Richard Hughes, the drummer of Keane, talks about the band's current European tour, the merits of U2, and the possibility of working with Dr. Dre.
For a twenty-year-old music nerd and student reporter, you can imagine my equal parts excitement and anxiety when I was granted the chance to interview Richards Hughes, the drummer of the award-winning, multi-million album selling band, Keane. Seeing as how this was my first time really interviewing someone, who also happens to be a member of a band I like, I was imagining all sorts of things going wrong: a dropped call, running out of questions, saying something totally cringe-worthy. However, I hope that all of my future interviews go as smoothly as this one! From discussing their European tour to his admiration of Dr. Dre, Hughes proves that he's as just as much of a musician as he is an avid fan of music.
VANESSA: So, you guys just played a show in Antwerp, right? How was it? HUGHES: Really good. It was our first big show of the album cycle. It was really fun. We played a long set, with a lot of new songs…which I'd say are really upbeat, energetic. Lively.
Hughes also expressed his admiration of other current bands, such as The Killers. Last year, Keane, along with The Killers, Razorlight, and Amy Winehouse, played in Belgium, at the Werchter Festival. He described it as "an amazing festival" and praised The Killers for their musical versatility.
HUGHES: I remember before our set, we sat on the side of the stage and watched [The Killers]. We had a great time.
For their third album, Perfect Symmetry, Hughes said that they didn't with a plan.
HUGHES: We wanted to push ourselves as far as we could. We had our friend Jesse [Quin] on bass, so we could record stuff live…We produced this album ourselves and had Jon Brion produce one song and Stuart Price produce two songs.
Hughes and I talked about the release of Perfect Symmetry, especially that of the first single, Spiraling. Unlike the previous Keane albums, Perfect Symmetry is reminiscent of 80's icons such as Depeche Mode or even the likes of contemporary artists like MGMT. Their signature predilection for piano-based rather than guitar-based riffs is still prevalent on the album, but approached in an utterly fresh and retro-modern way.
VANESSA: I've seen the responses to Spiraling online and it seems like everyone has a positive response. HUGHES: Yeah, that's the power of the internet…We were so excited about this single, that we wanted to get people as excited as we were. [Spiraling] was one of the first ones we mixed.
If there's one thing about Perfect Symmetry that Hughes wants the fans to take away, it's that Keane isn't a band you can neatly fit into a category. When I mentioned to Hughes that the album was quite different than their debut, Hopes and Fears, or their sophomore effort, Under The Iron Sea, he mentioned influences such as The Beatles, David Bowie, Depeche Mode and Radiohead, bands and artists that are known for their creative versatility and their ability to keep fans and critics guessing as to the next step in their musical direction.
"We don't want to repeat ourselves," said Hughes.
With these influences in mind, I asked if the band had any intention of producing a concept album, as recently seen by such bands like Radiohead (Ok Computer) and Nine Inch Nails (Year Zero). Although the band isn't entirely unwelcoming to that idea, it hasn't really come up as an actual objective.
VANESSA: You mentioned Radiohead as one of your influences. What other bands are you guys influenced or inspired by? HUGHES: Vampire Weekend, Talking Heads, U2, David Bowie…The world seems reluctant to say how fucking brilliant U2 are. We supported them in Boston in 2005…to have that kind of passion for music…[it's] such an amazing thing.
VANESSA: Speaking of touring, are you guys thinking about doing a US tour? HUGHES: There's a lot of paper work involved before we can come to the states, but we hope to come [to the US] before the end of the year.
One thing notable Keane's European tour is that instead of enlisting big name, mainstream bands, they've chosen to feature local bands that originate from each city they stop at. At the Antwerp show, the opening act was Barbie Bangkok, a band native to Belgium that made their live debut in 2002. For their next show in Rotterdam, A Balladeer is set to open the show, who incidentally opened for Keane four years ago.
When asked about the motivation behind this decision, Hughes stated that it was a "great way of hearing local bands." He mentioned that the cost of touring can be too expensive for some bands, and therefore don't necessarily get the exposure they deserve.
VANESSA: So far, what have been some of your favorite venues? HUGHES: The O2 arena in London. We recorded a DVD there...also Radio City Music Hall in New York. We haven't been to Miami yet, which is one place I'd like to go to.
VANESSA: Are there any artists in particular that you would like to collaborate with? HUGHES: Kanye West. We met him at the MTV Music Awards and he was very complimentary. Also, I would love to work with Dr. Dre. It's amazing the way he makes something out of so little. 2001 is probably one of my most listened to albums.
Sensing his appreciation and knowledge for hip-hop, I asked Hughes if he'd ever consider working with The Neptunes or Pharrell. Not surprisingly, it was another name to add to the list.
"We could spend a year doing one collaboration after another and we'd still have a list of people we'd want to work with," Hughes confessed.
Keane and Dr. Dre? I don't know about you, but that's one collaboration I would love to hear!
Keane remains on tour throughout Europe until February of 2009.
