Albert Hammond Jr: A Stroke Of Genius

So, will 'Tea And Cake Hurts' make it onto the next Strokes record? At this juncture, Hammond Jr brings up his professional guard. “I get asked about this all time. I know we (the Strokes) are going to get together sometime next year but nothing is set that I know of. I don’t really like to say too much about it as I’m only a fifth of a band… but it will be happening.”
 
So with Strokes album number four at least another year in the offering, it leaves Hammond Jr a sufficient amount of time to take 'Como Te Llama' around the globe - “I’m really looking forward to the live shows - we’ll be touring the album from July to January of next year and there’s so much to a great show that can’t be done in the studio.”
 
Between recording, live shows and building a homemade studio, what else fills up Hammond Jr’s hectic life? “I like building puzzles and hanging out in New York as there’s always something new to find. My producer Ryan has a poker night every Wednesday - I’m OK I guess.”
 
One of the most intriguing things about Hammond Jr is his relationship with his father, Albert Hammond. Hammond Sr is synonymous with penning gigantic AOR hits across America and beyond, his most famous tracks being Leo Sayer’s 'When I Need You' and Starship’s 'Never Gonna Stop Us Now'. Hammond didn’t perform for 23 years until his son coaxed him back into recording, the end result being 2005’s 'Revolution Of The Heart'.
 
So, despite his father’s penchant for writing cheesy yet bonafide hits, would Hammond Jr allow want Hammond Sr to pen a song for him? “If he did write a song for me then sure, why not? My relationship with my father whilst growing up was quite strange because we never spent any time talking about music. It’s only now in recent years that we’ve really come to appreciate it.”
 
Whether Hammond Sr does get round to penning a song for his son remains to be seen, but Hammond Jr is vibrantly plotting his musical destiny, “I just feel like I’m beginning my career. There’s so much more to understand, to go through and I don’t want to reach the end. I’m always learning in my career and it’s like career you have.” Hammond goes on, almost unstoppable. ‘I’d love to find a young producer, something like Brian Eno, who could bring something interesting things to what I’m trying to do. I know there’s one of these people out there somewhere but I don’t have a name yet.”
 
For now, Hammond will have to wait patiently for a young super-producer, but with 'Como Te Llama', he’s handling things quite nicely on his own - minus the lab coat.