Hey, Hey, We're The Arctic Monkeys

Since their name started to crop up everywhere earlier this year, Arctic Monkeys’ vast ascent in public popularity and the corresponding hype in the media has been almost unparalleled - even mind-blowing. Four average looking northern lads whose batch of demo songs appeared on t’ internet have crystallised into ‘the next big thing’ in a phenomenally short period of time. Their live gigs have become a fanatical, zealous experience with the self-hailed ‘Arctic Army’ eagerly chanting back every word, while their singles capture the effortless brilliance of these shows. Gigwise caught up with frontman Alex Turner and guitarist James Cook in Glasgow on the week before the lads hit the number one slot…

Turning to the recent London Astoria gig where they played to an astonishing 2,000 people before their first proper single was even released, and Alex is quite humble about the small matter of thousands of people hurling lyrics back at them: “It was pretty similar to what we’ve had in Norwich or anywhere else. It’s just been like that since back in February (people singing), it just gets built up like that cause it’s in London and it’s the biggest one. We’re looking forward to this one (Glasgow) a lot more to be honest, this looks a right venue. It’s Friday night and that, and everyone’s up for it, so are we.� Despite the rip-roaring success of all the gigs they’ve played recently, refreshingly Alex sees things quite simply: “We ain’t drawn or lost any so far, so it’s been good.�

Having laid down a series of demos at the start of the year – the bible for the Arctic Army -  Alex believes that playing live all year has helped evolve some tracks that will be very different on the debut LP,  “When we were recording demos and stuff, we didn’t really know 100% what we were doing. But by the time of the album we knew everything inside out, so the recording side is some progress. I think its good being in a studio - the feeling you get when you come out, when you’ve got something new. But then gigs are more alive ‘cause we can see what’s going on.â€�

Refreshingly and understandably, the Monkeys don’t condemn MP3 downloads. A tool which, aside from the searing tunes, has helped propel the band to our consciousness. Asked whether they support the abolition of downloads, “I don’t think you can scrap them. You’ve got to make a living, really, I dunno, I reckon it’s better if you own a record. It’s not so much the real music fans will go out and buy a record, it’s people who listen to pop music that download most of the time.�

Fortunately, for those of you gagging to hear new Arctic Monkeys songs or polished versions of existing tracks, the lads have finished recording the album, which according to James went “pretty smoothly�, with the mixing well under way. James adds: “We’ve recorded some new songs, but it’s about half and half, songs you’ll of heard, and new songs as well.�