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The Kooks Interview
Indie | Wednesday 7th December 2011 | Osh
The Kooks
With the third album ready for release, we caught up with Luke Pritchard about friendship, growth and just what it takes to keep a rock’n’roll band glued together
“It’s so beautiful when you’re in that state of mind, the sun comes up, you’ve got the lake... It’s just ridiculous”
So, you have a new album coming out: Junk of the Heart. Tell me about the inspirations and influences for it. It’s been quite a long time in the making...
Yeah, we definitely changed a lot about how we do things. The influences for the record have definitely shifted from what we were influenced by on our first records. On a personal level, once you go on to the third album you feel like you wanna ask yourself those questions: Why am I doing this? Where are we going with what we’re doing and what kind of music do we really want to make? With those kinds of questions it definitely took a bit of time. When you’ve been in a band since you were 17 or 18 and you’ve been playing together for eight years, or whatever, you kind of grow apart a little bit, but then things need to recalibrate.
‘Cause people change, circumstances change and trying to keep a band going is a really difficult slog...
Well, it’s a very fragile thing that our band has been [laughs].
Is it?
Yeah. I think the fact that it’s based on relationships with people means it’s kind of always turbulent. You never know what’s gonna happen...
What are the vibes like between you and the boys at the moment? Are you quite close?
Oh, not at all [laughs]. Yeah, we get on fine; we get on really well. We would come back from this long tour together and be quite sick of each other, but I would always get a call from Hugh two days later and he’s like, “Hey man, do you wanna go to the pub?” You know, it’s kind of funny; it’s more like a family than anything.
Who do you guys really get on with?
Who do we get on with? [Laughs]
I’m not going to ask who you don’t get on with, because you can’t believe everything you read...
Yeah, I appreciate it; it’s all bullshit anyway. I don’t know... I’m pretty good friends with Andy Burrows who plays with We Are Scientists at the moment. He’s doing lots of stuff right now, doing a record. Another good mate of mine is Mark Foster from Foster the People; he’s a good friend. I’m trying to think... Well, not too many people that are really big. I get on really well with Paolo Nuttini... I guess what’s a shame about how the stuff now works in music is that it’s quite hard to keep up with friends who are in bands because everyone has to tour so much.
Some friendships can be quite fleeting.
Yeah, for sure. With Paolo and his band, we just became quite good friends with them because we just happen to be on the same festivals for like five years for some reason. So, you know, you just meet up, get smashed together and it’s cool.
Did you go to any festivals this summer?
The only one that I ever go to is the Secret Garden [Party]. It’s really good; it’s my favourite one to go to. You don’t really go for the music necessarily, although the music is good... You go more for the vibes. Everyone’s wicked there. It’s so beautiful when you’re in that state of mind, the sun comes up, you’ve got the lake... It’s just ridiculous.
You obviously love music so much that it takes up a huge part of your life.
Yeah. It’s quite a weird thing with this album. I think one of the important things is to get back to really enjoying playing music and really enjoying writing. And the thing is, when you’re in a band, your life is music. Everything you do is music. Music, music, music. I definitely had moments of getting a bit stagnant. It become a bit of a routine. This album is all about changing the way we record and I changed the way that I write songs. It was really cool; the album is really fresh, I think.
So you have a new direction, or an evolution...
Yeah, evolution is what the band has seen. We could go anywhere now, that’s the cool thing.
Anywhere? Like... Dubstep, drum and bass or house?
[Laughs] Maybe not drum and bass... More on our level. We made the album using samplers and synthesizers and got to know how to do that, which opens up a whole electronic side. I mean, we’ve approached this album like you would approach electronic or a hip-hop record. Yeah, again, it’s quite different for us.
Where do you see yourself in ten years time? Deep question.
Fuck, I don’t know... I’m definitely gonna still make music but obviously I would have moved on from where we are now, probably... Ten years, God, such a long way. It won’t be long, but it seems like a long time. I believe that the band will go on. I love being in a band and I love what it represents. I hope that we’ll still be going, that we’ll still play at festivals. I’ll still be going to the Secret Garden... [Laughs]
If you were invisible for a day, what would you do?
Invisible? Well, the obvious: I would stop crime! That would be good. Invisible for a day... I would just freak people out. Just drive in a car and freak people out.
After you’ve solved all crime.
That would be fun. Are you offering this?
Yeah, we’ve got a special Guestlist Network package; we can make it happen. Okay, if you could fill a swimming pool with anything, what would it be?
Er... Milk.
Like Cleopatra?
I’d fill it with anything... Rice Krispies. Can you imagine the sound that it would make? How good would that be?
Snap, crackle and pop... And finally, can you give The Guestlist Network an exclusive?
Okay, I’ll tell you. I took the photograph for the album cover for the new album. I wanted to be involved in the artwork more.
So maybe in 10 years you’ll be a professional photographer?
That would be great! Definitely. I’d love to do fashion photography...
Junk of the Heart is out on 12th September and available from all good music retailers. Check www.guestlist.net for the full, unabridged interview
With the third album ready for release, we caught up with Luke Pritchard about friendship, growth and just what it takes to keep a rock’n’roll band glued together
“It’s so beautiful when you’re in that state of mind, the sun comes up, you’ve got the lake... It’s just ridiculous”
So, you have a new album coming out: Junk of the Heart. Tell me about the inspirations and influences for it. It’s been quite a long time in the making...
Yeah, we definitely changed a lot about how we do things. The influences for the record have definitely shifted from what we were influenced by on our first records. On a personal level, once you go on to the third album you feel like you wanna ask yourself those questions: Why am I doing this? Where are we going with what we’re doing and what kind of music do we really want to make? With those kinds of questions it definitely took a bit of time. When you’ve been in a band since you were 17 or 18 and you’ve been playing together for eight years, or whatever, you kind of grow apart a little bit, but then things need to recalibrate.
‘Cause people change, circumstances change and trying to keep a band going is a really difficult slog...
Well, it’s a very fragile thing that our band has been [laughs].
Is it?
Yeah. I think the fact that it’s based on relationships with people means it’s kind of always turbulent. You never know what’s gonna happen...
What are the vibes like between you and the boys at the moment? Are you quite close?
Oh, not at all [laughs]. Yeah, we get on fine; we get on really well. We would come back from this long tour together and be quite sick of each other, but I would always get a call from Hugh two days later and he’s like, “Hey man, do you wanna go to the pub?” You know, it’s kind of funny; it’s more like a family than anything.
Who do you guys really get on with?
Who do we get on with? [Laughs]
I’m not going to ask who you don’t get on with, because you can’t believe everything you read...
Yeah, I appreciate it; it’s all bullshit anyway. I don’t know... I’m pretty good friends with Andy Burrows who plays with We Are Scientists at the moment. He’s doing lots of stuff right now, doing a record. Another good mate of mine is Mark Foster from Foster the People; he’s a good friend. I’m trying to think... Well, not too many people that are really big. I get on really well with Paolo Nuttini... I guess what’s a shame about how the stuff now works in music is that it’s quite hard to keep up with friends who are in bands because everyone has to tour so much.
Some friendships can be quite fleeting.
Yeah, for sure. With Paolo and his band, we just became quite good friends with them because we just happen to be on the same festivals for like five years for some reason. So, you know, you just meet up, get smashed together and it’s cool.
Did you go to any festivals this summer?
The only one that I ever go to is the Secret Garden [Party]. It’s really good; it’s my favourite one to go to. You don’t really go for the music necessarily, although the music is good... You go more for the vibes. Everyone’s wicked there. It’s so beautiful when you’re in that state of mind, the sun comes up, you’ve got the lake... It’s just ridiculous.
You obviously love music so much that it takes up a huge part of your life.
Yeah. It’s quite a weird thing with this album. I think one of the important things is to get back to really enjoying playing music and really enjoying writing. And the thing is, when you’re in a band, your life is music. Everything you do is music. Music, music, music. I definitely had moments of getting a bit stagnant. It become a bit of a routine. This album is all about changing the way we record and I changed the way that I write songs. It was really cool; the album is really fresh, I think.
So you have a new direction, or an evolution...
Yeah, evolution is what the band has seen. We could go anywhere now, that’s the cool thing.
Anywhere? Like... Dubstep, drum and bass or house?
[Laughs] Maybe not drum and bass... More on our level. We made the album using samplers and synthesizers and got to know how to do that, which opens up a whole electronic side. I mean, we’ve approached this album like you would approach electronic or a hip-hop record. Yeah, again, it’s quite different for us.
Where do you see yourself in ten years time? Deep question.
Fuck, I don’t know... I’m definitely gonna still make music but obviously I would have moved on from where we are now, probably... Ten years, God, such a long way. It won’t be long, but it seems like a long time. I believe that the band will go on. I love being in a band and I love what it represents. I hope that we’ll still be going, that we’ll still play at festivals. I’ll still be going to the Secret Garden... [Laughs]
If you were invisible for a day, what would you do?
Invisible? Well, the obvious: I would stop crime! That would be good. Invisible for a day... I would just freak people out. Just drive in a car and freak people out.
After you’ve solved all crime.
That would be fun. Are you offering this?
Yeah, we’ve got a special Guestlist Network package; we can make it happen. Okay, if you could fill a swimming pool with anything, what would it be?
Er... Milk.
Like Cleopatra?
I’d fill it with anything... Rice Krispies. Can you imagine the sound that it would make? How good would that be?
Snap, crackle and pop... And finally, can you give The Guestlist Network an exclusive?
Okay, I’ll tell you. I took the photograph for the album cover for the new album. I wanted to be involved in the artwork more.
So maybe in 10 years you’ll be a professional photographer?
That would be great! Definitely. I’d love to do fashion photography...
Junk of the Heart is out on 12th September and available from all good music retailers. Check www.guestlist.net for the full, unabridged interview
