hier in Europa toch steevast als sub-headliner of zelfs als co-headliner staan. (Benieuwd ook welke plek ze op Lowlands krijgen)

Zou tof zijn! Je had ook al kaartjes voor de Amerikaanse shows toch?

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Op donderdag 11 februari 2016 00:23 schreef AMDB het volgende:

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Jep. Heb tickets voor NY en SF. Echter gaat SF hem waarschijnlijk niet worden (wilde daar sowieso alleen gaan als ik er voor werk moest zijn). NY moet het hem sowieso wel worden

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Op woensdag 10 februari 2016 23:50 schreef Jacobuspower het volgende:
Ondertussen begint de tour toch wel echt vorm te krijgen. Naast festivals verspreid over heel Europa (zelfs Sziget, toch een van de grote festivals waar AM nog nooit heeft gestaan), nu ook al bevestigd voor een festival in Canada. Gok dat ze daar omheen dan ook wel een paar shows zullen doen. Daarnaast ook al de stand-alone shows in Italie en Dublin en vast nog veel komende aankondigingen. Ben benieuwd hoe groot deze tour uiteindelijk wordt en of ze nog meer zaalgigs gaan doen.

Vind het dan trouwens wel weer opvallend dat het merendeel van de gigs in juli in Engeland nog niet uitverkocht zijn...

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Op donderdag 11 februari 2016 00:29 schreef Jacobuspower het volgende:

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Vet hoor! Een beetje een mooie venue in NY?
Als ik het goed heb zijn we met dit forum dan trouwens aanwezig bij 6 van de 9 eerste concerten

En 8 van de 10, toch …?

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Op donderdag 11 februari 2016 13:34 schreef Aisumasen het volgende:
Link/plaatjes-overload:

Van de persdag in Londen (http://41.media.tumblr.co(...)qvH1ugac4ko1_500.jpg, check die schattige Lennon-button!) naar Brussel (https://www.instagram.com/p/BBFhT5bPvKP/ + https://www.instagram.com/p/BBFHYseCIX0/ + https://www.instagram.com/p/BBKD7Q6OQi6/ ) waar Lucas Hamming ze interviewde voor magazine LiveGuide, naar Parijs ( https://www.instagram.com/p/BBScmFsNLqj/ ) naar Berlijn (http://frau-kamrath.tumbl(...)ite-as-exciting-as-i + https://www.instagram.com/p/BBZqjD0NkBu/ ) - jeetje, veel wardrobe changes - en New York (https://www.instagram.com/p/BBikyashKA3/ + http://41.media.tumblr.co(...)lE1r89dnyo1_1280.jpg + https://www.instagram.com/p/BBldZdlC95r/ ) Next stop, LA.

Al deze interviews zullen waarschijnlijk ergens volgende maand verschijnen. Journalisten mogen nog niets zeggen. Van één van de interviews afgenomen in Parijs is er al een sneak preview, een impromptu versie van ‘Anna (Go To Him)’ door The Beatl… Arthur Alexander: http://mon-reve-familier.(...)st-shadow-puppets-on Miles heeft deze overigens al eens gecovered met Ian Broudie voor de BBC.

En dit zijn ook nieuw gepubliceerde foto’s, welke ik nog wel leuk vind om te posten vanwege een bekend voorkomend shirt… Op moment van schrijven bovenaan: http://michelleshiersphotography.com/studio/ Deze stammen reeds uit een periode van toen ik een paar maanden terug zei dat ze nog aan het werk waren in een “legendarische studio aan Sunset Boulevard”. Da’s uiteraard United Recording Studios (Sinatra, 'Pet Sounds', Ray Charles…), en ze waren hier om de orkestrale opnames (17 man/vrouw sterk) onder leiding van Owen Pallet te overzien.

En The Daily Mail heeft zichzelf ook weer overtroffen, door zelfs het fenomeen Google te vergeten: http://www.dailymail.co.u(...)C.html#ixzz3zdTIzLcl Hij is “op vakantie”, binnenkort “een tour met The Black Keys”, "vriend Miles Kane" die daar plots opduikt, geweldig.

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Ja, de eindeloze stroom festivals waren niet zo interessant meer om specifiek te posten. Zelfs Sziget, ja. Noorwegen! Frankrijk met een tweede gig (en die krijgen nóg een festival later in het seizoen…). Moskou zijn ze ook mee bezig. En wat enig dat dat Canadese festival in het weekend van Splendour In The Grass, Byron Bay is… . Inderdaad daar niet de status dat je puur op basis van album 1 en de naam van Alex Turner je poster kunt vullen. En Engeland zit met een dure ticket á 10,000 ook voorlopig aan de 'op basis van Alex Turner en één album'-tax, ja. Zal niet veel nodig zijn om de rest van de tickets kwijt te zijn als het album uit is. 'Bad Habits' is voorlopig een groot succes: hoor hem eindeloos op Triple J, hij staat op de BBC Radio 1-playlist en zelfs 3FM doet mee, waar hij al gauw vaker werd gedraaid dan 'Standing Next To Me' en 'The Age Of The Understatement' in totaal... Da's nou ook weer niet de bedoeling .

Maar dan inderdaad het meer bijzondere nieuws waar Jacobuspower het al over had, de eerste standalone gigs na de korte pre-album/album-release tour in maart/april zijn dus ondertussen aangekondigd: Ferrara en Milaan, begin juli. De prijs? Slechts 25 en 30 euro. Capaciteit 2600 en 3000 man, buiten en binnen. En de eerste gig in het schema voor mei: Olympia Theatre, Dublin, 1600 man, wel weer 50 euro exclusief.

Het mag duidelijk zijn dat het volledige orkest beperkt blijft tot de theaters. Ironisch genoeg precies het punt waardoor er in 2008 oorspronkelijk niet getourd kon worden, toen Turner (volledig terecht) met de vuist op tafel moest slaan nadat Domino het idee opperde om met een quartet op tournee te gaan om het rendabel te houden. Toch maar John Ashton bellen voor een extra synth ?

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Van álle gigs gaat d’r niemand naar Londen, dan?

_{En 8 van de 10, toch …?}

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Op donderdag 11 februari 2016 18:13 schreef Jacobuspower het volgende:

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Haha lekkere linkdump dit ja, maar ze hebben niet stil gezeten dus. Voor wat het waard is alvast een quote van een van de interviewerfans uit Berlijn:" ich find's gut, aber bei weitem nicht so gut wie den vorgänger." Benieuwd naar de artikelen en de andere meningen

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Op donderdag 11 februari 2016 18:13 schreef Jacobuspower het volgende:

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Ja ik vroeg me ook al af in hoeverre ze het orkest mee zouden nemen naar de grotere festivals. Wel ontzettend zonde dat ze dus op de festivals geen volledig orkest hebben (of trek ik nu weer verkeerde conclusies ). Maar gelukkig mag ik ze daarvoor al in de kleinere zalen met orkest zien en ik ben eigenlijk ook wel benieuwd hoe dat er dan op de festivals uit gaat zien. Maar bij de andere stand-alone shows in juli in Italie en de UK zullen ze toch wel hun orkest meenemen, anders zou ik me wel lichtelijk genaaid voelen als ik daar naartoe zou gaan . [..]

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Op donderdag 11 februari 2016 18:13 schreef Jacobuspower het volgende:

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Voor zover ik weet niemand naar Liverpool, Londen & Parijs. Of weet jij meer ?_{en van die 10e weet ik ook minder}

Dan ben ik tel kwijt .

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Op donderdag 11 februari 2016 23:51 schreef MilanILF het volgende:
Haha, de Franse ticketmaatschappij die toen mijn kaartjes uit de envelop hadden geroofd voordat hij verzegeld was. Goede oude tijd.

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Op donderdag 21 januari 2016 10:51 schreef Aisumasen het volgende:
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Deze zal doorgeschoven zijn naar TLSP, wat met alle overlappende connecties natuurlijk geen verrassing is. Benieuwd of ze überhaupt gecredit zal worden, of dat het toch al stiekem een Turner-song was.

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Op woensdag 27 januari 2016 06:49 schreef Aisumasen het volgende:
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Ook dit: “When I listen to the record, I think of Paris as much as I think of LA [..], we wrote a bit there…” Dit was in januari 2015, toen Miles ‘ineens’ meekwam met Alex in de Eurostar naar Parijs, waar laatstgenoemde een Mini Mansions-gastoptreden had voor de bekende Franse Canal+-show. Dat strookt met het verhaal dat ‘Miracle Aligner’ een van de eerste tracks is die Turner schreef voor deze tweede plaat. Die song heeft dus een songwriters-credit voor Alexandra Savior, waar hij toen in Parijs voor/mee aan het werk was, maar misschien is de versie die op het album terecht is gekomen een andere versie, we zullen het zien aan de uiteindelijke credits.

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Op vrijdag 12 februari 2016 01:50 schreef Aisumasen het volgende:
Alexandra Savior’s werk zal er ook snel aankomen, ze heeft laatst een video geschoten.

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Op vrijdag 12 februari 2016 01:50 schreef Aisumasen het volgende:

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Vertrouw nooit op journalisten .

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Op vrijdag 12 februari 2016 01:50 schreef Aisumasen het volgende:

Uiteraard met die grote shows sowieso wel, ja. Ik verbaas me over de prijs in Italië, zou dan logisch zijn dat er daar een uitgeklede versie te zien is. Want je trekt de juiste conclusie, ze zullen twee configuraties van het orkest hebben: met de festivals zal slechts een kleine delegatie meegaan.

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Op vrijdag 12 februari 2016 01:50 schreef Aisumasen het volgende:

Ondertussen weet ik dat deze song op het album terecht is gekomen in de versie (qua compositie) die ze samen hebben gedaan, met dus inderdaad een songwritercredit voor haar, en niet voor Miles, op een TLSP-album. En ook mocht ze een onhoorbare, vergalmde, niet gecrediteerde harmonievocaal doen op de track. En ze is niet de enige vocale gast: een bekende drummer met een goede falsetto in zijn mars maakt op maar liefst 3 songs zijn opwachting.

Alexandra Savior’s werk zal er ook snel aankomen, ze heeft laatst een video geschoten.

Cam Avery is denk ik theejongen geweest, want hij heeft niets op het album gespeeld, terwijl hij net zo vaak aanwezig leek als Zach Dawes, en nota bene nog in de trailer opdook. Nee, toch absoluut geen psychedelische invloeden.

moet natuurlijk weer in het andere topic

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Op vrijdag 12 februari 2016 11:31 schreef sander26 het volgende:

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Zal ze het voorprogramma gaan doen tijdens de TLSP tour? Lijkt me een reële optie, toch?

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Op vrijdag 12 februari 2016 11:31 schreef sander26 het volgende:

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Zal ze het voorprogramma gaan doen tijdens de TLSP tour? Lijkt me een reële optie, toch?

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Op vrijdag 12 februari 2016 11:53 schreef Jacobuspower het volgende:

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Weet niet of ze dat zo snel zullen doen en misschien wil ze ook niet te veel bekend worden via Alex. Maar het lijkt mij in ieder geval een uitstekend plan

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Op vrijdag 12 februari 2016 11:53 schreef Jacobuspower het volgende:

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Ah nice! Maar wel opvallend dat er dus een nummer zonder Miles op een TLSP album komt, of was dit ook al het geval met het eerste album?

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Op vrijdag 12 februari 2016 11:53 schreef Jacobuspower het volgende:
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Haha, dan moet het wel een hele goede theejongen zijn geweest als ie daar al die tijd is geweest. En misschien zaten die psychedelische invloeden dan wel ergens anders in . Al bekend trouwens wie dan het 5e bandlid gaat worden op de toetsen?

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Op vrijdag 12 februari 2016 13:46 schreef Aisumasen het volgende:

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Had ik nog helemaal niet bij stilgestaan. Een goede gok inderdaad, zou mooie combinatie zijn.

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The Last Shadow Puppets-gerelateerde artiesten hebben normaal gesproken nooit zo'n probleem met een goed geplaatste kruiwagen .

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Eerste album was in de credits 100% samen geschreven, en in feite 1/3de Alex Turner, 1/3de Miles Kane, 1/3de samen, wat in de meeste gevallen zeer gemakkelijk te onderscheiden was. ('The Time Has Come Again' Alex, 'Standing Next To Me' Miles, 'Black Plant' samen, bijvoorbeeld). Nu is dat op papier zelfs al anders dus, inderdaad heel opvallend. Zonder al te veel weg te geven, 3 songs zijn niet samen geschreven, en staan zelfs expliciet zo vermeld. Uiteraard wel samen gespeeld en gezongen.

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Haha, ja! En nee, band is dus op de gehele plaat Alex, Miles, James Ford en Zachary Dawes, en inderdaad zal er live wel een vijfde lid bijkomen. In 2008 was dat Stephen Fretwell, maar die speelde bas, en nu doet Zachary Dawes dat uiteraard. John Ashton is in ieder geval gepasseerd, heel zuur. *insert gejank over Sheffield vs. LA*

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Op vrijdag 12 februari 2016 19:37 schreef gazhims3lv het volgende:

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Hoe kom je aan deze inside information als ik mag vragen

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How Alex Turner and Miles Kane rekindled their Last Shadow Puppets partnership
Spray painted on the red brick walls of British rock and roll are the names of some legendary partnerships.


_{Miles Kane and Alex Turner, The Last Shadow Puppets, in New York (Photo: Paul Bachmann for Live4ever Media)}

John and Paul. Mick and Keith. Ray and Dave. Morrissey and Marr. Ian and John. Liam and Noel. Partnerships which have defined eras, shaped futures, above all soundtracked the lives of millions. In many ways the story of rock and roll is the story of friendship, of brotherly love, of individuals together conjuring up a magic touch to their music which they have never quite been able to recapture once separated.

Look around today though, and you’ll find solo stars. Taking a bit from a producer here, something from an occasional co-writer there, the camaraderie of a life-long buddy is missing, few if any candidates around fit to scribble next to those whose ink has long since dried. For the Millennials, their greatest hope might just be Alex Turner and Miles Kane. Yet here is a partnership of a much rarer variety, only briefly interjecting into careers which for both has brought success thanks to a far more solitary existence.

Without wishing to deny the impact of a drummer fit to stand shoulder to shoulder with the very best, to ignore bandmates who go right back to early high school days, Turner has nevertheless always been the sole public face of the Arctic Monkeys. His own laconic, Cooper Clarke poetry and effortless craftsmanship the undeniable sound of four unassuming Sheffield teenagers who enraptured a generation.

As for Kane, his has been a career of longing for the limelight. Initially stood stage left with The Little Flames, he would venture out front briefly with The Rascals before taking the full plunge into a freeform solo world on 2011’s ‘Colour Of The Trap‘. By 2013, he was hitting the UK’s Top 10 thanks to ‘Don’t Forget Who You Are‘. Collaborations have come and gone in that time, but only one has endured.

Beginning quietly backstage in dressing rooms over a decade ago, it emerged almost immediately from Turner and Kane’s new found friendship. Eventually, as The Last Shadow Puppets , they would release the ‘Age Of The Understatement‘ album to glittering praise in 2008 – its confident, soulful, baroque leanings making their combination distinct and earning a coveted Mercury Prize nomination.

And then, all was quiet once more. Opportunities came. Opportunities went. The timing never quite right. The desire for the partnership to truly reignite never quite there. Until now. Until one spark on one song. “There may have been one or two other moments when we considered it,” Alex Turner tells Live4ever in an exclusive interview.

“We worked together on his first solo record and I remember around that time there was a discussion, because we were writing together, about ‘should we do it again?’. It was pretty soon after the first one and it just didn’t work out, didn’t feel right. The thing with this time was – we were working together again on what was going to be his next solo record and we wrote a song called ‘Aviation‘ – I tried a harmony idea and, hearing the two voices together coming back at us, it was like ‘are you thinking what I’m thinking!?’

“You get in your own groove and we were both obviously doing our own thing; him in the Monkeys and me doing my thing – we both enjoying them,” Miles Kane adds.

‘The Age Of The Understatement’ was no token gesture. It wasn’t merely a Monkeys album taken an extra Mile. For two still very much young musicians sporting the uniform and the hairdos of the countless guitar bands at the time enjoying some fleeting mid-noughties chart success, it brought new sounds and new influences. It set them apart and displayed a maturity grown out of the confidence found in their own company. In Turner’s own words it was an album of ‘firsts’, right down to the first time he donned a suit.

“It was the first time I’d really thought about ‘singing’. It was definitely access to a different part of my voice that I hadn’t tapped into before. And the first time I’d started to write lyrics that weren’t so temporal or story-telling.”

Strings underpin The Last Shadow Puppets . On the debut album they’re a fully rounded character, emotion and depth and gloriously antiquated on the ‘Age Of The Understatement‘ single and its follow-up ‘Standing Next To Me‘, baring the hallmarks of classic 60s Motown. And for all the talk of partnerships, the strings are the fingerprints of a very important third part of the team, Owen Pallet. They’ve made the new album sing too. “He is an important part of the puzzle, and he was pretty hands-on,” Kane tells Live4ever. “I almost see these strings as simpler than the first album. Less bombastic.”

“Definitely, both times, once we’d got done with his contributions it had come to life,” Turner continues. “What he did this time was not only tie all the songs together, but also draw a line back to the last one. That relationship suddenly then made sense; because it had been so long we were worried that it’d drift too far and not sound like it had a relationship with the other one.”

The relationship between the two records is clearly a strong one. Not just because of the team, or the sound, but because of the organic way in which both came in to being. When ‘Everything You’ve Come To Expect‘ is released on April 1st, it won’t be the result of a grand plan, or of Andrew Oldham locking them up in a kitchen for the night. Instead, it will simply be the result of a desire to write music together, of one harmony in one song suddenly flicking a switch and leading them both to ask that crucial question, ‘Are you thinking what I’m thinking?’.

“For me I’d always thought if we were going to do one of these again we’d need a stimulus like we had the first time,” Turner says. “We’d just become friends and were enjoying each others’ company. We had something we were chasing after that we’d just found, and I thought if we were going to do it again, do we need a new thing that we’re going to be chasing after?”

“I realised that’s not the case because, as important as that reference material was for the first record, really it’s about the songs themselves and us creating them together.”



It’s clear being back under the Last Shadow Puppets guise, writing a fully formed body of work for the first time in more than half a decade, has sparked some degree of reflection on their own friendship and its impact on their respective careers. A lot has changed since 2008, of course. A lot has been achieved and a lot of other people’s paths have been crossed, but the time spent in Malibu and beyond seems to have cemented a mutual understanding that for these two, there’s no business like Shadow business.

“I guess I’ve written with more people and collaborated than Alex has, being solo,” Kane tells Live4ever. “That’s been great and turned out good, but anything me and Al write, or when we work together, it’s different. And even though those other things were enjoyable and are great, there’s just something else, the outcome definitely couldn’t happen without doing it together. He rounds off my edges when we sing together.“

“I haven’t really done this with anyone else,” Turner concludes. “I mean, I write with the Monkeys but it’s in a different sort of way. I think when people talk about when siblings sing together there’s something that happens with the harmony, I feel like there’s a bit of that. It clicks into place with the two voices together.”

Which leaves us with a big question for the future: when will the next spark arrive? Another eight years? Next week? Tomorrow? Never? What’s apparent is the last people to ask are probably Alex Turner and Miles Kane, settled as they are in this most unique of songwriting partnerships, accepting it brings out their best but content to allow it to flourish and develop at its own pace.

We can only hope it does arrive. That more records emerge and thus someday, in the future, their own names will be deemed fit to sit alongside those which have gone before them.

There’s plenty of paint left in the can, and certainly plenty of room left on the wall.

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In the run-up to the release of their new record, Everything You’ve Come To Expect, The Last Shadow Puppets stopped off in a freezing New York to talk to QRO. In the long conversation, Alex Turner (also of Arctic Monkeys) and (eventually) Miles Kane discussed the new album, working with the likes of Owen Pallett, not to mention fellow super-group members James Ford (Simian Mobile Disco) and Zach Dawes (Mini Mansions), how it compared to making their prior album, The Age of Understatement, how their other work (like Kane’s Colour of the Trap) has informed their Shadow Puppets work, “opening landscape shot,”, a bigger bucket, Alex, Miles & karaoke machine, and much more…

QRO: Cheers on the album, man. I was listening to it over the weekend, and what struck me right away was how concise it was, even with the moments of spontaneity within it. You can get a vivid sense of you guys going into the studio with a vision and executing that. Did that aspect of the experience, the vision aspect, feel tangible?

Alex Turner: I think what’s responsible for any of the concise nature of the songs largely comes from the strings, and what Owen Pallett did on that. I think he ultimately tied it all together in a way, because prior to that I’d say the recordings were a bit all over the place. But the moment he did his thing, it felt, ‘Oh ok, these songs have more of a relationship with one another.’ Before that, I think some of the songs drifted in a few different directions, but I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing either.

QRO: I remember reading when Owen came in, he asked what he should do and utilize as reference, and you guys went ‘Have you heard of an album called Age of the Understatement?’ I think what that echoes though is a sense of trust, where you’re really saying, ‘Owen, we want you here, you know what to do’ – do you feel that’s what you were communicating to him?

AT: Yes, I think because of last time we got Owen involved, there was a bit of a clear ‘brief’ on what we wanted the sounds to be. We talked about Scott Walker and Melody Nelson, this John Barry-ish, Americana type of sound. We had a list of references that he was able to draw from, and we were all aware of that.

This time around, we didn’t have that clear stimulus. Not only did we no longer possess the same naivety as we did then, in relation towards those records, but we also… I knew that I didn’t want to stifle him, or his creativity by listing a bunch of things we were chasing after. Specifically because it didn’t come from that this time around, it was more about the songs themselves, the ‘choruses, lyrics, and melodies’ that me and Miles had already written. We didn’t have to have that ‘brief’ as we had to before.

QRO: Do you also feel that because Owen is also a musician that it makes communicating with one another easier? You mentioned how you didn’t want to have him feel stifled, and I wonder if that has to do with him being a peer/colleague, sort to speak?

For example, over the years James Ford has produced the majority of your albums, and time and time again you’ll get asked, ‘Why do you work with James Ford still?’ but to me it’s always made sense because James himself is a musician as well, so who better to produce something?

AT: Yeah, and I was also interested to see where he’d go with it if left alone. I mean, we still had some back and forth, throughout the process, but it was a lot more… he did a lot more interesting moves this time, then on the first record. And also the other difference was that he was ‘there’ this time, physically in the other room. He’d be on this grand piano, while we’d be tracking and arguing in another room. Last time, he did everything after the fact, after we had recorded everything.

QRO: You know, most of the albums you’ve made with the Monkeys have been live/within a room; do you feel that’s the best way to make an album?

AT: Well, the last Monkeys record [AM] actually wasn’t made like that at all. I don’t think there’s one track on that album where we did a full-live take as a band in a room. That is what we did this time, with the Shadow Puppets record, and it’s funny, it felt like I hadn’t done that in ages.

QRO: Really? That’s interesting, AM very much has a live tone to it.

AT: Yeah. All the other Monkeys records were pretty much made in a room, especially Suck It and See, which had very few overdubs utilized, but AM totally came from a different place. I think with that album, we just wanted to approach it differently. We didn’t want to force ourselves to think we had to make a record like a band. But with the Puppets this time we had the room, and also this time we had a bass player, which we didn’t have last time.

QRO: Zach from Mini Mansions!

AT: Yep, Zach from Mini Mansions. We had a little bit of a band going together.

QRO: It’s nice to see that Zach’s style has rubbed off on you quite a bit.

AT: This suit is quite ‘Zach’ actually. [laughs] I hadn’t thought about that.

QRO: I was going to ask this later on, but since we’ve brought him up, how did Zach come into play? I’ve seen/photographed Mini Mansions a handful of times over the years, and they’re such a fiercely talented band. Especially with their most recent album, The Great Pretenders, that was such a massive standout to me last year. The tune “Honey, I’m Home” is fucking massive.

AT: I’m right with you, Ken. It’s surprising it didn’t get the attention I think it deserved. They’ve toured with us a couple of times over the years, opening up for the Monkeys. I’ve watched them play live a lot of those times and yeah, they just mean serious business really. But yeah, I’m right there with you on that album.

I originally met Zach from Joshua [Homme, of Queens of the Stone Age] years ago, and we became friends quite quickly. I think it happened quite naturally. I had some other songs, and I was having Zach play bass on them, but it was really similar to how it was with Miles. We started getting along because of our humour, and to be honest, hanging with Zach reminded me what the Shadow Puppets was all about originally. The fact that you can come in and explore something than you differently would with your main band(s), because it’s outside the sphere of the other things you do. I think because of that, there’s inherently a bunch of different possibilities. Bringing in someone like Zach is an example of that.

QRO: Looking back on the first album, and how it was promoted essentially, I believe that in a way shows the ‘everything can go’ dynamic of the Shadow Puppets. Especially the “Age of Understatement” video/track. It wasn’t about ‘Alex Turner’s new band’ or indie, or alternative, or even strings really, in that video it was, ‘look at these two dudes in Russia?’ [laughs] and that was such a great backdrop to accompany the loud strings, and the rising action of the track. All those tones, especially the cinematic tone, it’s a brave thing to do. It’s almost obnoxious, but obnoxiously beautiful. That’s what The Last Shadow Puppets was to me.

AT: That’s totally what it is to me as well. A big thing that happened as well, after we made that album, is it helped me to…I think you just naturally start thinking that you want to approach everything like that. If I can get away with that, then I can get away with anything.

[Miles Kane enters]

Miles Kane: It’s so cold, my fucking ears are burning!

AT: Nice one.

QRO: Heya, Miles. [laughs] This is perfect timing because the next question was about to be about you, Miles. Before I get into it, I just wanted to say it’s good to have you here, and that Colour of the Trap is…

MK: ONE OF THE BEST ALBUMS OF ALL TIME?

QRO: Yes actually. [laughs] At least I think so. That’s a very brave album to me, in that you didn’t restrain yourself from delving into different avenues, there’s never an aspect of compromise on that album.

MK: It’s fucking me, best artist of all time!

QRO: Yet, you’ve never played shows in the U.S. You’ll play in bloody Russia and South America, but not bloody here, man.

MK: It is a shame, a damn shame. [laughs] I was actually telling this one that I should do the support slot for some of the shows. [laughs]

AT: Oh god…

QRO: That’d be wicked actually. But going back to the question. So I thought it was really smart to have “Bad Habits” as the first single. Especially because it goes without saying, that AM brought about a bunch of new fans, fans that might not be familiar with who Miles is. So to have a very ‘Miles-centric song’…

MK: Yeah man!

QRO: Well hold on, Alex does have “Sweet Dreams, T” so ha. But yeah, what was the thought of having “Bad Habits” as the first single?

MK: Here is a silver platter, and a Scouse boy! [laughs]

AT: Ladies and gents, whatcha think of him? [laughs] ‘I’m dying for you to meet Miles Kane.’ But yeah, we just… I don’t think it was any decision apart from being truly excited towards the song really.

MK: Yeah… but let’s get back to Color of the Trap, can we Alex? Yeah, man?

QRO: [laughs] I love the second album as well (Don’t Forget Who You Are). But yeah, after Age of the Understatement, you guys went back to your previous projects. Alex, you made Suck It and See and AM with the Monkeys and Miles you then went on to do your solo career. Do you feel that after you made the first album that there was a tangible change towards how you approached your other projects?

MK: Yes, definitely me, for sure. I think that first album really helped me figure out how I wanted to approach music.

QRO: That shows loads in your two solo albums, because that element of anything goes is very apparent within them, as well as this new Shadow Puppets album.

MK: It’s a free for all, man.

AT: Yeah, and after doing something like this it really helps you with your other bands to see things differently. This time, we had to remember that attitude came about from The Age of the Understatement, and it was applied here.

QRO: So going to the new album, Everything You’ve Come To Expect, right away it kicks off with “Aviation”, which is such a strong opening. I loved the way it played between your new sound, along with the cinematic tones of Understatement.

[Kane starts clapping]

MK: WE’RE HERE! WE’RE HERE IN NEW YORK CITAY!

QRO: That’s like your opening landscape shot.

AT: Yes! Panning on the horizon.

MK: Widescreen! Black border! Narrow screen!

AT: Stars! Mountains! A Blackened sky!

MK: With a crescent moon!

AT: Is it another planet? We don’t know yet!

MK: But we must suspect that it might be! Let’s look at it! Let’s look at it!

AT: So where are we going to go next from here? We must go into a scenario!

MK: We’re in a car and you’re in the passenger seat!

AT: You’re shouting at me! Why are you shouting at me?

MK: “I’m saying come on! We got to go!”

AT: “Bad Habits!” he’s proclaiming! “Sick Puppet!” he goes on. Things, that don’t make a great deal of sense some times!

[laughs]

MK: I AM THE STRATOSPHERE! YESSSSS!

QRO: Something tells me you’re not like this with other people, just among yourselves. [laughs]

AT: We are like this with other people [laughs] but we’re the only ones who bounce off each other really. [laughs]

QRO: I’m excited that this year will have you guys touring for this album. Something that I don’t think most people have picked up on is that you don’t have to tour for this album if you didn’t want to. It wouldn’t be farfetched to say that if you didn’t want to tour this album, you wouldn’t ‘have to’ in the way most musicians do for albums. Do you feel part of this upcoming tour came from a desire you felt to play live while you were making these songs? Did that desire at all inspire how the album was made?

MK: Yeah, especially Glastonbury, man. In my head, I’d think of fucking Glastonbury, man.

AT: I’d be in the control room going, “Where’s Miles? I need him in here to do a bloody vocal!” and I’d find him air guitar-ing with the bloody mic stand, yelling tracks. [laughs] He’s already at bloody Glastonbury.

QRO: I think Ally Pally is also going to be a good one as well man. That’s a special room. And Webster Hall and the Paradiso in Amsterdam, that’s such a beautiful room.

AT: Yes, I’m very excited especially for the Paradiso. We had a very special moment at the Paradiso last time we were there. There’s going to be some shows spider-man.

MK: Fuck yeah, man.

QRO: How do you think you guys want to approach the live show, this time around?

AT: We have no idea really, [laughs] truth be told, Ken.

QRO: Do you think maybe you guys might take a simple approach then?

AT: Possibly. Maybe just me, Miles, and a karaoke machine. [laughs]

MK: DO YOU HEAR THAT IAN? (Ian: manager)

AT: I do think we want to try it differently/more simply this time around. Last time we chose a different orchestra in each city we were in, which was great but just became a bit of a logistic nightmare at the end of it.

QRO: You could go the Elbow route. I remember when they toured for Build a Rocket, Boy! they had a string section of just four people or so?

AT: We might do that [laughs] we have the whole of March to figure it out. [laughs] Don’t be surprised if it’s me, Miles, and the karaoke machine.

QRO: People love bringing up the gap of time between the records quite a bit, and what’s funny to me about that is that if you paid attention over the last couple of years, it was clear to see that regardless of the album gap, you were a constant in each others lives this whole time. When you started making this new album, did you find yourselves inspired by one another, in a way? Or even when you’d share the stage live over the years as well?

AT: I wouldn’t say it came from watching each other on stage, but there was an element of us always hanging out, and this is something we’d always talk about doing again. It was starting to look less and less likely because…

MK: We’d be within our own bubbles, really.

AT: Actually, when we started writing this, it was in mind that it might actually be Miles next thing…

MK: Colour of the Trap part 2!

AT: [laughs] Yeah but then at some point… I think when we wrote “Aviation”, actually. There was a harmony idea I had, and we were both singing and we went ‘hang on a minute! Maybe this should be a shadow puppets record!’ And then we had the task of getting James involved, because he’s always so bloody busy.

MK: Mr. Big time producer!

AT: Yeah [laughs] so we talked about it a bit more, and over the course of an evening we realized that we wanted to do it again.

QRO: Do you feel they’re things you learned for touring for AM and Don’t Forget Who You Are that you brought with you to recording for Everything You’ve Come To Expect? As well as the feeling for the album being a bit serendipitous.

AT: Yeah, it really was. It helped us to keep sharp with our writing as well, especially because we’re always doing that. I think we really felt comfortable jumping into this, because with the last Puppets record, it was a bit of a splash in the face towards our main projects. It was like tossing a bucket of water over the head, and I think this is just us doing that again… with a bigger bucket.

MK: [laughs] A bigger bucket. [laughs]

QRO: Miles, do you feel that making that first Puppets album in a way helped you figure out the type of musician you wanted to be? Specifically with how you approached those solo albums? There’s been quite an evolution in how you write and perform, especially your character.

MK: Yeah, I definitely agree with that. The thing I loved a lot with this record especially, is that it’s reminded me that there’s so much more room for growth, that there’s still so much that I can be doing, and can do in general. You want to always feel like the current thing you’re working on is better than the last thing, but I can honestly say that’s the case here. I’ve been seeing my career quite in the form of stepping-stones, you know what I mean?

QRO: I remember the iTunes Festival you did years back, when Eugene [McGuinness] was in the band, and I remember thinking ‘wow, now this is a show!’ and I think that was not too long after The Last Shadow Puppets.

MK: Yeah, yeah! That was something else! But even then, that’s evolved quite a lot as well honestly, even with touring for Don’t Forget Who You Are. It does feel nice because over time I’ve become quite known for what happens in the live show, which feels nice.

QRO: Did you guys bring in a lot of materials into the studio that you knew you wanted to form into a record? Do you also feel the way you both play live, somewhat informed how you approached even making this album?

MK: Yes and no really. I think we brought it a couple of things, and ultimately ended up not using a bunch.

AT: Yeah, there’s one tune on the album called “The Pattern”, that was from something we had written years ago, together for… I don’t even know for what. But yeah, on the contrary, the majority of what we had written before, ultimately didn’t make the finished album really.

QRO: I remember something similar happened to Damon Albarn when he made his solo album (Everyday Robots – QRO review). He went into the studio with Richard Russell with a couple of digital scripts and files, and they ended up using only one track. Do you feel that aspect is almost unavoidable, especially when it comes to going towards a new endeavor? Does it help to breathe new life into a project, starting from scratch like that?

MK: Yeah man, I think so. I think you can always have ideas, firm ideas from demos, but when you come to doing a new thing… I think that ends up becoming a bit of a focal point, the aspect of ‘new’. It’s more exciting to do new things. But yeah I think that…

AT: That there’s a reason why they’re in the ‘maybe pile’ any ways.

QRO: Lastly, it’s interesting you brought up “The Pattern”, Alex, and how that was written years ago. This lead me to wonder, what would you say is the oldest song on Everything You’ve Come To Expect, and what would you say is the newest song, in terms of being the last one being written?

AT: “The Pattern” is probably the oldest… yeah definitely the oldest. The last thing was probably… I think it was actually the title track, “Everything You’ve Come To Expect”, actually. It started off as this other thing; it almost felt like it was part of the same world as another tune on the album called “Used To Be My Girl”.

MK: The lyrics ended up standing out quite a bit.

AT: Yeah, it did feel like the lyrics were taking us to a totally different place. It began to feel that if there was a song where the lyrical structure was becoming more interesting, as it went on, that it’d be worth… sticking a pin within the song and figuring it out. Especially because with this song, it wasn’t working at the start, so it felt very important to figure it out.

MK: Yeah, and I remember it was you [Alex] that went into the studio, came back with the chorus, and that was kind of like the last puzzle for getting the song right. It was quite a defining moment really.

AT: Yeah, we also ended up incorporating an organ, and yeah I think that tune ended up being the most out there tune on the album. It’s kind of the most exciting point on there really.

QRO: And what makes that tune standout to me, is it is very different from what you’ve made before, but it does ultimately feel like a Last Shadow Puppets song.

AT: Yeah, I think so too. There’s a sense of exploration there, with us being in the outside of the way people think we ‘should be’ operating.

http://www.qromag.com/interviews/the-last-shadow-puppets/

quote:

Op dinsdag 16 februari 2016 07:21 schreef Aisumasen het volgende:
Maar wacht, er is nog meer, een uitsmijter! Turner: "Yes, I’m very excited especially for the Paradiso. We had a very special moment at the Paradiso last time we were there. There’s going to be some shows spider-man."

quote:

Op dinsdag 16 februari 2016 16:41 schreef sander26 het volgende:

[..]

Fijn interview! Op welk 'special moment' zal Alex hier doelen? Enig idee iemand?