Two days after finishing recording “AM” in May, a somewhat relaxed Arctic Monkeys made a quick trip to Paris, incognito. Time for a drink with the Queens of the Stone Age, through the capital, and say a few words to some journalists about their new song over a cup of coffee. 20 minutes met two members of the British band, Alex Turner and Matt Helders.
When we first listened to your album, we were quite surprised. Your song is getting quieter… What happened to you?
Alex Turner: It’s true that our songs are a little slower on this record. There’s more to the plot. We want to try new things. But drums and bass are more important. I like the way the drums beat, like in hip hop music.
Matt Helders: It may not be strong enough, but our songs are stronger than I thought they would be.
Do you really want to do something completely different?
Alex Turner: Absolutely. We don’t want to be a boring indie rock band.
Where do you get the inspiration for these new songs?
Alex Turner: We wrote the song “RU Mine” last year, while we were still on tour. He ended accident, with an opera-style chorus. Matt’s voice was quite high. We love it. We told ourselves that we could take inspiration from him for the next album. We also thought of rock songs from the 70s, Black Sabbath, Captain Beyond… And for the lyrics, as always, the girls (smiles)…
How do you write?
Alex Turner: I need to be alone. It just so happened that we also recorded such a demo for viewing. The band played the same groove for five minutes. I sit down and have fun composing. It’s not always good (laughs). But I listened to it all again and perfected it.
Did you collaborate again with Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age for this album?
Matt Holder: Yes. He even sings on one song, and does backing vocals on another.
Are you very close to him?
Alex Turner: Completely. We understand each other and I think there is a kind of mutual admiration.
Matt Helders: We were with him last night, we had a few shots of Tequila together.
Can you play together on stage?
Alex Turner: Maybe, but there’s a problem: he’ll make me look like a dwarf! I had to climb something to be his size (grimaces).
Do you still enjoy concerts or is it always the same?
Matt Helders: We still love it, and it’s a bit of a change from what we were doing before. We’re paying more attention to what the show is like, we’ll have a backup keyboard player and then new songs, that’s exciting.
Do you ever get nervous before going on stage?
Alex Turner: Yes, it happens. When we performed at the Olympic ceremonies last year, I was terrified. And even when you’re on another stage, you’re appearing in front of all these people. It’s not normal to be in this situation, with everyone staring at you. It’s a very strange place, the view.
What do you need to feel better?
Alex Turner: Just a minute, I think… I get sent a lot of bras at concerts. So we expect it any moment now. If we don’t get it on stage, we’re tempted to think we’ve messed something up (laughs).
Matt Helders: When we get at least one, our concerts aren’t so bad!
Discover one of the group’s new titles, Do I want to know:
