I wish I had a Gang of Four phase, but none of that came until much later. My Dad took me to a concert and was like: “Ken, this is bad.” And then I got all the way out. And then I fell into, like, Dream Theater for a minute. I was a big fan of Slipknot, Shadows Fall, Lamb of God – ’cause they were who was on the cover of Guitar World every week. I thought I was the man.Īnd then I went on to metal. I had one year of my life where I only listened to Jimi Hendrix when I was like 15. I learned guitar on Grateful Dead, Cream and Allman Brothers songs.
Kenny, what was your reference point for punk music growing up?īeats: I had a really long classical rock phase. Talbot : I was like: “Get fucked is that Kenny Beats!” And then obviously I just went on to the account, and I was like: “Holy shit!”
Let us know if you want to come by the show sometime.” And they kind of came back to me, like: “Yeah, buddy, all good.
Within minutes I DM’d them on Instagram and just said, like, “You guys are the greatest!”, or something stupid. So he played me a ton of stuff and it all hit me at once, seeing this band with no effects, in a room, Joe red in the face screaming about white privilege. How did you meet?īeats: I was in a session with a folk artist named Adam Melchor, and we were talking about Tiny Desk Concerts and he said: “Oh, IDLES, best one ever!” And I was like: “Who?” This collaboration has taken a lot of people by surprise. You know like mythical people in music, like the Nick Cave documentary 20,000 Days On Earth? That nuanced insight into someone that you put on a huge pedestal for me is super interesting. Talbot: I just watched an Arthur Russell one yesterday, Wild Combination – it’s really cool. I’m going to recommend eight million things or we’re never going to get into it. And oh my God, I’ve been watching so many documentaries. Kenny’s probably working, or cooking, or smoking weed. We sound worse than a shitfaced cover band at the moment. Joe Talbot: We’re in the middle of rehearsals for an Abbey Road session. Talbot publicly revealed Beats’ involvement on Ultra Mono last December, and the American has since dipped his toe in more guitar-orientated music, collaborating with Deb Never on her single Stone Cold and producing Trash Talk’s Squalor EP. He’s also shown his love for the UK scene by producing SL and Aitch. The Los Angeles-based beatmaker has made his name working closely with the likes of Atlanta rapper Key!, Rico Nasty, JPEGMAFIA and Vince Staples. And stand up, too, Kenny Beats, contributing programming and post-production to give IDLES’ the kind of punch you’d hear in a contemporary trap banger. Step forward mum and dad’s favourite jazz-pop crooner Jamie Cullum. But while they, and returning producer Nick Launay (Grinderman, Yeah Yeah Yeahs), slot comfortably into IDLES’ sonic universe, there are two names on the credits that stick out like sore and swollen thumbs. Aiding and abetting the cause this time are former Savages vocalist Jehnny Beth and David Yow of proto-grunge cult outfit The Jesus Lizard. With third album Ultra Mono, released on 25 th September, the Joe Talbot-fronted band have dug deeper and pushed outwards. Breaking through with their 2017 debut Brutalism, and doubling down on their explosive, lyrically provocative punk anthems on 2018’s Mercury-nominated follow up Joy As An Act of Resistance, they’re that rare thing right now: a guitar band with bite, humour, thunderous tunes, socio-political commentary and real, raw power.