Alex Turner And Miles Kane Go 60s On New Album
The side project is finished...
Alex Turner’s side project with Rascals man Miles Kane looks set to be released this April producer James Ford has revealed.
Ford says the pair’s album is very different to what they do in their own bands saying it has something of a retro feel to it.
He told 6 Music: “It’s quite different sounding than the Arctics’ I think.”
“It’s kind of quite sort of ‘Sixties-y’ and really good songs and there’s a lot of orchestration and stuff.”
However, Ford says he doesn’t expect the duo to carry on the project beyond this album.
He said: “It’s just a little side project for Al really. They’re just a bunch of songs that him and Miles wrote together that didn’t fit in to either of their individual bands.
“They just wanted to record the songs because they existed and they were good, really. We went away for a couple of weeks in the summer and had fun and recorded the whole thing.”
http://www.gigwise.com/news/40609/alex-turner-and-miles-kane-go-60s-on-new-album
Matt Helders
Speaking to 6 Music back in December, Arctic Monkeys’ drummer Matt Helders also said the record has a distinct sound of its own.
“It’s obviously different to what we do: it’s more epic. It sounds instantly more classic, like a big album. It’s got brass on it, it’s got strings. Its more like a ‘big thing.’”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/news/20080206_turner.shtml
Owen Pallett interview
So next week you’re scheduled to record with Alex Turner of the Arctic Monkeys on a side project of his, how did you get involved in that?
It’s pretty confusing actually, I’m not sure how it happened. I think they contacted Nico Muhly who is the guy who arranges for Bjork and he did the best Bonnie Prince Billy record ever, Letting Go. He did all the strings on that and he’s doing the new Anthony record and stuff and Sam Amadan and every other record, it’s going to be amazing. Anyway I think they contacted Nico, I don’t know how and he has started passing stuff off in my direction because we became friends earlier this year. We both have ears for different things like I could never do a Bonnie Prince Billie record because I’d just be so precious about it, every second I’d be like “no no no no!” you know what I mean, whereas Nico is just like “whatever, here it goes”. With Alex Turner I feel more relaxed, I’m like “Yeah!” so you know. Not that I don’t connect with Alex’s music, it’s just I feel a little more relaxed about it.
It just seems like you would move in different kinds of circle, it’s strange that you would come together on something like this.
I don’t know, you think so?
Well your fans would be different to Arctic Monkey fans.
It’s kind of funny because I’ll be talking to…you know I’m friends with like a few really famous British musicians like Keli from Bloc Party and Patrick Wolf and when I started working with Alex, they were so surprised and even a little starstruck by the whole thing because I feel like Alex Turner moves in different circles to the entire British music scene. Because he’s not comfortable with being a star, he is actually some dude who he just like “I play in a band with my mates”. You know what I mean?
You come across a lot like that, except that you don’t have a band behind you. You’re very much like this is what I do.
Like unromantic?
No, I mean that you’re not like searching for fame, you just seem like you do something that you’re passionate about and not in a way that’s aiming to be a star.
I think everybody does stuff the exact same way. I feel as if different people have, everyone who’s making music have like a different level of ability and a different background and everyone has like different levels of substances that they abuse and different diets and stuff like that. But other than that, everyone just wants to make records that everyone is going to love, everyone just wants like everyone in the critical and public community to love them for the rest of their lives and proclaim that they’re geniuses. So I don’t think it’s that different.
Are you going to be writing any of the songs on this album or just scoring strings to accompany it?
For Alex’s record, no I didn’t write anything. In fact they came to me with pretty specific things of what they wanted me to do so I just tried to flesh them all out. I have no idea how this is going to sound. I’m so excited about it.
http://www.analoguemagazine.com/interviews/final-fantasy-2/
Yourself and Alex Turner might appear to be the most likely of bedfellows, can you tell us a little about how that collaboration came about?
Laurence Bell from Domino Records contacted me and asked me if I'd meet Alex in Toronto. Alex and I met in the bar of his hotel, he bought me a cappuccino, then we took a cab to my southern Toronto prison and we listened to some David Axelrod records and talked about music. I listened to the tracks he'd recorded, and told him my ideas, and then I scored it out in a couple of weeks, I flew to London and conducted it with an orchestra. It was the most effortless project I've ever worked on.
How did recording with him turn out?
It's great. The record's great!
http://drownedinsound.com/articles/2892382
Miles Kane interview
IF you have only released an EP and aren't that well known outside the covers of NME, you'd think a new group would wait a while for a stellar collaboration.
But The Rascals singer Miles Kane has already recorded an album with Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys.
While the Wirral trio's second single, Suspicious Wit, is out on Monday, their debut album is due for release in June.
That's two months after his collaboration with Alex.
But rather than worrying it may confuse people and dent the splash of The Rascals' debut, Miles thinks it's the way Brit indie should go.
He said: "Let's not make it confusing.
"Just because you are in a band you can't do that, but loads of hip-hop acts swap or guest on each other's tracks.
"It's a laugh.
"They just want to do songs and make great music and so we felt why shouldn't we do it.
"Let's not have the distinction."
Miles and Alex call themselves The Last Shadow Puppets and their album, The Age of The Understatement, is out in April and reportedly very psychedelic with hints of Pink Floyd.
Miles, 21, said: "We got the name The Last Shadow Puppets because a friend of ours was on the phone lying on her bed and she was doing shadow puppets on the wall.
"We thought it would be a good name and put the "The" on to make it dramatic."
The pair went to France to record the album last summer and wanted to put it out late last year, but it didn't happen. Miles added: "We didn't want to sit on it for a year and a half.
"We just wanted to make a record and put it out."
Notoriously fame-shy Alex and Miles didn't want the huge hype the collaboration has already generated.
Miles said: "We didn't want it to be a big thing.
"It's just a separate thing that was a bit of a laugh."
The Rascals are hoping to play this year's T in the Park and when I ask Miles if he'll bring Alex, who last year was a Balado headliner, to come and play as The Last Shadow Puppets, he said: "Maybe."
The pair are making a habit of appearing at each other's shows.
Alex got Miles on stage during Arctic Monkeys' Glastonbury gig for the song 505, so it would only be fair.
And last week at the Shockwaves NME Awards Show in London, Alex joined The Rascals for their song Is It Too Late?
Miles isn't worried that people will think of him as Alex's righthand man rather than the lead singer of The Rascals, Miles said: "I'll let my music do the talking.
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entertainment/music/music-news/2008/02/15/rascals-singer-miles-kane-happy-to-make-music-with-arctic-monkeys-86908-20320053/
Tracklisting announced
I trust Al to make some nice music.
