Tag: video

NME

Ayra Starr‘s ascendancy is only just getting started. Since releasing her hotly anticipated debut album ‘19 & Dangerous’ in August 2021, the Benin-born Nigerian singer/songwriter has earned a spot on the NME 100, collaborated with Stormzy, Kelly Rowland and Wizkid, and featured on the Dreamville-curated soundtrack for Creed III. She’s even caught the attention of former US President Barack Obama, who selected Starr’s track ‘Rush’ for inclusion on his annual year-end playlist back in December.

As well as receiving presidential acclaim, ‘Rush’ also stands as Starr’s biggest solo moment to date. At the time of writing, the September 2022 single has racked up over 126 million Spotify streams, and earned the artist her first solo UK Number One on the Afrobeats chart as well as her first entry on the UK’s Top 100 singles chart.

Starr’s infectious blend of Afropop, R&B and Alté has connected far and wide. Recent single ‘Sability’ — a self-described “happy song which will definitely take you back [down] memory lane” — has only furthered her success thanks in part to its popularity on TikTok, where Starr boasts 4.3 million followers.

With more new music and festival appearances on the way this year — as well a pledge to be “everywhere, globally” — now feels like the optimum time to catch up with Starr. Speaking to NME for the latest in our In Conversation series, the 20-year-old talks being endorsed by Obama, her close bond with her fans and still being forced to do the washing up at her family home.

Despite her international success, Starr is still regularly brought back down to earth by her family

While Starr’s music career has taken off in the past few years, it seems that her success doesn’t carry much weight whenever she returns to her family home. “My family don’t take me seriously at all,” she laughs to NME. “They’re like, ‘Whatever, go and do the dishes.'”

The artist is, however, starting to come to terms with her upward trajectory. “It took me a while, but now I’ve found the balance,” she says. “Looking back, I’d say [to my past self], ‘Stop dwelling in the past, don’t look sideways, don’t look left and right, keep going forward – I’m telling you you’re going to see a change, trust me’.

“I feel so good – like mentally, spiritually, physically – because I’m aware. There’s beauty in the stillness for me: when it didn’t feel like things were happening for me, I was still thankful. I think that’s why, now, I feel so grateful.”

She’s honoured to be representing Black African women

Given that she’s the latest star to be bringing the sound and energy of African pop music to the world stage, is Starr feeling at all pressurised by her increasingly influential position? “I don’t really feel the pressure,” she replies. “I just know I need to be myself, because that’s what works for people [and] that’s what I’ve been taught after receiving all of [this praise] from my fans.”

Much like her contemporaries Tyla and Tems, Starr is taking great pride in being able to represent Black African women in terms of uplifting her own culture and traditions – something that, Starr feels, was missing when she was growing up.

“I didn’t see this [while] growing up,” she adds. “It’s amazing to know I represent Black African women and young girls.”

Featuring on Barack Obama’s playlist was a bucket list moment

“I prayed to God and said, ‘Please just do this one for me: I really want to be on Barack Obama’s list!'” Starr recalls about ‘Rush’ being featured on the former POTUS’ 2022 music playlist alongside tracks by Bad Bunny, Beyoncé and Tems.

Another high-profile name who has acknowledged Starr’s talent in the past year is Stormzy, who invited her to feature alongside Tendai on ‘Need You’ from the London rapper’s third studio album ‘This Is What I Mean’.

“They sent me the track and said, ‘Stormzy wants you on a song’. I was like, ‘Really? Me?!’ I thought to myself, ‘He really knows me! He wants me on a song!’” Starr says now. “So that was really exciting.”

She texts her fans regularly

She might now be an international chart-topping star, but for Starr, her fans will always be her priority. “Me and my fans have been texting each other! One of them just got a job, and I told them I was so proud,” she reveals, as though it’s the norm for music superstars and their fans to interact so intimately. “It’s a way for us to communicate, and it also helps them see my personality more.”

Over on Starr’s TikTok page, her followers can watch behind-the-scenes studio clips, her collaborations with other content creators and the awkward moment she missed her set in Manchester after getting trapped in a lift. The artist has noticed how her substantial online fame has translated over to her live sets.

“I have this song called ‘ASE’ – it’s not [my] most popular song, but I performed it on COLORS [last summer]. During a show I did [recently] people knew the lyrics [to it], it was crazy. They knew it word for word,” she says. “It made me feel so warm, so good.”

For Ayra Starr, nothing is being done by force

Starr’s latest single ‘Sability’ once again showcases her signature unapologetic style, possessing a rhythmic dance beat that has already caught traction on TikTok and could very well become the soundtrack to the platform’s next dance trend. The song itself just makes its creator “happy”, though, and she’s keen to “share the feeling with the world”.

“I allow myself to be in the moment,” she tells NME about her current creative mindset. “I let myself be content wherever I am, so I can make music based on how I’m feeling. There’s a lot more pressure when you try to channel a feeling. I allow everything to be.”

The post Ayra Starr: “It’s amazing to know I represent Black African women and young girls” appeared first on NME.

NME

Ayra Starr‘s ascendancy is only just getting started. Since releasing her hotly anticipated debut album ‘19 & Dangerous’ in August 2021, the Benin-born Nigerian singer/songwriter has earned a spot on the NME 100, collaborated with Stormzy, Kelly Rowland and Wizkid, and featured on the Dreamville-curated soundtrack for Creed III. She’s even caught the attention of former US President Barack Obama, who selected Starr’s track ‘Rush’ for inclusion on his annual year-end playlist back in December.

As well as receiving presidential acclaim, ‘Rush’ also stands as Starr’s biggest solo moment to date. At the time of writing, the September 2022 single has racked up over 126 million Spotify streams, and earned the artist her first solo UK Number One on the Afrobeats chart as well as her first entry on the UK’s Top 100 singles chart.

Starr’s infectious blend of Afropop, R&B and Alté has connected far and wide. Recent single ‘Sability’ — a self-described “happy song which will definitely take you back [down] memory lane” — has only furthered her success thanks in part to its popularity on TikTok, where Starr boasts 4.3 million followers.

With more new music and festival appearances on the way this year — as well a pledge to be “everywhere, globally” — now feels like the optimum time to catch up with Starr. Speaking to NME for the latest in our In Conversation series, the 20-year-old talks being endorsed by Obama, her close bond with her fans and still being forced to do the washing up at her family home.

Despite her international success, Starr is still regularly brought back down to earth by her family

While Starr’s music career has taken off in the past few years, it seems that her success doesn’t carry much weight whenever she returns to her family home. “My family don’t take me seriously at all,” she laughs to NME. “They’re like, ‘Whatever, go and do the dishes.'”

The artist is, however, starting to come to terms with her upward trajectory. “It took me a while, but now I’ve found the balance,” she says. “Looking back, I’d say [to my past self], ‘Stop dwelling in the past, don’t look sideways, don’t look left and right, keep going forward – I’m telling you you’re going to see a change, trust me’.

“I feel so good – like mentally, spiritually, physically – because I’m aware. There’s beauty in the stillness for me: when it didn’t feel like things were happening for me, I was still thankful. I think that’s why, now, I feel so grateful.”

She’s honoured to be representing Black African women

Given that she’s the latest star to be bringing the sound and energy of African pop music to the world stage, is Starr feeling at all pressurised by her increasingly influential position? “I don’t really feel the pressure,” she replies. “I just know I need to be myself, because that’s what works for people [and] that’s what I’ve been taught after receiving all of [this praise] from my fans.”

Much like her contemporaries Tyla and Tems, Starr is taking great pride in being able to represent Black African women in terms of uplifting her own culture and traditions – something that, Starr feels, was missing when she was growing up.

“I didn’t see this [while] growing up,” she adds. “It’s amazing to know I represent Black African women and young girls.”

Featuring on Barack Obama’s playlist was a bucket list moment

“I prayed to God and said, ‘Please just do this one for me: I really want to be on Barack Obama’s list!'” Starr recalls about ‘Rush’ being featured on the former POTUS’ 2022 music playlist alongside tracks by Bad Bunny, Beyoncé and Tems.

Another high-profile name who has acknowledged Starr’s talent in the past year is Stormzy, who invited her to feature alongside Tendai on ‘Need You’ from the London rapper’s third studio album ‘This Is What I Mean’.

“They sent me the track and said, ‘Stormzy wants you on a song’. I was like, ‘Really? Me?!’ I thought to myself, ‘He really knows me! He wants me on a song!’” Starr says now. “So that was really exciting.”

She texts her fans regularly

She might now be an international chart-topping star, but for Starr, her fans will always be her priority. “Me and my fans have been texting each other! One of them just got a job, and I told them I was so proud,” she reveals, as though it’s the norm for music superstars and their fans to interact so intimately. “It’s a way for us to communicate, and it also helps them see my personality more.”

Over on Starr’s TikTok page, her followers can watch behind-the-scenes studio clips, her collaborations with other content creators and the awkward moment she missed her set in Manchester after getting trapped in a lift. The artist has noticed how her substantial online fame has translated over to her live sets.

“I have this song called ‘ASE’ – it’s not [my] most popular song, but I performed it on COLORS [last summer]. During a show I did [recently] people knew the lyrics [to it], it was crazy. They knew it word for word,” she says. “It made me feel so warm, so good.”

For Ayra Starr, nothing is being done by force

Starr’s latest single ‘Sability’ once again showcases her signature unapologetic style, possessing a rhythmic dance beat that has already caught traction on TikTok and could very well become the soundtrack to the platform’s next dance trend. The song itself just makes its creator “happy”, though, and she’s keen to “share the feeling with the world”.

“I allow myself to be in the moment,” she tells NME about her current creative mindset. “I let myself be content wherever I am, so I can make music based on how I’m feeling. There’s a lot more pressure when you try to channel a feeling. I allow everything to be.”

The post Ayra Starr: “It’s amazing to know I represent Black African women and young girls” appeared first on NME.

NME

Jessie Ware’s gradual transformation into a daring, pearl necklace-donning diva has become one of pop music’s most heartwarming stories. The London artist, who broke through in 2012 with her Mercury-nominated debut ‘Devotion’, has spent the past few years responding to her inner desire to make a brazen and personality-fuelled revamp of her early, sophisticated soul sound, and has since turned her gaze towards flashy, 70s-style disco.

‘That! Feels Good!’, Ware’s fifth full-length effort, is a genuine triumph. A renewed sense of urgency – and enjoyment – pulses through this punchy, passionate record as its 10 songs dazzle with sexuality and unabashed confidence. “Freedom is a sound,” Ware sings on the brass-assisted title track, hinting at the winding journey she’s had to take in order to feel liberated as an artist. “I think it’s taken me a good 10 years to really feel comfortable in my skin, and to say that I am an artist,” she tells NME today, sat in her label’s office in north London. “But I am unbelievably proud of where I am now.”

NME sat down with the artist for the latest in our In Conversation series to reflect on the lessons Ware has learned while making her new album, and explore where she hopes to take her sound in the future.

NME: The past few years for you have been defined by a sense of transition. How do you feel you’ve grown as a musician?

Jessie Ware: “I think I finally know the artist I’m meant to be now, however kind of naff that may sound. I used to have this mad thing where I only used to be able to say that I was a ‘singer’. I wear so many different hats now, and I am so proud of all of the varied lives that I lead – they are all fun. I am enjoying myself now, and it is such an amazing job to have. I just wasn’t enjoying myself enough before, I was scared.

“There was a realisation around five years ago that the [Table Manners] podcast was its own entity and people were really enjoying it, which felt like a release [and] encouraged me to feel even more creative in the studio. Reconnecting with [Arctic Monkeys producer] James Ford was really amazing, and I love him so much – it was great to have him on the new album.”

In a recent interview, you discussed how your proudest achievement is “the revival of my musical career”. What does it mean to you to now be experiencing a new type of success?

“It means everything: I feel like I deserve to have a place here. I also don’t discount that I’m still lucky to be here. I was previously figuring myself out and making music I’m proud of, but the newer material feels like I completely have full autonomy. It feels good… perhaps that’s why the album is called that!”

‘That! Feels Good!’ really doubles down on the fun factor of 2020’s ‘What’s Your Pleasure?’. What kind of headspace were you in when you started work on your new record?

“I knew the next record I wanted to make as soon as I finished [the single] ‘Remember Where You Are’. I was like, ‘Right, OK. This feels different to the rest of ‘What’s Your Pleasure?’, and this is the momentum that’s going to drive me forward’. I wanted it to feel loose [and] more joyful than my last album did. There are far more fun moments on it; it’s a different kind of dance record, and maybe more groove-led. It’s going to make you dance, I hope!”

The title track features voice notes from a whole host of your friends. What was it like reaching out to everyone and asking them to contribute? 

“After we’d written ‘That! Feels Good!’, I said to James, ‘Look, I want it to feel cinematic from the start of the record; I want people to feel propelled into this world of pleasure’. So I just sent voice notes to lots of people! It was so funny to get their versions back, because a lot of people felt very prudish – but others were fully committed to the cause. It was so much fun putting them all together.

“I can’t believe that Kylie Minogue actually did it. I love her and regard her as a friend – but Kylie is Kylie! Bless her, she did it from Australia. Róisín Murphy was also brilliant – she sent her voice note in from an airport in Finland. I love the idea of someone being in a toilet next to Róisín and overhearing her say, ‘That feels good…’”

Kylie joined you on stage in London last year – was it hard to keep that a secret ahead of the show?

“Yes, because I’ve got a big mouth! There was zero pressure on her to come because it was her birthday that night, but Kylie lives for that shit! It was brilliant. I have never heard Brixton Academy scream so loud.”

‘That! Feels Good!’ was largely inspired by the live shows you put on last year, which culminated in a support slot for Harry Styles. How did it feel to see his fans embracing your music?

“It was wicked. We rose to the challenge, and adapted the live show that we had been playing a lot so we were like a well-oiled machine, which was great. I liked having to win people over and Styles’ fans are very generous, which was wonderful. I loved being in the arena – it was exhilarating.”

Speaking of performing, you recently revealed that you once turned down the opportunity to open for Prince. What happened there?

“I was supposed to be opening for him at a Birmingham gig. I knew he liked me because he used to do these livestreams as a DJ, and he started playing ‘Wildest Moments’. I was like, ‘Wow, Prince knows who I am!’ – it was the greatest compliment in the world. I know everyone has got a Prince story, and mine is that I never got to meet him because I annoyingly had to go to Greece to do a wedding recce! Look, my husband is semi-worth it… [laughs] but honestly, it’s a big regret.”

Looking to the future, what else is on your career bucket list?

“I’m looking forward to playing big festivals and really cementing myself as an artist that people want to see live. Maybe you don’t know about me but have heard that the live show is really good fun – it’s not supposed to be self-indulgent, it’s supposed to be a good time for everyone. That is something I love and cherish about live music, so that’s my true ambition: to be a brilliant live performer.”

Jessie Ware’s new album ‘That! Feels Good!’ is out now

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NME

Duran Duran have been an unstoppable force in British music since they formed in Birmingham in 1978. The new wave legends are now set to head out on the road again, with a UK and Ireland arena tour primed in support of their 15th studio album ‘Future Past’, which came out in 2021. Featuring sparkling electro bops co-written with Giorgio Moroder, Mark Ronson and Blur’s Graham Coxon, it entered the UK charts at number three, the band’s highest entry in 17 years.

The four-piece – singer Simon Le Bon, keyboardist Nick Rhodes, bassist John Taylor and drummer Roger Taylor – have a deep discography to draw from when it comes to assembling their 2023 setlist, but Duran Duran fans are guaranteed to hear era-defining hits like ‘The Reflex’, ‘Save A Prayer’ and ‘Ordinary World’. That’s because the band abide by the guiding principle that a third of their setlist “at most” should be given over to new music and more “esoteric” tracks.

“The rest has got to be songs that are really going to get people up – bangers,” Le Bon says when NME meets him and John Taylor at The Lower Third, a new grassroots music venue in central London. “We’re entertainers first and foremost, I think, and artistes second,” Taylor adds playfully. Lately, they’ve even been playing their classic banger ‘Girls On Film’ as a mash-up with Calvin Harris‘s ‘Acceptable In The 80s’. “I remember hearing that song for the first time, and thinking there was some kind of a sea change [happening],” Taylor says. “You know, it was a long time before the ’80s kind of got its dues, culturally.”

Duran Duran also got their dues back in November when they were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. “It hasn’t changed our values or the way we are with each other. But it has made people in America take us more seriously,” Le Bon explains. “And in a funny sort of way, that pisses me off. We should have been taken seriously like this before. Why do you need to have a badge that says this organisation thinks you’re cool? But that’s just the way it is.”

Ahead of their UK and Ireland tour, Le Bon and Taylor joined NME for a wide-ranging In Conversation interview in which they discuss Duran Duran’s next release, their changing attitude to artist collaborations, and when we can expect their long-overdue Glastonbury debut.

The band’s next release will be a “Halloween-themed project”

Due later this year, the record will feature new recordings of Duran Duran songs that feel “a bit dark or twisted”, according to Le Bon, alongside suitably spooky cover versions. “The plan is for there to be one or two [brand] new songs as well,” Taylor adds. 

This project isn’t being considered as the next “proper full studio” Duran Duran album, but it will feature guitar parts from Andy Taylor, who last played with the band in 2006. “Andy is in a very good place,” Le Bon says of his former bandmate, who revealed last year that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer. “He’s an incredibly creative guitarist, and it’s turning out really well.”

When Le Bon flew out to Ibiza, where Andy Taylor is now based, they recaptured their old musical spark immediately. “It was just straight into it – no prelims,” he says. “We’re the kind of friends and working partners who, you know, it just doesn’t fall apart ever.”

Giorgio Moroder really kept Duran Duran in line

The legendary Father of Disco co-produced two tracks on ‘Future Past’: the buoyant ‘Beautiful Lies’ and electro anthem ‘Tonight United’. But Moroder’s studio arrival provided quite a culture shock for the band, who had previously been working with British DJ-producer Erol Alkan. “It was like National Lampoon‘s fucking recording session [with Alkan],” Taylor says. “We were throwing things across the studio, it was so loud.”

Moroder’s approach was much calmer – and much quieter. “We had to behave ourselves!” Le Bon says. “And then this sort of unspoken agreement seemed to develop, which was: ‘Whatever Giorgio says, Giorgio gets.'”

This “unspoken agreement” even extended to Le Bon’s backing vocals on ‘Beautiful Lies’. “I came out of the studio and Giorgio is going, ‘No, no, no Simon, you’re singing a major third over a minor chord,’ the frontman recalls. “I said, ‘I’m in Duran Duran, I’m Simon Le Bon, I’ve made a career out of singing major thirds over minor chords’. And he just goes, ‘Not on my record’. And I just thought, ‘Hold that [objection] and do whatever he wants’. So I went back and did it his way. ”

Glastonbury is very much on Duran Duran’s bucket list

Surprisingly, these British pop legends have never played at the UK’s most iconic music festival. “I’d love to [do it] – we just need to get the right slot, that’s all,” says Le Bon. Though he doesn’t want to name the slot specifically, he will confirm that it has to be on the Pyramid Stage.

“We have had the chance to do it before, but it wasn’t playing the main stage and I think we’d like to be doing that for sure,” Le Bon adds. “I’m sure we’re in negotiations [with Glastonbury], and if not, we will be.”

Duran Duran have come full circle when it comes to having guests on their records

For years, the band held out against collaborations, mainly because Le Bon was acutely aware that “it’s always the vocal that gets shared”. But on ‘Future Past’ they enlisted guest artists as varied as Japanese punk band Chai, Swedish pop alchemist Tove Lo and UK drill rapper Ivorian Doll.

According to Taylor and Le Bon, teaming with Kelis on 2010’s ‘The Man Who Stole A Leopard’, a six-minute epic co-produced by Mark Ronson, was a game-changing moment. They also loved collaborating with Janelle Monáe on 2015’s ‘Pressure Off!’, a glistening pop-funk single that also featured Nile Rodgers.

“Suddenly we were like, ‘This is great fun!'” Taylor says. “Having people come in, especially towards the end of a project when everybody’s a little bit tired [and] running out of ideas and patience, can be really inspiring.”

Le Bon is proud to have championed Wet Leg from the off

The singer co-hosts WHOOOSH!, a weekly music podcast on SiriusXM with longtime Duran Duran associate Katy Krassner. They played Wet Leg‘s storming debut single ‘Chaise Longue’ on their show soon after it dropped in June 2021, before Le Bon later named the Isle of Wight duo as his artist of the year.

“I was so convinced that [Wet Leg] were the real thing, and particularly that ‘Chaise Longue’ was something very, very special,” he recalls. “The minute I heard it, I just knew that it was a hit. And so it doesn’t surprise me that they [went on to be] so successful. I feel kind of slightly vindicated.” What did Le Bon think was so special about ‘Chaise Longue’? “Well, the vocal delivery for starters,” he says. “You know, we live in a time when there’s a lot of artists doing spoken word stuff, so to do something that stands out and is decent and different is difficult.”

Le Bon also points out that post-punk bands Dry Cleaning and Snapped Ankles manage to pull off a similar trick. “But also the guitar,” he adds, returning to Wet Leg. “It had an absolutely driving rock guitar and this beat that kind of pinned you down. I love music like that.”

Duran Duran’s UK and Ireland headline arena tour begins on April 29 at Manchester’s AO Arena – any remaining tickets are available here.

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NME

Back in the early days of New Hope Club, the UK trio were given a valuable piece of advice by one of the music industry’s leading fountains of knowledge. The trouble is, though, they can’t remember exactly what CHIC‘s Nile Rodgers actually had to say to them – they were too busy staring at their hero to truly take his words in.

While Reece Bibby, Blake Richardson and George Smith’s collective memory is hazy in terms of recalling the first time they got starstruck, the pop three-piece do remember their early brushes with boy bands (Take That, Westlife) growing up, as well as revealing how much of an initial inspiration The Beatles were on their sound.

Elsewhere in their ‘Firsts’ interview, New Hope Club reflect on multiple cases of mistaken identity, begging their parents for band t-shirts and the worst song they’ve ever written together.

Smith also admits to being terrified of the wholesome 1982 classic E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, much to his bandmates’ horror: “It’s not scary at all, and I’ve still never seen it… The opening scene I watched when I was really young, and I got scared of him running through the bushes… that scared me so much.”

“George,” despairs Bibby. “E.T is so wholesome. It’s about getting this alien home!”

Check back at NME soon for more Firsts interviews with some of music’s biggest names. For now, though, you can revisit our recent Firsts interviews with the likes of Liam Gallagher, Interpol, Lucy Dacus, Måneskin and NIKI.

New Hope Club’s new single ‘Just Don’t Know It Yet’ is out now

The post New Hope Club talk NME through their ‘Firsts’ appeared first on NME.

NME

NF doesn’t sit down for many interviews, but when he does, things tend to get pretty deep. The American rapper, born Nathan Feuerstein, is every bit as candid in person as he is on record, where he documents his ongoing mental health journey with brutal, utterly unbridled honesty. “Livin’ in my agony, watchin’ my self-esteem go up in flames,” he raps on ‘Happy’, a soul-baring highlight from his fifth album ‘Hope’, which dropped on April 7. “Acting like I don’t care what anyone else thinks, when I know truthfully that’s the furthest thing from how I feel.”

The Michigan rapper, who just turned 32-years-old, describes writing and recording as “therapy” and “an outlet” for him, then tells NME philosophically: “Sometimes [other] people will like it, sometimes they will not. But if I love it, then I’m good.” It’s an admirable attitude, but it’s fair to say that people like what NF does a lot. Both of his last two albums – 2017’s ‘Perception’ and 2019’s ‘The Search’ – entered the Billboard 200 chart at Number One, cementing his status as a grassroots success story who has taken the music industry by surprise.

It’s an image he playfully embraces in the brilliant video for ‘Motto’, the second single from his new album, which finds him pricking the pomposity of awards ceremonies. “Might catch me at the award show, eatin’ popcorn in the back row”, NF raps as he is escorted out of the auditorium for being disruptive. It’s a tongue-in-cheek moment, but his point is clear: he doesn’t make music just to fill up his trophy cabinet.

NF may have racked up more than 30 billion streams globally, but this isn’t his barometer of success either. “I always say to people: ‘Man, when it comes to touring, that’s kind of the final step where people decide how invested they are in you and your career,” he says.  “Nowadays, it’s harder than ever to get people to think, ‘Oh, I want to check out that artist and actually go and see them live.’ So to me, that’s the last step where someone’s like: ‘I love this. I’m committed.'”

For the latest instalment of NME’s In Conversation series, NF talks about becoming a father (he and wife Bridgette welcomed a son in 2021), collaborating with in-demand singer-songwriter Julia Michaels on the hard-hitting ‘Hope’ track ‘Gone’, and how OCD affected his creative process this time around.

NME: What story are you trying to tell with the ‘Motto’ video? What is the concept?

NF: “Sometimes I just like to poke fun at our industry… I feel like the older I get, the less I care about certain things. Some people tried to make [the video] about ‘oh, you’re knocking certain artists’, but it’s not about that. It’s like, if you’re an artist and you get a Grammy, that’s a big deal to a lot of people. I’m not saying if I ever got a Grammy, I wouldn’t care at all. I’m just saying I care way less about those things than I used to. I would much rather sell out arenas and be doing big things behind the scenes than, like, get a Grammy. Some people will probably be like, ‘Oh, that’s just because you don’t have one.’ But it’s like, no.”

Is it hard to pause and think, ‘Wow, what I’ve achieved is amazing’ when you’re on that constant industry treadmill?

“Well, I think you have to think about the future. It’s not bad to do that; it’s just the way I do it is bad. It’s not bad to perfect your craft and work really hard on your music videos. Problem is, [with] all this stuff, I obsess on it so much that by the time I actually get it done, I’m so exhausted that I just didn’t enjoy any of it because I obsessed about it so much.

“I have terrible OCD – I’ve talked about it in interviews – but before this album, it didn’t really affect my work. Or if it affected my work, [it wasn’t so bad that] I couldn’t finish things. Now it’s gotten kind of worse, and so I struggled to finish things. If I don’t think something’s good enough, I’ll just obsess about it… and that’s why I got so many songs that I just never finished. OCD creates a box where [it’s] like: ‘Here’s all the perimeters that you can’t get out of. Here’s why that’s not gonna work.’ And then eventually, I couldn’t write anything. There were months when I couldn’t write any songs.”

How did you break out of that space? How did you get through it?

“I just tortured myself, every day, [by] trying to write. I tried to wait for inspiration, which I don’t usually do, but I did that when I got really desperate. I tried to write, write and write until something popped up. That’s what I normally do, and then it’ll end up happening. And then after, like, months of that, I was like: ‘Alright, maybe I need to just take a break for three days or something.’ Which I’m not good at doing either… That didn’t help. So, I don’t even know how I did it. I think I just kept going until I finally was like, ‘OK, I can do this thing.’ But yeah, I’ve got to figure out, moving forward, how to change that. My favourite thing to do [before] was to record and write music, but on this project, it just felt a lot harder… I felt like the pressure – because it had been so long [since the last album] – was more than it ever had been. Naturally, after you’ve released so many songs and videos, you’re like, ‘What am I going to talk about now?’ But I’m excited about the future. And I’m excited for people to hear this record because I think there’s definitely some big, powerful songs.”

You talk about becoming a dad on the record. How has that experience changed you as a person and an artist?

“I’m definitely still growing. I feel like I’ll have some songs in the future that touch on it more, because this was all kind of happening while I was in the process of [making] this record. But I would say one of the biggest things is this: having a kid, you have to look at your issues even more, because now you’re raising a human being, I feel like you can’t run from it as much…  I’m an impatient person, [but my son] makes me look at myself and say, ‘Man, I need to figure this thing out about myself.’ I’m definitely not perfect. But I do think having a kid is like everyone says: until you have one, you just don’t know what it’s like. And I will say that it is definitely a real thing, but in an amazing way. Like dude, I love my son so much.”

How did the Julia Michaels collaboration on ‘Gone‘ come about?

“I haven’t met her, but I probably scared her to death because I sent her this really terrible, like, voice memo thing. [It was just] the chords and me singing my idea [for my song]. In my brain, I know what I’m gonna do, but if I was an artist and someone sent me that, I’d be like, ‘Can you elaborate on this idea? I’m a little worried.’ But no, she was cool. I sent her that and just said, ‘Here’s the vibe. What do you think?’ And then I ended up getting the actual studio recording over to her, so she wrote her verse and it was amazing – she killed it. She is crazy, man. Like, you can just tell that she’s a writer.”

Do you see each of your projects as a chapter in your life story?

“Definitely. Kind of like a book. But just like [with] movies, it’s [about] trying to pace things properly. But also, you’re writing about your real life, so sometimes you feel like a movie’s supposed to be pacing a certain way, but your life’s not pacing that way. Even creatively, I don’t want to write a million records that are depressing. But like, if that’s what I feel like, I don’t know how to not write that way. I think sometimes I get caught up in that because I’m like, ‘Man, creatively, I feel like people need to hear something different from me. I want to hear something different from me.’ Some days [while making this album], I kept trying to be like, ‘Oh, it needs to be positive, it needs to be positive.’ But I don’t always feel positive just because I’m on this journey of trying to be better. And so it was like, ‘Man, I don’t always feel positive. I still have terrible days and then I have great days.'”

NF’s ‘Hope’ is out now via NF Real Music/Virgin Music/EMI Records

The post NF: “Sometimes I just like to poke fun at the music industry” appeared first on NME.

NME

Niall Horan’s ‘Heaven’ is a celebration of living life to the fullest. The soaring alt-rock tune – which acts as the lead single from his upcoming album ‘The Show’ – sees him reflect on the pressure society places to live your life in a certain way (“It’s hard to be a human/So much to put an answer to”), ultimately affirming it’s better to ignore the external forces pushing you to do things traditionally (“God only knows, where this could go/And even if our love starts to grow outta control”).

This manifesto is delivered over spiralling, folk-flecked instrumentals. Layers of swooning backing vocals are meshed with ebullient synth licks; and although the chorus’ lilting “God only knows…” refrain isn’t a direct reference to The Beach Boys’ classic, the American rockers have had an enduring impact on the former One Directioner.

“That kind of music is a heavy influence of mine,” Horan explains to NME, discussing his forthcoming record in a spacious West London photo studio. He’s midway through a busy day of press, yet despite the jam-packed schedule he’s eager to discuss new material and the upcoming release of ‘The Show’. “I recorded my first album in the studio they did [‘Pet Sounds’, at EastWest Studios in LA], and I’m obsessed with anything Laurel Canyon and that ‘60s, ‘70s stuff that was going on there. I grew up on that.” He’s quick to add: “I’m not saying I’m writing songs that sound exactly like that, but for instance on the album you hear a lot of backing vocals and I’m big on that because of the stuff that I grew up on.”

‘The Show’, Horan’s third album, is being released in June, and features these nostalgia-flecked sounds through a modern filter. From the cantering pop-rock of ‘Meltdown’, to the psych-laced ‘On a Night Like Tonight’, it’s the sort of music that’s designed to be played live with a roaring band and to a crowd of revellers singing along. This is just as well: later this year Horan will embark on a string of festival shows which includes Isle of Wight Festival and TRNSMT, in what’ll be his live festival debut.

As he gears up for ‘The Show’’s release, Horan sat down with NME for the latest in our In Conversation series to discuss making the record, his summer of festival appearances, and who would be in his dream supergroup.

Hey Niall. Your third record ‘The Show’ is out in a few months. When did work begin on it?

“When the pandemic was going on I just wrote down ‘The Show’ because it felt like we were on some sort of The Truman Show or in some weird reality. In September or October of that first year [of the pandemic] when I actually felt a tiny bit creative, I was like: ‘I should probably start writing’. I just wrote a song, and if it wasn’t any way good, we probably still wouldn’t have an album at any point now. I needed that one to get me out the gate.”

Which song was that?

“‘The Show’. I had that written down as a concept, thinking that would be my album title. The chorus is basically saying if everything was easy and nothing ever broke, would we realise how good we had it all along, and that sort of summed up the pandemic. We lost all our control we like to have as humans. That was going to be the through line [for the album], the show being a metaphor for our lives.”

I read somewhere that you described this record as the album of a 30-year-old.

“The last time I wrote an album I did less thinking. You don’t in your early 20s, you don’t think too much at all ­– well I didn’t anyway, probably just immaturity of me. But I think with pandemics and relationships and things like that, you subconsciously grow as a person. And then production wise and what I’m saying [lyrically], it just sounds like something that a 30-year-old would release. Not a youthful version of what I did before.

Were there any tracks you had grand production plans for, but you decided to keep stripped back?

“There’s a couple, but mainly ‘You Could Start a Cult’. That’s very obviously a “me” song. I had all these ideas where I was going to have a full female choir and it was going to have all these strings and loads of backing vocals on what’s effectively a folk song. It was the last song [we made], and at that point we’d dressed up so many songs, and my producer John [Ryan] was just like: ‘no, this is where we have the acoustic moment’. The song says a lot but is a really small song, and that was really sweet.”

‘You Could Start a Cult’ is a great song title as well. What influenced it lyrically?

“I watch a lot of true crime with my girlfriend [laughs]. It’s a lot of that kind of thing, and I just wrote it down one night when we were watching something, because it’s a big thought. I thought it was funny initially: you could literally start a cult, and I’d follow you into the fire. It started as a joke and became this really sweet song, it is funny.”

This summer you’ll be taking the album on tour for your live festival debut. How are you preparing?

“I go to so many festivals and go to Glastonbury every year, and I just get so jealous watching it. Knowing what that must look like to look out and see the big field of people. I guess one of the main reasons I wanted to do them was to try and get newer fans onboard. I’ve been that fella who’s been hammered walking around a field in my wellies going to the bar and then stopped at a band I’ve never heard of, or seen an artist for the first time I’ve never heard of, and then being a big fan in the end. I want some of those drunk people to walk past and think ‘I’d listen to that album again’.”

Do you relish the challenge of having to win people over?

“Yeah kinda. Because you know what it’s like at a festival, all the big fans are down the front and they’re in the first 200 deep. So you’re playing to them, but you’re also playing to the wider audience who are not necessarily there for you. I’m excited about that. We’ll have fun on stage, and we’ll be playing the new record so it’ll be exciting anyway; we’re playing live for the first time in years. Playing for the fans and seeing them, and hopefully a few more people get an album or something like that [or] come to a gig further down the line.”

You mentioned Glastonbury – is playing there on your bucket list?

“At some point I’d absolutely love to, yeah. I won’t be doing it this year, but yeah if the Eavis family are listening out, give me a shout.”

Recently your pal Lewis Capaldi said that his dream supergroup would be you, Ed Sheeran, Elton John and himself.

“That’s some group!”

Who would be in yours?

“Well now I have to put him in it. Me and him, with…that’s a great question. Elton’s a legend to be fair. In all senses of the word. Lewis and I have got to know Elton a bit, and he’s so funny. And Dave Grohl. Dave Grohl, myself, Elton John and Lewis Capaldi. What a line-up!”

Niall Horan’s ‘The Show’ is out June 9 via Capitol Records

The post Niall Horan: “The last time I wrote an album I did less thinking” appeared first on NME.

NME

Kele Okereke’s ‘Vandal’ makes a bold statement. From its sonics, which fuse rigid math-rock and loose funk, to the artwork that sees Okereke burning a copy of The Smiths’ album ‘The Queen is Dead’, it’s an unabashed offering – the sort of powerhouse track that could only be made by an artist wanting to shake up the world’s order.

The lead single from the Bloc Party frontman’s sixth solo album ‘The Flames Pt. 2’, the rest of the record follows suit. The new LP is a sequel to 2021’s ‘The Waves Pt. 1’, and while NME described its predecessor as “light on words, heavy on meditation”, ‘The Flames Pt. 2’ is more restless and urgent.

“For the previous 15, 20 years I’d been a touring musician and [then the pandemic hit and] all of that came to an end” Okereke reflects, speaking to NME in his publicist’s office in North London. Working on ‘The Waves’ during the Covid-19 lockdown, he explains that it: “was really about an outlet to express a feeling of being lost at sea. I didn’t really know what was happening, [but] through documenting it, I was able to see a path through it.”

For ‘The Flames Pt. 2’ it was different. “I knew there needed to be a sense of action with whatever the follow up were to be. It needed to feel a lot closer in your face” he explains, adding: “’The Flames’ is much more of a call to action, realising that you had to summon something from within yourself if you wanted things to change.”

Ahead of the album’s release, Okereke sat down with NME for the latest in our In Conversation series to go deep on creating the record, and to discuss the influence of SOPHIE, the evolving legacy of Bloc Party and supporting Paramore on their upcoming tour. Here’s what we learned.

‘The Flames Pt. 2’ is the second album in a four-part series

‘The Waves Pt. 1’ and ‘The Flames Pt. 2’ are the first two releases in a four-part series, with Okereke revealing to NME that part three will be titled ‘The Singing Winds’. The series is his first foray into creating a more conceptual project, with the interconnected albums linked by the four elements, fire, water, earth and wind “and how their qualities can resonate throughout us”.

“What I’m most excited about is the idea of all four of the records working together, as some of the songs, the themes and the characters will be reappearing throughout the project,” he says.

While it may have been Okereke’s first substantial foray into concept-central albums, these projects do have a precedent. “‘Hymns’ [Bloc Party’s fifth album] was a very interesting record for me as it was the first time I looked internally, at the things that I held sacred” he explains. “These albums are a continuation of that way of thinking.”

SOPHIE was a major influence on ‘The Flames Pt. 2’

Across both Okereke’s solo records and Bloc Party’s inimitable catalogue there is an evolving taste in music influences, from ‘Silent Alarm’ which draws from ’70s post-punk, to the synth-pop that colours a lot of Okereke’s solo releases, including ‘The Flames Pt. 2’. So, what has he been listening to recently? “I’ve been listening to this little-known artist, Beyoncé…have you heard of her?” he says with a laugh. Scrolling through the recently played on his phone, he adds: “I went to the ABBA musical, which blew my mind a bit”, also quoting Doechii as someone he’s been into recently.

Another artist Okereke’s been listening to, and who had a major influence on writing ‘The Flames Pt. 2’, is SOPHIE, the pioneering hyper-pop producer who sadly passed away in 2021. “I was listening to the music of SOPHIE a lot in lockdown when I felt I needed to dance. I couldn’t go out to dance, so it became very special to me,” he explains.

His relationship with touring has changed

When the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020 it put live shows and touring on pause, and although for Okereke being grounded was initially a shock to the system, after adapting to the ‘new normal’ going back to life on the road elicits some hesitance. “I’m finding touring a lot harder these days, hence I haven’t really done so much of it” he reflects.

“We have two children, and our son was six months old at the start of the first lockdown, so I’ve been home the whole time and realised that I liked that,” he explains. “I like waking up in the same bed and having routines.”

There are positives though: “I don’t want to sound ungrateful. As a young person it was a beautiful way to see the world and meet lots of people, and to share the things that you’ve made with people, and to see how what you’ve made brings joy to people. It’s a lovely thing”.

He concludes: “So it’s not all bad; but at this point in my life, we can cut right back on the amount of touring”.

Being called an “elder statesman” of indie makes him feel old

Alongside six solo albums, Okereke is also celebrated as a co-founding member of indie legends Bloc Party. The group arguably defined the British-indie boom of the mid-noughties, with an influence that is still seen in 2023.

With Bloc Party’s debut album ‘Silent Alarm’ now edging closer to its 20-year anniversary, does Okereke feel like an ‘elder statesman’ of indie? “[that] makes me feel old!” he laughs. “I’m completely thankful that [Silent Alarm] connected with people; but it’s at that point when I hear any record that we’ve made, I hear the things I’d do differently if I had the opportunity to do it again.”

“But that’s the same with every record, and that’s why I think I’ve made so many records over the years,” he adds. “That says more about me than the record – I’m a restless person.”

Bloc Party’s enduring influence is more apparent than ever

Paramore have spoken extensively about how Bloc Party influenced their latest album ‘This Is Why’. Speaking about them on her podcast Everything Is Emo last year, vocalist Hayley Williams said: “From day one, Bloc Party was the number one reference [when writing new music] because there was such an urgency to their sound that was different to the fast punk or the pop punk or the like, loud wall of sound emo bands that were happening in the early 2000s.”

Later this year Bloc Party will be joining Paramore on the road, supporting them at their upcoming arena dates. How does it feel to get such high praise from the pop-rock powerhouses? “It’s lovely. They’ve said so many nice things about our records”.

“Our drummer Louise is a big fan so has been giving me lots of recommendations of things to listen to, so I’m looking forward to getting stuck in.”

It’s not only Paramore who are digging into the Bloc Party discography though. Recently Okereke has found that their more recent albums are gaining a lot of attention among younger audiences. “Bloc Party have been writing in the last week, and I’ve been getting the tube with my guitar. I got on the tube, and someone stopped me and pulled up his phone to show me he was listening to a song from our record ‘Four’.” On the same journey he was later stopped again: “That was interesting to see as for the most part you can go about your day without thinking about what you do…I think it was maybe because I was holding a guitar!”

Kele Okereke’s ‘The Flames Pt. 2’ is out now

The post Five things we learned from our In Conversation video chat with Kele Okereke appeared first on NME.

NME

Fall Out Boy always knew that if they were going to make an eighth album, it had to be worth it. “We wanted to make an album that felt like it made it worthwhile to go and tour it,” bassist Pete Wentz explains to NME. “A ‘whatever’ album from Fall Out Boy 20 years in is probably not worth making.”

We’re speaking to Wentz, who is sat alongside his bandmates Patrick Stump (vocals/guitar) and Andy Hurley (drums) – the band’s final member, guitarist Joe Trohman, is temporarily “stepping away” from the group to focus on his mental health – in a plush London hotel the day after their intimate show at Heaven, with talk naturally turning to the conception of the band’s new record, ‘So Much (For) Stardust’. “By the pandemic Pete didn’t want to do a record, but right at the end of [previous record] ‘Mania’ I didn’t want to do one,” Stump reflects. “I think because I’d said that, everyone backed off.”

With no expectations and no external pressures, the band were instead free to focus on the music. “That’s what’s inspiring: when the music leads,” says Wentz, and Stump agrees: “There weren’t gears turning, it was just the music. It was just driven by that.” Hurley, smiling, concludes: “I’ve always told these guys, ‘If it bleeds, it leads’. And if there wasn’t blood coursing through these songs’ veins, I didn’t want to be part of it.”

‘So Much (For) Stardust’ is a confident return. Having teamed up with producer Neal Avron (who worked on early FOB albums like 2005’s ‘From Under The Cork Tree’) and released it via Fueled By Ramen (who put out the band’s 2003 debut ‘Take This To Your Grave’), you might expect this record to hark back to the band’s early material – but an album steeped in nostalgia this is not. While there are elements of the sound that won the band so many fans so early on, they’re pushed and pulled through bold new sonics and influences. ‘What A Time To Be Alive’, for instance, combines euphoric funk with brutal lyrics (“They say that I should try meditation / But I don’t want to be with my own thoughts“), while ‘Heartbreak Feels So Good’ is a soaring rock anthem which subtly utilises bouncing hip-hop synths.

For the latest instalment of NME’s In Conversation series, Fall Out Boy joined us to go deep on their new record, discuss their upcoming arena shows and reveal their proudest career achievements to date.

NME: It’s been over five years since your last album ‘Mania’, and things have changed a lot since then. When you set out to make this new album, what did you want to achieve?

Pete: “We wanted to make an album that felt like it made it worthwhile to go and tour it. A ‘whatever’ album from Fall Out Boy 20 years in is probably not worth making. There were starts and stops and people were on different pages, [and] it wasn’t until we got on the same page that the songs were really the right songs.”

Patrick: “There’s also a real tangibility to it. In the middle of the pandemic all of a sudden everything was a Zoom meeting, or you had NFTs and all this other stuff, and there was this moment where nothing existed. We wanted to make a record that was very tangible, that was very live in terms of instruments. What you hear on the record, somebody had to perform.”

Let’s dig into some of the songs. ‘I Am My Own Muse’ features Danny Elfman-like orchestral arrangements. Was he an influence there?

Patrick: “He’s been an influence forever. I’m a musician almost exclusively because of 1989’s Batman, because it’s Danny Elfman and Prince. I watched that movie a billion times, and I soaked up that score. That was a huge, huge influence on me, and I feel like everything branches off from that. Now it’s more overt in that it’s orchestra, but it’s always been there.”

‘What A Time To Be Alive’ is so much fun, and sounds like it’ll go off live. Was its live impact a consideration when you were writing it?

Patrick: “That was surprisingly one of the first songs written for the album: it was written before COVID. It’s wild when you read a lot of those lyrics. There’s one section towards the end that was written after COVID, but the rest of the song existed beforehand. Pete had sent these lyrics and it exploded to me, it just spoke to me. Where I read them, I was like: ‘I want to make this into the darkest, bleakest, most miserable song that you would dance to at a wedding’.”

Pete: “It’s a new year’s song for the worst year of all time.”

Patrick: “Because that’s what these years have felt like, and it’s like you still have to go on, you still have to go to the wedding. There’s a tongue-in-cheek element of it that is very much part of the statement to me, of we’re all stuck in this moment and it’s overwhelming. I didn’t necessarily think about playing it live, but I thought about the wink-and-nod element of it, that when people hear it [for the first time] you might not notice how desperately bleak it is.”

You have some arena shows lined up across the UK, Europe and the US. How are you planning to translate the album to that stage?

Pete: “The last tour we did, ‘Hella Mega’, was a really big tour, but we played an hour-long set sandwiched between these huge, legendary bands [Green Day and Weezer]. So this will be our time going out and trying to play the biggest version of these songs. In the past five or six years, we’ve done these giant video shows that are awesome. It feels like we’re one of the bands that is sandwiched in both eras of rock bands from before and modern hip-hop, and our stage show has really lent itself to this. So maybe it’s time for us to do some kind of more art project [stage show] as we’re going out on our own. I don’t know exactly what it is, but it’s something that’s tangible.”

One of your upcoming support acts are The Academy Is…, who recently reunited. Is William Beckett going to join you for ‘What a Catch, Donnie’?

Pete: “That song is so hard to play! I thought it’d maybe be fun to play ‘Sophomore Slump [or Comeback of the Year]’, which he’s also on.”

Patrick: “Oh yeah, I totally forgot about that!”

Pete: “Maybe we should have road-tested it [during the small UK shows earlier this month]. I thought that could be a fun one.”

Patrick: “We’ll see, though. We try as often as possible not to be too predictable, so I don’t know if ‘What A Catch, Donnie’ is too on the nose.”

Brendon Urie was also on that song. Panic! At The Disco have just finished their final-ever tour – does it feel like the end of an era?

Pete: “I think so. Obviously, Panic! changed so much between members, sonically and what it was; they’ve felt like mini-chapters [that] have opened and closed. But clearly I think that as far as Brendon wanting to live a more private life and be a dad, in that regard a new chapter for him has started, which I can really appreciate being a dad [myself]. Everybody’s journey is unto yourself, so it’s going to be so different. I have a lot of respect for him making that decision.”

And finally, it’s 20 years since Fall Out Boy’s debut ‘Take This To Your Grave’ was released. You’re now eight albums in, you’ve toured the world and headlined festivals like Reading & Leeds. What are you most proud of?

Pete: “I thought about this earlier as we were talking about it, and to me… listen, we were a really weird punk band that came out of hardcore, randomly ended up on TRL and were shot into this vortex of [the mainstream]. I’m just so happy we made it out as the same four guys. I’m most proud we exist 20 years in and we’re talking about music we made this year. That’s pretty cool.”

Andy: “That, or when I caught the touchdown pass from Doug Flutie at the fly football game. That was pretty cool, too.”

Fall Out Boy’s ‘So Much (For) Stardust’ is out now via Fueled By Ramen

The post Fall Out Boy: “A ‘whatever’ album from Fall Out Boy 20 years in is not worth making” appeared first on NME.