Interview — The Kooks
Music Like A Good Friend
With “Let's Go Sunshine”, The Kooks have just released an album that feels both refreshingly new and fun. In our interview with the band’s frontman Luke Pritchard, he discusses the importance of bringing some light and positivity into the world. And he tells how he managed to revive his late father's voice on the new record.
31. August 2018 — MYP N° 23 »Instinct« — Interview: Jonas Meyer, Photography: Steven Lüdtke
When we initially met Luke Pritchard back in the spring of 2015 for our first interview, the frontman seemed rather pensive. At the time, The Kooks had just released their fourth album “Listen”. After three “extremely turbulent years” leading up to the release of the new record, Luke explained that this album felt like a “fresh start”: The band has been through several ups and downs throughout their more than a decade-long career, but for Luke that time felt especially difficult. So, the work on “Listen” was a “catharsis” for the band: a spiritual cleansing. In terms of form and content, The Kooks placed into question everything that was before and decorated the cover of their album with the illustration of a torn-out heart. Pritchard told us that this heart was not just a symbol of the fragility of the human soul, but also stood for what he had experienced privately in the years before.
We recently met with Luke Pritchard to discuss the band’s latest album, “Let’s Go Sunshine”. “Sunshine”—now we’ll be cheesy for short—seems like an apt title for the band’s brand-new record, and mirrors Luke’s facial expression to which he welcomed us when we met back in June. The severity of three years ago has given way to serenity: the frontman seems at peace with himself—and it seems as if this time round, Luke feels “no pressure”, which also happens to be the title of one of the songs on the new album.
We carried out our interview in the showroom of Gibson Guitars in Berlin-Mitte. Luke remarks how his father once had a Gibson guitar at home as well. Although his father had passed away when he was a young boy, the band have managed to recover several voice recordings of Luke’s dad using the latest technology. On “Let’s Go Sunshine”, both father and son duet together on the song “Honey Bee”. What a moment!
In any case, “Let’s Go Sunshine” is a great album, not only for diehard fans. The band has managed to translate their typical The Kooks sound into 2018. If you hear the new record in the car, you’ll inevitably start tapping your feet and drumming on your thighs. This album is just a lot of fun, but without being irrelevant at any point. From “All The Time” to “Fractured And Dazed” to “No Pressure”, The Kooks deliver an emphatic mix of sounds and lyrics—with hooks that you’ll be hooked on.
“Let’s Go Sunshine” stands firmly on the ground with both legs and does not look back, but with full confidence to the front; music that feels like a good friend. Most likely, that’s the reason why Luke Pritchard can’t help but wear a satisfied smile on his face just before the release of this new album.
»›Let’s Go Sunshine‹ was emotionally a lot more stable than our previous album.«
Jonas:
When we met in 2015 for our first interview, you had just released your record “Listen”. Back then, you told me that you had gone through a hard time, what you called a process of “destruction and recreation”. You described that working on that record felt “cathartic”, like a cleansing of the soul. Three years later, with your latest record “Let’s Go Sunshine” due to be released, how would you describe the creative process this time round?
Luke:
Creating the new record was like going back to the ethos I started with in a sense. “Listen” was like destroying anything I knew about music and doing it in a completely different way. The new album was about “bang chemistry” and about going back to writing songs and focusing on the lyrics—just a really different process. “Listen” was very impulsive, it was literally like a lot of times just me in flow with the computer…
Jonas:
… and created in California with all its vibe.
Luke:
Yeah! “Let’s Go Sunshine” was emotionally a lot more stable than our previous album. I think you can hear it… Everyone in the band was feeling good and positive, we were really enjoying it—the mental state of all of us was probably clearer.
Jonas:
I have to state that you smile and laugh more than three years ago.
Luke:
Yes, I definitely do smile more…
»When I was growing up, being in a band was kind of a working-class thing.«
Jonas:
…many people say that we’re facing darker times than three years ago. In 2015, the world seemed to be in a very different place—in terms of politics, in terms of society, in terms of war and peace. As artists, are you able to detach and free yourself from all the shit that always has been going on in the world?
Luke:
No one really can; it seeps into what you do—but that’s our job, isn’t it? As songwriters or performers, our job is to bring a bit of light and a bit of positivity into the world and to allow people to escape—to share their angst. There’s a few songs on our new album that are definitely spiking out the frustration.
We’re living in a mad time. The UK is becoming harder and harder to live in. We have a very militant, right-wing Tory government. There’s a lot of greed—it feels like money is taking over. At the same time, culture is kind of being left in the dirt… All of that is very frustrating. Even as being a band, on a very small level. There are not as many places to play, there isn’t as much help. Unless your parents are rich, it’s very hard to become a successful artist nowadays—that’s a big deal. If you look at all the latest successful singers from the UK, it’s actually really fascinating: a lot of the megastars, they all had really rich parents. They can afford to spend the time working on music. When I was growing up, being in a band was kind of a working-class thing, whether it’s the Gallagher brothers or Paul McCartney. Today it’s definitely different and that’s really sad… It’s up to us to change it and we can. We have to believe that.
»We wanted to do a fucking great guitar record!«
Jonas:
Listening to your new record feels like meeting an old friend again after a few years of not seeing them. When you meet that old friend, something feels different; they’re stronger, more confident. You try to figure out what’s changed, and you realise that they’ve just grown up. What is it what made you grow as The Kooks and what is it that has helped you to stay who you are?
Luke:
I like that analogy a lot! You have to regard the journey that we’ve come on—and that I’ve personally come on to be right here. You can’t differentiate the album, and the work on it, from this journey…
Jonas:
…but how do you manage certain expectations of people who want The Kooks to remain the same and fans who want The Kooks to progress and evolve?
Luke:
For us, this album really was about us doing what we do best. We were progressing in the sense of doing things better. There’s a lot more orchestration and layering on the album. That said, it is unashamedly The Kooks—even the album title. I wanted it to be one that was like call it up in your face about what The Kooks is. I think that “No Pressure” particularly, on the first songs, is so us, but it also is sonically maybe a progression. We don’t feel a fight about it. We wanted to do something else and we did something else than we did on “Listen”. Don’t misunderstand me, “Listen” was great. But with “Let’s Go Sunshine” we wanted to do a guitar record, a fucking great guitar record! (laughs)
Jonas:
By now, you have released three songs from the new album: “All The Time”, “No Pressure” and “Fractured And Dazed”. The music videos that introduce these three songs on YouTube put the lyrics into the spotlight. Are words today more important to you than ever before?
Luke:
On this album, I probably thought more about the lyrics than ever before. And I had a lot of fun with that! There’s a lot to play with these lyrics because each song has a real meaning, a real part. I think that, more than a vibe thing, the songwriting was massively considered to me this time. On our previous albums, we were quite impulsive, especially on “Listen”. It was very much me acting like a rapper: I was just writing words and singing them. Whereas with our new album, there’s characters—like Catherine in “Tesco Disco”, for example. There’s a message. And there’s an overriding positivity!
Jonas:
When we met in 2015, we also talked about the typeface of your logo: this font has been a constant element that has always been with you since the very first day. Now it has changed, and it seems that you made the typeface dance a little bit. What was your purpose to change something that was so elementary for you over all the years?
Luke:
The previous logo was like a stamp, quite simple. So, it felt that it was time for us to have a change: we wanted our logo to be a little more playful. “Let’s Go Sunshine” is an exciting new record and a new chapter, that’s the reason why the redesign of our logo just felt right.
»The reason why I’m a musician is that, when my dad died, I was left with his books, his records, and his guitars.«
Jonas:
On this new record, there’s a song called “Honey Bee” that is especially touching. You made your dad sing with you who died when you were a child. Do you remember what kind of person your father was?
Luke:
I was three when he died, I didn’t really know him, unfortunately, so creating that song was a magic moment for me. I really think that the reason why I’m a musician is that, when my dad died, I was left with his books, his records, and his guitars. He had a Gibson Les Paul guitar in the corner and lots of records from Eddie Cochran, Albert Lee, Bob Dylan, The Beatles—that lineage back to the 60s really comes from him. That’s how I got to know him, I got to know him through that.
I didn’t know that we actually could put his vocal in. I just had the idea in the studio, it was kind of an afterthought. When we saw that we could realise it, it was very emotional to me. “Honey Bee” was the last song that I sang for the record and it was just overwhelming.
Jonas:
Your new album ends with the song “No Pressure” that seems to be a very important song because its melody is also used in the intro of the record. In “No Pressure”, you’re referring to another song on the album, “Fractured And Dazed”. Do these both songs represent the sunny and the shady side of life?
Luke (laughs):
Essentially yeah, you pinpointed it! These songs represent that idea very well. They coexist because the thing I was dealing with on the new album was letting go: a lot of past stuff and particularly a past relationship I had. I’d had pretty bad experiences with girls. So “Fractured And Dazed” is a song that is really about not going to give up when you think you should.
In contrast, “No Pressure” was written halfway through when I totally fell in love and we had that bubbly moment that I’m still in. I feel so happy that it happened during that process. I think our new record can be seen as a full life circle: coming from giving up the past to starting something new.
»Our new record can be seen as a full life circle: coming from giving up the past to starting something new.«
Jonas:
The young boy on your album cover is looking pretty serious and simultaneously holding colourful balloons in his hand. Is he a symbol of this sunny and shady side of life?
Luke:
I’m really happy with that photo. The imagery basically was meant to represent the letting go in life. I actually wanted to call the album “Weight Of The World”—referring to the song of the same name. In my opinion “Weight Of The World” became the pinnacle moment of the new record because this song represents what the entire album stands for: letting go of the past, letting go of the youth. But I found it was too negative for a title, whereas “Let’s Go Sunshine” feels really positive. And that’s what the album really is in the end.
