With music in his geographical DNA after growing up in England’s Merseyside, Miles Kane has made his mark a few times over.
He fronted the now-defunct Rascals and co-fronts the Last Shadow Puppets with Arctic Monkeys’ Alex Turner. He’s also part of the all-star Dr. Pepper’s Jaded Hearts Club Band and wrote and appears on the track “Dealer” from Lana Del Rey’s most recent album, “Blue Banisters.”
Kane’s a solo artist, too, with three albums of his own to his credit and a fourth, “Change the Show,” coming Friday, Jan. 21. Kane, 35, discussed the latest project via Zoom from his home in London…
• Though he’s always drawn songs from his own life, Kane says “Change the Show” cuts even deeper than its predecessors. “I love writing personal lyrics and things that are, like, a chapter of my life at that particular time, and what I’m going through. It’s a therapeutic experience to me, getting into those emotions and not being afraid to talk about the darkness and the things you’re going through in your life. A lot of these songs are kind of like I’m singing to myself in the mirror, if that makes sense. Each song has a cohesive thing, and they all go into the other pretty well.”
• Kane adds that age is factor in what he’s singing about, too. “It’s where your head is at in real life, as a person. I’m 35 now. I think hitting your 30s, it’s a beautiful thing, really. I think the transition I’ve gone through from 30 to 35, even, is something quite remarkable, really. I’m actually doing a lot of work on myself and learning about things and doing things and stuff being open to that, where in your 20s you’re like, ‘F***, I’m not doing any of that stuff!'”
• The new album’s “Nothing’s Ever Gonna Be Enough” features a guest appearance by Corinne Bailey Rae, who did some backing vocals on Kane’s first solo album, “Colour of the Trap,” in 2011. “We’ve been friends forever, then we lost contact for a bit, over a few years. Then a couple years ago I was in the house one night and one of her songs, ‘Paris Nights,’ came on and I texted her saying, ‘I hope you’re well. I forgot how great that song is’ and all that. And it rekindled our friendship and we just got back in touch and we started sending each other demos and ideas. We were doing, ‘We should do a duet!’ It kind of weirdly fell into place, and she added some spice to it that made it even more special than what I thought it was. It’s a lovely little moment to have on (the album).”
• Kane will play a few shows in the U.K. around “Change the Show’s” release, with a more extensive European tour set for May. He would also “love” to bring his band over to North America, where he’s never done any solo shows. “We did a few dates there with the Last Shadow Puppets, but only a handful. I would love to, man. Hopefully one day I can, whether it means I have to come over there with just my acoustic (guitar), but I’ll play in a bloody…bar if I have to. That won’t bother me. I think it needs to happen. There just needs to be a call for it.”
• Kane also recently recorded vocals for a new album by the Jaded Hearts Club Band, which includes past and former members of the bands Muse, Blur, Jett, the Zutons and more. “We’re gonna put a new song out sort of Easter time, or maybe March. That bands really just for live (performance), so we’ll see how the next year pans out and hopefully we’ll do some gigs with that thing. It’s like the ultimate live band, really, just playing all the songs we love from most of the bands we love. It’s just great fun, and to be in that room with all those musicians, sometimes I’m like, ‘What the f*** am I doing here? Am I in a weird dream or what?’ It’s so surreal, but it works really well. Don’t ask me why, it just does.”
