ISN'T A PITY (GEORGE HARRISON COVER)

From KM.com,



Hello Everyone,

Greetings from studio land! We're at that very exciting point in the recording process where we're putting down vocals...it's so exciting to be singing such an incredible bunch of songs. There's an uplifting atmosphere about the whole record - songs with a glorious heartfelt beauty about them. Tim's really excelled himself on the songwriting front AGAIN - I've got a feeling that a lot of people are going to fall in love with this album! We can't wait to get it out there. However, in the meantime, here's a cover of a wonderful old George Harrison song called Isn't It A Pity from his album All Things Must Pass. I heard on the radio yesterday that it's 10 years since the great man passed on, so this is our little tribute to him.

Love (and peace!),

Tom

TIM A BIT MIFFED

From KM.com,

2011

From KM.com,

PLATE REVERB

From KM.com,

TIM AND FRAN HEALY TOGETHER!

From KM.com,



A fan-filmed video, showing Travis frontman Fran Healy performing Everybody's Changing at his fundraising show in Berlin on Monday, at which Tim was a special guest.

MORE UPDATES!

From KM.com,

TIM PIC!

From KM.com,

T + J DRUMS

From KM.com,

UPDATES!

From KM.com,

Hello!

After spending most of this year writing, rehearsing, chopping and changing, we are finally recording our new album. In fact, thanks to all the time spent on pre-production we're getting through recording very quickly (so far...) and things are sounding very exciting indeed.

We started with a week in Sussex with a new producer, plus our faithful assistant engineer Tom 'The Chief' Hough, prepping a few last details and working through a couple of very new songs. To double up our work-rate, the other Tom (the one who does the singing) and I set up in a shed and tinkered with vocal ideas. And in the evenings there was occasionally time for a walk to the pub for some local ales and a game of Toad In The Hole as the last of the light summer evenings gave way to autumn.

To begin recording properly, we decamped to London for an intense two weeks that featured a LOT of drumming, a fair bit of piano-mangling, a sprinkling of bass and singing and a huge number of salt beef sandwiches. We're now moving back down to Sussex with 16 songs well underway, and we can't wait to piece the rest of it together. Things are sounding really, really great.

Anyway, while we're getting on with that we're going to try and keep you updated with news, photos and videos from the studio and elsewhere. It's going to be a very exciting few weeks for us, and we hope to share some of that with you.

Lots of love,

Tim, Tom, Richard and Jesse

D

From KM.com,

TIM

From KM.com,

TIM: 5 SONGS I LIKE

From KM.com,



Hello! Here are five things I'm enjoying at the moment.
Love from Tim

1 The War On Drugs - Baby Missiles

Utterly brilliant song with a fantastic sound. My next ten demos are probably just going to be inferior copies of this…



2 Lana Del Rey - Video Games

Again, lovely song, lovely sound. Very dark and intense.



3 ABBA - The Name Of The Game

Let's be honest, we take these songs for granted. We've heard them too many times. Just listen to this with your headphones on. There is no dead wood - every single moment is filled with a catchy melody or sound. Like virtually all their songs, it's a masterclass in pop songwriting.



Speaking of ABBA reminds me of this classic Erasure pastiche from their Abba-esque era:



4 Fleetwood Mac live

Check out this performance of Go Your Own Way. Just amazing.



5 JBM

Jesse B Marchant supported Mt. Desolation on a few dates in the USA last year. I got a sneak preview of a new recording of his last week, and it truly blew me away. Sadly, of course, I can't post that song here because the new record's not out yet….but in the meantime keep listening to his first record, Not Even In July.

http://www.jbm-music.com/

TIM: 'WE'VE BEEN VERY BUSY IN THE STUDIO...'

From KM.com,

Hello everyone. Apologies for the recent radio silence from Keane HQ. We've been very busy in the studio trying to bash a huge pile of new songs into shape. We started with a list of about 40 songs I think, and our job for the last few months has been to narrow that down to a shortlist of about 15.

It has taken us a while to find an atmosphere and an approach which feels right for the songs and which ties the whole thing together into one cohesive story, but things are finally starting to feel right. Songs that have eluded us through many different attempts are clicking into place at last. And it seems like we're all agreeing on a 'sound' for the album after a lot of experimenting with different approaches. There's still masses of work to do, but it's all really exciting and I feel like you guys are going to love it. I hope so anyway!

We were in the very posh Air studios in Hampstead last week. Rocksteady rhythm magicians Richard and Jesse did most of the work, but Tom did some singing too, and I muddled through a couple of piano parts in between trying to work out the chords for Bohemian Rhapsody (that way lies madness). Below are a few photos donated by Messrs Hughes and Quin.

We'll keep you posted…!

Lots of love,

Tim

UTIS FIFTH BIRTHDAY: THE ALBUM PODCAST

From KM.COM,

We continue our special Under The Iron Sea fifth birthday week with these fascinating interviews with Tim about the songs on the album. They were released as weekly podcasts ahead of the album's release. You can listen to them on the SoundCloud player above, or they're still available to download for free from iTunes by clicking here.

TIM ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS PT8

From KM.com,



Yes, we've reached the last part of our epic video Q&A with Tim - this time featuring questions about collaborating with Kanye West, not joining Coldplay and plans for album #4.
Big thanks to Tim for the interview, and to all of you who sent in questions - sorry we couldn't ask them all.

TIM ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS PT7

From KM.com,



Yes, after a little China-focussed break, it's time for the seventh (and penultimate) part of our video interview with Tim in which he answers questions to put to him by you folks. This time, topics include taking time off, watching Tom with Queen and what Bedshaped is about.

TIM ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS PT6

From KM.com,



Yes, after a little China-focussed break, it's time for the seventh (and penultimate) part of our video interview with Tim in which he answers questions to put to him by you folks. This time, topics include taking time off, watching Tom with Queen and what Bedshaped is about.

RICHARD'S CHINA PHOTOBLOG

From KM.com,

PICTURES FROM HIT FM

From KM.com,

Here's some great shots from Keane's trip to Chinese radio station Hit FM and their performance at the station's 8th anniversary show. (Big thanks to Beth for getting the pictures through to us.)

JESSE BLOGS ABOUT KEANE'S ORCHESTRA VISIT

From KM.com,



Hey y'all,

We had SUCH a good time in Beijing! Back home now, with some serious jetlag and what feels like thousands of new memories to collate and enjoy. One in particular that really stands out in my mind was our trip to visit the National Traditional Orchestra of China. It was one of the things I was most looking forward to about the trip to China and so at 10am I was ready and raring to go despite only getting to bed at 8am (Tim and the Keane crew lads' fault as usual!). Bleary eyed we boarded the bus and sped across Beijing. If you've ever visited Beijing before you'll know that I mean 'sped' very literally. I'm pretty sure that road signs and markings are merely seen as decorations rather than something that you should take any practical notice of.

On arrival at the Chinese National Music Hall we were warmly greeted by, amongst others, Mr. Qiang Xi, who is president of the China National Orchestra. He told us that he felt that although traditional Chinese music and English Rock & Roll sound very different, the feelings and meaning are the same. I think he very eloquently explained to us something about music that we had all probably felt for a long time but never fully realised. It feels like one of the main joys and inspirations behind travelling to places like China and trying to spread the emotions and passion behind the sounds and songs of a group of English musicians with other people, is the hope that despite different cultural backgrounds, languages and societies, we can feel united about the universal love people everywhere feel for music. Maybe that makes me too much of a hippy!

After meeting Mr. Qiang Xi, we went through to the main auditorium and watched the orchestra rehearse for half an hour. There were also guest musicians from another orchestra based in the province of Xinjiang Uygur visiting, so we got an even bigger treat than we'd bargained for! The sound was incredible and we were all completely entranced by it. After a while, everyone took a break and we were invited up to explore the stage and look at all the instruments. Four members of the orchestra then asked us to come and stand by the conductor's podium as they wished to play us a piece that they had prepared specially for our visit. It was amazing! We felt deeply honoured.

Then, two of the visiting musicians joined in for a 'jam'. Although, it wasn't like the kind of jam that you'd hear coming out of the Keane studio! Everything was in tune for a start. I felt like a complete fraud for ever having had the gall to have called myself a musician! They asked if we would like to join in, so I was promptly handed an instrument that I'd never even seen before (I think it's called a 'Pipa') and made a complete fool of myself trying to play it. They then switched me to a double bass which, although more familiar to me, I still managed to make sound like it was being thrown down a long flight of stairs. Tim and Richard looked equally smug and relieved that I was taking this humiliation alone. That's what happens when you're the new boy. I still managed to enjoy myself immensely though.

After I'd finished ruining the jam session for everyone, it was time for the orchestra to get back to work so we left them to it. Needless to say, I think we departed feeling like we'd experienced something amazing. We were all brimming with a million ideas of how we could collaborate together on a song. Although, I don't think Keane will turn into a Chinese based world music act just yet!

To sign off in the same way as Mr. Qiang Xi does in the orchestra's official book;

May the world be full of peace and love forever!

Jesse

WHEN KEANE MET SA DINGDING

From KM.com,

Here's a nice photo of me, Richard and Jesse with a Chinese musician we love called Sa Dingding. We were planning to go into a studio in Beijing to work on a song together on Friday, so we met up on Thursday night for some very delicious Yunnan food.

She was telling us about her childhood in Inner Mongolia, being a Buddhist, studying music in Beijing, inventing her own language to sing in, and many other things which seemed magical and inspiring to us.

We got as far as deciding to work on a weird but very catchy song sketch I'd started, but sadly our studio session was scuppered by Dingding being poorly so that will have to wait.

In the meantime, if you want to check out Sa Dingding's music (not to mention her fantastic stage outfits), this a good introductory video about her most recent album...

Lots of love,

Tim

TIM ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS PT5

From KM.com,



Yes, it's part five of our video Q&A with Tim, and it begins with a biggie: What will the next Keane album be like?

TIM ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS PT4

From KM.com,



It's time for Part 4 of our interview with Tim, in which he's answering 50 of your questions - this time including his greatest regrets and being embarrassed by old pictures. Again, f you press the arrow then the CC button at the bottom of the video you can now get subtitles, which YouTube can automatically translate them into more than 50 different languages!

TIM ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS PT3

From KM.com,

It's time for Part 3 of our interview with Tim, in which he's answering 50 of your questions - this time including queries about Kylie and songwriting while he's asleep. As with Part 2, if you press the arrow then the CC button at the bottom of the video you can now get subtitles, which YouTube can automatically translate them into more than 50 different languages!

TIM ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS PT2

From KM.com,

UPDATE: Since we started these videos, a lot of you have been asking for subtitles for the interviews. Well, it's taken us a little while to work them out, but if you press the arrow then the CC button at the bottom of the video you can now get subtitles! Better still, YouTube can automatically translate them into more than 50 different languages! We will have them for all interview videos from hereon in.

Yes, it's the second part of our interview with Tim, where we popped down to his house to ask him 50 of the excellent questions you folks asked (we had a shortlist of about 200!).

ANOTHER VIRTUAL FREDDIE/TOM DUET

From KM.com,

You might well remember that, last month, we posted an amazing virtual duet of Tom and Freddie Mercury performing Queen's It's A Hard Life.

Well, as you'll see above, the person who made it has done another - this time featuring Keane (from V2009) and Queen duetting on Under Pressure.

Richard thinks it's "all kinds of awesome". And we'd be inclined to agree.

My comment: AWESOME!!!

TIM ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS PT1

From km.com,

We're pleased to present the first part of our interview with Tim, where we popped down to his house to ask him 50 of the excellent questions you folks asked (we had a shortlist of about 200!). The interview was filmed in Tim's home studio. Look out for the next part soon...

SOMWHERE ONLY WE KNOW CLASSICAL

From km.com,

Richard was recently sent this on his Twitter page. It comes from Classic FM's Song Without Words album. As it's quite lovely, it seemed like an appropriate post for February 14th.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!! =)

PICS FROM THE STUDIO

From km.com,

Last week, we went down to Tim's house to film him answering 50 of your questions. While we were there, we took some pictures in the studio (where Keane have been working on album #4). You can see them above, and look out for the first part of the video interview very soon...

("Envelope Shaper Attack"??!!)

JESSE JOINS KEANE

From km.com,


Hi everyone. We're excited to tell you that after more than three years as our bass player and friend, Jesse Quin is joining Keane for good.

Jesse has been making music with us since our War Child shows back in 2007, and through the making of Perfect Symmetry and the Night Train E.P. He's an amazing musician, and these days we can't imagine life in Keane without him.

We know many of you have taken him to your hearts as we have toured the world over the last three years, so the only difference will be the chance to hear what he has to say in interviews and see him in photos like this one.

The photo was taken by Bryan Adams for the 2011 Comic Relief campaign and we are wearing the fabulous Vivienne Westwood-designed official t-shirts that will be on sale in TK Maxx. Red Nose Day 2011 is on March 18th and all profits from the sale of these T-shirts will go towards helping people living unimaginably tough lives across the UK and Africa.

Lots of love,

Tim, Tom, Richard and Jesse.

Click below to watch Keane at 1:00

TIM'S BOOK CLUB

From km.com,

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

This is a brilliant book, which I remember reading in the Lake District around the time of Under The Iron Sea. It was originally published in Russian, but I read an English translation. It's a very dark and humourous magic realism tale. It's basically about Satan coming to Moscow in the form of a magician, with an entourage of really bizarre animals and ghostly figures - like this terrifying cat which constantly changes shape. They go around terrorising Moscow and bringing down all the pompous figureheads of Russian society. It's very weird, and at times quite scary, but really funny as well.

I think the whole thing is meant to be an analogy for Russian society at the time it was written, in the 1920s and 30s. It was banned when it was written and wasn't even published while Bulgakov was alive.

The novel is very leftfield in its style and the scope of its imagination. It has this whole side story about Jesus being tried and crucified, so it will leap between Jerusalem and Moscow and obviously through time as well. It probably sounds like it could be quite dry and earnest, but it's really not at all. It's essentially a kind of ghoulish adventure, that's also quite ludicrous and funny. It really is a fantastic read.

Tim

Tim's Book Club #1
Tim's Book Club #2
Tim's Book Club #3
Tim's Book Club #4
Tim's Book Club #5
Tim's Book Club #6
Tim's Book Club #7

TIM AND FRAN'S BEACH HOUSE COVER

From km.com,

When I mentioned Beach House in my Best of 2010 answers a few days ago, it reminded me that when we were in New York last summer I played piano and synth on Fran Healy's lovely cover of Beach House's 'Zebra' track. I think Fran's version of this great song is really beautiful - very mysterious and ethereal. You can hear it here:

http://stereogum.com/508572/fran-healy-zebra-beach-house-cover/mp3s/

Tim

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