Kaiser Chiefs interview

UPON THE RELEASE OF THEIR THIRD ALBUM, KAISER CHIEFS’ BASSIST SIMON RIX TALKS TO ROB TOWNSEND ABOUT COLLABORATING WITH MARK RONSON, LILY ALLEN, NEW YOUNG PONY CLUB AND, STRANGELY, A COOK

How time flies. It doesn’t seem long ago that Kaiser Chiefs released their sophomore album, yet already they’re back with third offering, Off With Their Heads. “Well, 11 songs in 18 months doesn’t sound very much like hard work, does it?” corkscrew-haired bassist Simon Rix laughs. “I suppose though, in terms of the big albums like Oasis or U2, they take two-and-a-half or three years, so in a way it is quick.”

However, rather than deliberately hurrying back to ensure they remain firmly in the consciousness of the record-buying public in this age of short attention-spans, the quintet created Off With Their Heads almost by accident. “Our plan was to have an EP out for the [British] summer. We didn’t want to go to festivals and play the same songs that we played the years before, but we didn’t really want to do an album because it’s quite a lot of work. So we went to record a single with [producers] Mark [Ronson] and Eliot [James] and we enjoyed it so much that we thought let’s just get on with it and do an album.”


Working with super-producer and big-selling recording artist Ronson and the lesser-known [“But just as good”] James created a pleasing dynamic for the Leeds band, who admit to normally being control freaks in the studio. “Usually we have to be in charge and know everything that’s going on. Sometimes people who come from the outside find it difficult to get in because, well, I’ve known two of the band for over 20 years now. We’d never met Mark and Eliot before but they immediately became part of the band for that time and we all had similar ideas about what we wanted.”

The album was created in a very short space of time and, unlike their previous record – which was meticulously thought out and “a bit too musical,” according to Rix – the band began recording with only a handful of songs written. The rest came from bouncing ideas around in the studio. “It was pretty instinctive. We didn’t have time to go back and start changing things. It sounds very corny but…” he pauses. “It captures a moment.”

Experimentation was the name of the game on Off With Their Heads, with the five band-members trying to get back to “messing about” musically, as they did when demoing their debut album. “We try to be quite quirky while remaining poppy. We don’t want to make records that are unlistenable but we do want to do weird stuff.” I ask him what he means by “weird stuff,” because, to me, Kaiser Chief’s wonderfully effervescent brand of anthemic indie-pop had until now seemed fairly straightforward. “Well, a good example is that on Oh My God [from their debut, Employment] Nick reads [legendary British radio DJ] John Peel’s obituary. You can’t really hear it but it adds another layer of sound and I think that makes it more interesting. On the second album we didn’t really do much experimenting, so we really wanted to test ourselves again.”


The result of Kaiser Chiefs’ desire to push themselves creatively is their most eclectic and varied album to date. The band departs ever so slightly from its trademark singalong indie and spreads its wings, bringing in a number of collaborators in the process. Rix exudes equal amounts of pride and enthusiasm when talking about the record. “Throughout the album there are different sounds. It keeps you interested. There are strings, and Sway does some rapping on it too.” As well as the unlikely inclusion of the UK rapper, there are also some high-profile guest appearances, and some bizarre ones. “Mark knew Lou [Hayter from New Young Pony Club] and Lily Allen ended up being on there a quite a lot. Then there’s Good Days Bad Days, which is one of my favourites because it has a different vibe to it. It’s got a guest on it… kind of. He’s our cook. He cooks for us while we are in the studio. He turned out to be a percussionist so he brought in a djembe. It’s like a bongo.”

With Off With Their Heads hitting Australian stores, I ask if Kaiser Chiefs plan on squeezing a Sydney date into their hectic upcoming touring schedule. Rix admits that there is nothing concrete planned, but that he is keen to revisit us. “This is going to sound like I’m sucking up to Australia but it’s one of my favourite places in the world. I definitely want to come over. We’ll be back I’m sure,” he promises. “It’s just a shame it’s such a long way from my house.”