- 3 days ago
The Kooks stop by the KROQ studios to talk about their new album, 'Never/Know,' with Megan Holiday.
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00:00It is the world-famous K-Rock. I'm Megan Holliday. I'm here with Luke and Hugh of the band The Kooks.
00:06Hello.
00:06Hi, you guys.
00:07This is amazing. Thank you for having us.
00:09I know. I'm so excited for you to be here. And, you know, before when we were talking, I was telling you how big of an impact, obviously, your debut album, Inside In, Inside Out, had on me.
00:20And I realized yesterday that it's 20 years old.
00:24It is. Isn't that mad?
00:25I feel old now.
00:26Yeah, and it's as old as us.
00:28Yes. No, it's really, I mean, that album really, you know, it's taken us across the world. It's an amazing thing. And I think I'm starting to finally kind of appreciate it, if you know what I mean.
00:39Yeah, that's what I was wondering.
00:40It's like a kind of chapter 20 years. Because, like, the thing that happens, I think, to a lot of artists, like, you're kind of running away from those big success moments.
00:50Well, not running away, but you know what I mean? You're trying to, like, because you don't...
00:52Well, get out from the shadow of it, kind of.
00:54And you want to change and all that. And now we're kind of finding a lot of appreciation for it. Yeah.
01:01Yeah, I was wondering that, you know, if you can look back now or when you're performing the songs now, you're able to do it with more joy, kind of.
01:09Yeah, there's less pressure. We kind of have been around the mill a bit, and we've made mistakes. And now it's just about, I guess, flying the flag of who we are at this moment. And to be able to still make music at this moment is totally unheard of for so many bands.
01:25Oh, it's amazing.
01:25So it's about not taking it for granted as well.
01:27Yeah.
01:28And we can really properly appreciate that now, as adults.
01:31Yeah, I know, because that's what we are. It's 20 years later, guys.
01:34We finally grew up after 20 years, basically.
01:37I know. Well, have we, though? Have we?
01:40Well, we'll say that on air.
01:41No, you're about to have a family. You know, you've got your family starting and all that stuff. So, yeah.
01:46Yeah. Yeah, but like, yeah, exactly. Because when you're in a band, you know, you get to be, yeah, you get to have a rest of development a little bit.
01:52But then, yeah, the kids come.
01:55Reality hits, yeah.
01:57Which is a beautiful thing. And like, you know, seeing them, they come to shows and everything. Very cool.
02:02Oh, that's so nice. Well, I want to congratulate you on your brand new album, Never Know. It's doing massively right now in the U.K.
02:13So cool, yeah.
02:14And we are on a mission to make that happen here in the U.S., obviously.
02:18Please.
02:18Yeah, we're very excited. Yeah.
02:20Yeah, we're really excited. It's been a real wave, a good wave for us in the U.K.
02:24We just kind of picked up, you know, new fans, like young fans as well, which is kind of crazy, like people that some of them wouldn't have been born when we started out.
02:34Right.
02:34And the teenagers are getting into it. And, yeah, we had a good run, didn't we, for the past few weeks in the U.K.?
02:41No, totally. Yeah, it's amazing to see, especially in America, just seeing that we've actually got people who listen to our music here.
02:47We were just at UCLA and people were kind of, we played a couple of songs and people were coming up and we were kind of shocked as to the kind of knowledge of the band.
02:57And we've just never kind of spent loads of time here. So I think it's quite nice to actually focus on.
03:04Well, this one girl, she actually was listening to one of our songs when she came over.
03:09Yeah, she was listening to one of the songs, West Side.
03:11That's so crazy.
03:13That's so wild.
03:14She's like, I've got you. Yeah, amazing.
03:15Oh, my God. See, that's serendipitous. That's the matrix stuff we were talking about.
03:21Exactly.
03:22It's all connected, guys. It really is.
03:25But, you know, I think that your songs, a lot of times they come up on tons of playlists for a lot of us who are interested in, you know, the alternative, like the indie.
03:35And so you guys are very much in the fabric.
03:38And like your debut album, it was huge for, you know, my generation.
03:43That album was huge.
03:45You know, whether or not it got a ton of radio play or whatever, it doesn't matter.
03:48We all know that album.
03:49Yeah, I think like culturally, especially with guitar players, like it's become one of those records that you would go to as part of your kind of education in, you know, like whatever guitar music.
04:03It's become part of the woodwork, a rite of passage.
04:07And that's just like to us, that's mind blowing still that people would find that interesting as a kind of statement as to, you know, where we're coming from.
04:17Brighton are kind of ethos, pop music, but there's reggae there, there's indie, there's soul music, there's a bit of hip hop thrown in.
04:28And I just don't think we've ever really been a band that has operated in genres and in boundaries.
04:34And I think places like America who like countries which have these kind of broad spectrums of tastes, sometimes polarizing, sometimes kind of to its detriment.
04:45I think a band like the Cooks, we were just on tour here last year, weren't we?
04:49And we were thinking there's so much like, I guess, space for our music in the culture here.
04:57But we've just not really kind of spent loads of time on working on that.
05:01So now it's time for you guys to spend some time here.
05:06Okay, I have a spare room.
05:07It's fine, you know, we can keep you around playing lots of shows.
05:11And I definitely want to get into the new album because just like you were saying, all of these different genres, you know, are mixed in with this new album.
05:19And I know that you had said that this is a lot like going back to your roots.
05:24So what do you kind of mean by that?
05:26Yeah, I think in a way, kind of like what I was talking about earlier, we had tried to evolve our sound so much.
05:35And we'd really embraced the kind of new ways of working by bringing producers in and changing our sound and trying to be uncomfortable in a way.
05:44And, you know, the last time we did was a real synth record we did in Berlin.
05:47And the one before that was like, you know, we did a gospel record, even a gospel blues record or gospel blues influenced.
05:53And this one was just like about kind of fight, like really honing in on like the identity of the band.
06:00And I was just doing it ourselves and just getting back to four guys, four friends like playing in the countryside in a little barn and just jamming, you know.
06:09Yeah, and you produced this one, right?
06:10Yeah, I did, yeah.
06:11Yeah, I like to say the overseer of the production.
06:13But yeah, I did produce it because it was like, it was just, I mean, it was great for me because I just, I know how amazing everyone is.
06:22And it's just letting everyone have, be the best they can be within the record and just sort of making sure it all ticks along.
06:29But really, it was a very honest, like spontaneous record, which is really exciting to do on your seventh one because it's like there's no tricks or anything.
06:37It's just like, it's not a live album, but you know what I mean?
06:40It's like, and we got these amazing singers in and it was a really fun record to make and it came out so.
06:45Yeah, all those beautiful harmonies.
06:46Yeah, thank you.
06:46Yeah, I mean, they, well, I'm going to say thank you.
06:49They are amazing.
06:50And we were singing in the room.
06:52We got real connection and chemistry.
06:54And I think what came out was, funny enough, in the kind of times we're living in was a super optimistic, positive record.
07:01And that kind of blew my mind.
07:03I didn't necessarily start out thinking that would happen, but it did.
07:07And I think that's a beautiful thing.
07:08Yeah, that was what I was going to say.
07:09It's so easy on the ears.
07:12It's lighthearted.
07:13It's romantic.
07:14And like you were saying, I was like, thank God for this album because we really, like, I could really use something that, you know, really takes you outside of anything that might be going on in the world or within yourself.
07:24It's also a rock record.
07:26You know, it's one of the first records we've done in years that pretty much every song has a guitar solo.
07:30But not in the kind of singing and dancing, all screaming and shouting kind of way.
07:39He says with devil horns and about to stick out his tongue.
07:43There's a few moments like that on the record.
07:45But once someone will turn it into a name.
07:46Like Compass Will Fracture?
07:49Yeah, that's pretty rock and roll.
07:50Yeah, that one's got a great guitar.
07:52It's got some stone roses, a bit of rolling stones as well.
07:55Yeah, really good.
07:56But also just not being afraid of those influences, not being afraid to do a guitar solo or be rock, but, you know, play the music that we love.
08:03And it's, it is, I always think of that Amy Winehouse record, obviously, with Mark.
08:08And they just did what they wanted.
08:10They just turned to their passions.
08:12There's a very clear direction and influence based on who they were at that time.
08:19And to be unafraid of, like, taking a snapshot of that and flying your own flag is bold.
08:25It is bold.
08:26It's safe, but it's also bold because you're just, you're relying on your own self as what that looks like at that specific time without any tricks.
08:36Yeah, being your authentic, true self and at the core of who the kooks are.
08:41This is who you guys, you know, this is your representation and it's very honest.
08:45Yeah, no, this is great.
08:46I feel like we would put that on big time.
08:49No, it'd be like, that's cool.
08:51I do want to highlight.
08:51Which is the best thing you can do in some ways.
08:53Just really make something that you would love yourself, which is sometimes challenging.
08:57Oh my God, I can't even imagine.
08:59Yeah, and especially as time goes on, I feel like it can sort of become more difficult.
09:04You've got to keep the love for it.
09:05I mean, it's like, it's very important to not get stuck in the loop because when you've done it 20 years, it can be tricky for artists to sort of, to really enjoy the whole thing.
09:18And I think we've, we're at that stage.
09:20We just managed to really enjoy playing music, writing music, touring, even though, you know, it's 20 years in.
09:29And I do want to highlight the Wings cover on this album.
09:34What do you think?
09:34Oh my God, I love it.
09:36I mean, we didn't change it too much.
09:37No, I really loved it because it was such a surprise.
09:40I was not expecting it.
09:42Oh, thank you.
09:43Yeah, it arrowed through me.
09:44Yeah, from Back to the Egg.
09:45I mean, it became a bit of an anthem for the band, even when we were touring.
09:51We just all loved this song.
09:52We'd always listen to it.
09:53And it kind of did inspire, like, where we were going a little bit with the record.
09:57But it was mainly, I just really liked it.
09:59It was like, Wings have become cool again.
10:01I just really liked that sort of theory.
10:04Well, Paul McCartney never goes out of fashion.
10:06Well, that's true.
10:07That's true.
10:08No, no, listen.
10:08He was always cool to me.
10:10Yeah, yeah.
10:10But when I was at school, it's just so interesting how styles change and in our kind of area, the indie world, the new guys, like, you know, they're not new now, but, you know, like Rex Orange County and people like Tame Impala all of a sudden.
10:27They were really inspired, I think, by Wings.
10:30And it's just kind of funny because it was always the Beatles and then Wings became really hip.
10:37So I think that's really cool.
10:38And I just thought that song, that could be a hit now to me.
10:41I just was like, if that came out tomorrow and someone else would sing that, I'd be like, that's fresh.
10:45Not to take over your job, do you see some of us in Wings a little bit?
10:49Like, we've kind of gone through these, like, slightly in and out of fashion-y, because we haven't really been dedicated followers of fashion.
10:55So you kind of have these moments where you're like, you know, I'm wearing high tops and I'm like, I thought I was.
11:02You're fashion-y.
11:04You're rocking it.
11:05Oh, come on, yeah.
11:05You've got great shoes.
11:06It's hard to keep up, man, but you just, like, what does it start?
11:09Yeah, fashion goes out of style, never goes out of style, never goes out of fashion.
11:13It always comes back around, you know what I mean?
11:15It always does.
11:16And even when we go into, like, our weird phases of our style and our life or whatever,
11:21and we're just on the road to finding ourselves again.
11:24So it's timing, basically.
11:25Yeah, and the Matrix, you know.
11:27The Matrix, back to the, let's talk about the Matrix.
11:30Yeah, it's about time.
11:31Let's get off the album.
11:32It's been leering at the window, hasn't it?
11:34Existential crisis window.
11:35Yeah, but we're doing okay.
11:37We're making it through.
11:39I mean, and I think getting excited about music, you know, for me, it's, like, such an escape.
11:46Getting excited about going out to see a band that you've loved for the last 20 years, you know,
11:50it's just something to be, to look forward to, something to be excited about, you know.
11:54It's not medicine.
11:55It really is.
11:55I feel like, you know.
11:56Tonic.
11:56Sorry.
11:58I said tonic.
12:00Tonic.
12:00Yes, tonic.
12:03Interjection, not an interruption.
12:04I'm half deaf in my left ear.
12:06You're what?
12:06Yeah.
12:07I know, I know, I know.
12:09It's my guitar amp, so I apologize.
12:11Yeah, it's your fault.
12:12You actually have created the deafness.
12:14I really am, sorry.
12:15That's okay.
12:16It's my undoing.
12:17I'll take the deafness over the guitar solo.
12:19All right.
12:20So I definitely want to highlight your upcoming tour.
12:24So tell us where you're going.
12:26I know you're going to be here in L.A. at the Palladium on June 17th.
12:29Where else can people see you?
12:31We're back.
12:31We're back in the States.
12:32You know, it's amazing.
12:33I'm so excited.
12:33The best time, the last time we toured here.
12:36We hadn't toured for like five years because of the quarantine and everything.
12:39So we kind of like, it's the mecca for us, America.
12:43It really is.
12:44Like all the music, like we're just, to us, it's like the birthplace of all the music we love.
12:49So really excited.
12:50And yeah, we're going to start on the East Coast, I think.
12:54And then L.A. is the 17th of June at the Palladium.
13:00So we love the Palladium.
13:01We're like veterans there now.
13:02So very exciting.
13:04And where else are we playing here?
13:05Do you remember?
13:06Yeah.
13:06I mean, you know, it's North America.
13:07So Montreal, there's Philly, Salt Lake City.
13:11Speaking of kind of quantum magnetic energy zones.
13:16And then there's like, sadly, not going much to the South.
13:20But I think we're going to leave that tour like later on.
13:23Obviously like, yeah, East and West Coast with a bit of like Salt Lake City in the middle, Chicago, obviously.
13:28Just the greatest hits for now.
13:31But we will be doing more of a kind of specific, like niche area tour.
13:35That's on the cards later on.
13:38Yeah.
13:38We're not being snobs because we want to get around.
13:40Yeah, of course you do.
13:41It's a big country.
13:42It's a big country.
13:43It's really big.
13:43It's a lot.
13:44I mean, there's places we've never played, like Miami or like, we've done a little bit in Texas, haven't we?
13:50But there's just so many cool places.
13:52I mean, we never played in New Orleans.
13:54Me and Hugh went there once to write some songs.
13:56We didn't write any songs.
13:58We just sort of had fun.
13:59Yeah.
13:59And we saw a lot of music.
14:01That Frenchman Street is like, but we never, we've never played there.
14:05Yeah.
14:05Stuff like that.
14:06It's like, you know, it's a real like kind of dream for us, you know.
14:10Well, I'm so glad that it's, you know, on the horizon and this is time for the Kooks takeover of America.
14:17Come on.
14:18Well, we just want to be part of it.
14:20Well, you know.
14:21Maybe just like have a go on the steering wheel.
14:23Yes.
14:23Okay.
14:24Test drive.
14:25Yeah.
14:25Exactly.
14:26So the Kooks, the new album, Never Know.
14:29It's out in the world.
14:30See him on tour soon.
14:31And you guys, thank you so much for coming out with me today.
14:34You're amazing.
14:35Thank you so much.
14:35This was so much fun.
14:36So brilliant.
14:36Yeah, thank you.
14:37Thanks for having us in.
14:37The Kooks.
14:38I'm Megan Holliday.
14:39It's K-Rock.
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