Bombay Bicycle Club: 'We're excited about plugging into new electric album'

Bombay Bicycle Club have spoken about returning to recording electrically for their third album.

Singer Jack Steadman, speaking in the new issue of NME, said "the acoustic stuff was always going to be on the side."

Despite the success of 2010 acoustic effort 'Flaws', Steadman said the band are desperate to get back to recording electrically, as they did on their 2009 debut 'I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose'.

"Everyone is excited about going back and plugging in," he said. "We're all dying to do it because we miss it so much."

The band told NME they have around eight songs they're completely happy with so far, and are hoping to release the album in June.

Bombay Bicycle Club planning to release new album in August



Bombay Bicycle Club are planning to release their new album in August.

The band, who have teamed up with Animal Collective producer Ben Allen plus Jim Abbiss for the album, have pencilled in a late August release date for the record - although this has not been set in stone yet.

The album sees the four-piece going electric again, after last year's all acoustic Top 10 hit 'Flaws'. The as-yet-untitled album was recorded in Germany, London and Atlanta.

Songs slated to appear on the album include 'Bad Timing', 'What You Want', 'Still', 'Fracture' and one with a working title of 'Shuffle'. "The first time I played it to any of my friends was at a house party and none of them believed it was Bombay Bicycle Club," frontman Jack Steadman said in the new issue of NME about the latter track, hinting that the band have been exploring eclectic avenues in the studio.

Bombay Bicycle Club announce new album 'A Different Kind Of Fix'



Bombay Bicycle Club have announced details of their third album.

They will release 'A Different Kind Of Fix' on August 29 through Island Records. It will be preceded by a single 'Shuffle', which is due to hit iTunes on June 23.

The album is the follow-up to last year's Top 10 hit Flaws', which saw them nominated for a prestigious Ivor Novello Award. Yet following on from the softer folk tones of that record, the new collection sees the guitars plugged back in, with the addition of synths and samples and layered vocals from all four band members.

'A Different Kind Of Fix' reunites the band with Jim Abbiss, who produced their debut 'I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose' as well as Arctic Monkeys' 'Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I’m Not' and Kasabian's eponymous debut.

Sharing production duties is Animal Collective collaborator Ben Allen, with the band's frontman Jack Steadman co-producing throughout. The album was recorded in Hamburg, Atlanta and London.

The tracklisting for 'A Different Kind Of Fix' is as follows:

'How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep'
'Bad Timing'
'Your Eyes'
'Lights Out, Words Gone'
'Take The Right One'
'Shuffle'
'Beggars'
'Leave It'
'Fracture'
'What You Want'
'Favourite Day'
'Still'

Bombay Bicycle Club at Glastonbury: 'We don't listen to guitar music anymore'



Bombay Bicycle Club frontman Jack Steadman battled through a fainting scare to lead his band through their Glastonbury festival set on the Other Stage today, bringing new album 'A Different Kind Of Fix' to Worthy Farm.

The singer/guitarist explained to NME after the show that he thought he was going to keel over and faint during the gig – but he managed to stay upright in the end.

"I've never felt any of those feelings before in my life – I thought I was going to faint at the end of 'Cancel On Me'," he said. "I thought, 'You're only going to do this once so you may as well faint and rock out and try as hard as you can.'"

Steadman noted how the fans at the front of the crowd were struggling with the heat too. "I kept seeing people trying to rock out but they couldn't because they'd keel over and die," he said. "Considering the heat there was some good energy."

The songs from 'A Different Kind Of Fix', including new single 'Shuffle', have seen the band embrace a more groove-led sound than their previous rock and acoustic leanings. Steadman said he thought the record could end up alienating some fans – but he didn't care.

"Obviously some people are going to hate it, especially the single," he said. "As soon as we put it out we were reading comments, things like, 'If I wanted to listen to fat beats I'd go listen to LCD Soundsystem. What the fuck is this shit?' But I'd rather have a small dedicated fanbase than just some guys checking us out."

He added: "I'm not really listening to guitar music anymore. Which sounds so cliché. I like listening to hip-hop and dance music. Groove – I hate that word, but it's the only way I can describe it. We're not going to do what Bloc Party did [on dance-influenced songs such as their single 'Flux']. I think it was an interesting challenge to bring it to our band, and I think it kind of worked."

Bombay Bicycle Club played:

'Magnet'
'Shuffle'
'The Hill'
'Bad Timing'
'Cancel On Me'
'Lamplight'
'Your Eyes'
'Dust On The Ground'
'Sleep Song'
'Evening/Morning'
'What If'
'Lights Out, Words Gone'
'Always Like This'

Bombay Bicycle Club bring 'A Different Kind Of Fix' to Reading Festival



Bombay Bicycle Club brought their new album 'A Different Kind Of Fix' to Reading Festival this evening (August 27), as the band count down the minutes until its official release date.

The London four-piece played three tracks – 'Bad Timing', 'Lights Out, Words Gone' and 'Shuffle' – from the album to a packed-out NME/Radio 1 tent, with the album set to come out on Monday.

They were backed by a horn section plus guest singer Lucy Rose and, following the performance, frontman Jack Steadman told NME how amazed he was by the crowd response. "After the gig I couldn’t hear anything because the crowd were clapping so loud, it was crazy," he laughed.

He also revealed their celebration plans ahead of the album's release, saying: "This record is the album I'm most proud of. Tomorrow [at Leeds Festival] after the set we're going to be celebrating at midnight."

Bombay Bicycle Club played:

'Evening/Morning'
'Bad Timing'
'Dust On The Ground'
'Lights Out, Words Gone'
'Ivy And Gold'
'Cancel On Me'
'Lamplight'
'Your Eyes'
'What If'
'Magnet'
'Shuffle'
'Always Like This'

Bombay Bicycle Club: 'Our new record was influenced by dance music' - video

Video: Bombay Bicycle Club - 'A Different Kind Of Fix' Track By Track

Bombay Bicycle Club have said that their new album, 'A Different Kind Of Fix', has been heavily influenced by dance music.

In our exclusive track-by-track video, which you can watch by clicking above, Jack Steadman and Suren de Saram, talk about which songs have a dance music sound.

Of 'Lights Out, Words Gone' Jack says: "A lot of people seems to think it's very 'Ibiza' influenced. It's got very ambient choir samples on it, and a very '70s disco guitar line." The track is released as a single on October 17.

Suren adds: "It's got a very laid back, summery sound." The duo added that opener 'How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep' was "very influened by dance music".