Blur’s Damon Albarn on Alex Turner: “He’s great – I sing a lot like him on the new album”
Blur‘s Damon Albarn has shared his love for Arctic Monkeys‘ Alex Turner, saying he sings “a lot like him” on the band’s new album.
Albarn and his band released new LP ‘The Ballad Of Darren’ this month, their first since 2015’s ‘The Magic Whip’.
In a new interview with Musikexpress, Albarn has discussed his admiration for Turner, and how he influenced the Britpop heroes’ new album.
Asked what he thinks of Turner, Albarn responded: “I think he’s great, I sing a lot like him on the new album.
“You know our producer James Ford?” the frontman added. “He also worked with the Arctic Monkeys, I mentioned that to him. But what could I have against that? I love Alex’s voice. I just prefer to sing in a lower register now.”
Discussing Ford’s impact on ‘The Ballad Of Darren’, Albarn said: “James is just super musical and smart, he works very intuitively, he also likes a drink. We have the same sense of humour.”
Albarn previously said that he believes Arctic Monkeys are “the last great guitar band,” adding that guitar music has gone “sterile”.
“I feel like there’s a bit more excitement about guitar music again, that can’t be a bad thing because it got so sterile,” he said.
“For me, the last great guitar band would have been Arctic Monkeys and I don’t really know if there’s anything as good as that since.”
James Ford, who produced both Blur and Arctic Monkeys’ recent albums, said that the initial plans for Arctic Monkeys‘ ‘The Car’ would have seen the record be more “outward-facing”.
“The pandemic happened, and [Turner] went into his own bubble, returning with these beautiful, intimate, sad songs. We recorded in this country house in Suffolk. With the backdrop of the pandemic, it was nice to be together in a group and have that boozy camaraderie.”
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Will Richards
NME
