Would I like to chat to the legend that is FRANK TURNER ahead of the release of his forthcoming TENTH studio album ‘Undefeated’, let me think about that and get back to you….YES!
Owing to Frank’s hectic schedule, it worked out better for all of us for us to send some questions to him to respond to, we sat down and dug deep and considered his new album, the recording process, meeting heroes, touring and diving into one track from the record to bring it to life, read on to see how we got on….
You release your ‘difficult 10th album’ ‘Undefeated’ on 3rd May 2024, how long has this been in the making?
I started writing songs for this record in early 2022, I did the majority of the writing work by the end of the year; The Sleeping Souls and I spent the first part of 2023 working up the arrangements as a band, and then we recorded the album at my home studio over the summer last year. And here we are!
Has songwriting become easier for you as you progress through your career?
Some parts of it have become easier, some have got harder. I guess I’d say that my skills as a craftsman have improved with practice over the years - I’ve had more practice at the technicalities of piecing songs together, of faithfully presenting the ideas and sounds in my head. Finding things to write about can be harder with time, as the obvious subjects and feelings have been covered already, and I don’t want to repeat myself. Of course I have new experiences and feelings as I get older, but the low-hanging fruit has already been picked.
You recorded the album in your home studio with your live band, will you be touring with the band or can we expect some intimate solo shows in the near future as well?
Wherever possible, I’d like to tour this record with the band because that’s how the songs primarily exist for me. That said, it’s always fun (and occasionally financially necessary) to strip things back to playing on my own, so as ever there will likely be a bit of both.
You have toured all over the world, hand on heart, which country do you love performing in the most? Why is this?
Hand on heart, haha, it’s… wherever you’re from! Seriously though; I might have to choose the USA. It’s so archetypical for rock’n’roll as an artform, and I’ve basically only been there through playing music (and have now played all 50 states!). It’s a country built more on movement. It always feels magical, being on a tour bus in America, I don’t think I’ll ever tire of that.
There are 14 tracks that make up the new record, please dive into one of the tracks and tell us a bit more about it….
The song “Ceasefire” is one of my favourites on the record. A long while back there was a moment when the album might have been a concept piece, a conversation between me and my 15 year old self. This is the main survival of that idea, but there are still echoes of it through the whole record. There are pieces of songs I wrote at that age hiding in here, images and lines and chords, but the whole package is very new for me. In particular the arrangement is powered by Callum’s drumming - this is the first record we’ve made with him so it’s exciting to have his skills front and centre. It’s a complicated piece of writing, and it’s open-ended, but I think it achieves what I wanted it to. I hope people find something in it.
‘Undefeated’ nods back to bands and artists that have influenced you over the years, who would you say you look up to the most when it comes to a hero/heroes?
I don’t do all that much hero-ogling to be honest, but I spend more time as I get older thinking about Nick Cave and the way he’s handled himself, both musically and personally. I find his range, his depth, and his humanity inspirational.
Have you met Nick Cave? If so, please tell me about the experience….
I met Nick Cave very briefly once when I was mastering my first album back in 2006, he wandered through from another room in the studio complex. He was very polite, and I was very quiet.
You said ‘as I enter my forties, I’ve returned to being an angry man’, do you think you will have mellowed by the time you hit 50? (I hit 50 last year and I haven’t mellowed yet!)
Ha, I haven’t started thinking about being 50 just yet, and I might put that off a little longer if that’s alright.
There are many young bands out there right now, name a few that you are excited about….
The Meffs, Nobro, Black Guy Fawkes, Dingus Khan, Pet Needs…. I could go on for days.
You are referred to as ‘The hardest working man in music’, as you get older, are you finding it harder to maintain this title?
I’m far from sure that’s ever really been true, perhaps I just brag about it more. Arguably my own crew, who do the same miles but more work, deserve the accolades more. Anyway. I do like to work hard, but I also have to respect the reality of getting older and being less physically flexible or durable. I want to do this for a long time yet, and don’t want to kill myself in the process, so we have eased off the gas a little. 200 shows a year has become 150. But it’s still quite enough to be going with.
Is there someone out there who you think will take the baton away from you in this respect?
I sincerely hope someone will. The sense of being a link in a chain is one of the more fulfilling bits of having a longer career in music, I am discovering.
Jerry Springer always used to end his show’s with his ‘Final Thoughts’ - Can I ask you to impart some words of wisdom for your fans?
Stop looking to musicians for wisdom, haha. We’re idiots. And if you’re younger, do stretches for your body, you’ll be grateful of that later.
We’d like to thank Frank Turner for sparing the time to put fingers to keys and respond to our questions and we wish him and The Sleeping Souls every success with the new record which lands on May 3rd, Pre-order HERE
Interview by Steve Muscutt
