A previously unheard Arctic Monkeys interview dating back to 2005 has been unearthed by the creators of a new podcast series.
Former NME journalist Rick Martin and blogger Sarah Jane Kemp present the weekly show Demo Tapes, which looks at the breakout moments for some of the world’s biggest acts.
The first episode of Demo Tapes looks back at Arctic Monkeys’ fast rise to becoming one of the most talked about bands in Britain and features an interview Martin conducted for NME when the group were still unsigned, six months before they released their chart-topping single ‘I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor’.
In a press release, Martin said of the interview with Alex Turner and Matt Helders: “It was amazing to discover that I still had the interview on tape 13 years later– I was convinced I’d recorded over it years ago. I was given the opportunity to speak to Alex and Matt way before they became the global stars they are now and it’s great to be able to share it with the band’s fans.
“The interview covers a range of topics, from their formative years spent drinking cider on the streets of Sheffield to their thoughts on impending fame. They also talked me through their early demos, many of which went on to become some of their most celebrated hits. It really does give fans of the band a never‐before‐heard insight into the beginning stages of a music phenomenon.”
The rest of the series promises to explore the breakout moments of The Libertines, Klaxons, Azealia Banks, and more. You can listen to episode one above now.
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Meanwhile, Helders has revealed he is planning to release a solo album in the future. “I feel like I’ve got to do a certain amount before it’s deserved in a way,” he said. “I don’t want to do it too soon and then regret it, like ‘Oh, I shouldn’t have made that kind of record’. I want to make a lot of music and then like, ‘Oh, that’s the thing I like about this’.”
He continued: “I think I’m getting to a point now in which the style has developed and what I want to do is more clear to me [now] than it was before.”
Arctic Monkeys released their sixth studio album ‘Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino‘ in May 2018. In a four-star review, NME said: “The album’s title is a fitting one: this record feels a lot like gazing into the night sky. At first, it’s completely overwhelming […] but when the constellations show through, you’ll realise that it’s a product of searingly intelligent design.”