Nihal Arthanayake: Okay, Serge time here on Five Live. A very warm welcome back to Serge from Kasabian. A new record coming on the 5th of July, I believe. Serge, good afternoon.
Serge Pizzorno: Hey, how are you?
NA: I’m good. How are you, dude?
SP: Yeah, good, thanks.
NA: Are you excited?
SP: Very. I feel very excited about being in here on my own as well, a little bit.
NA: Yeah
SP: You know, like I feel like I could sort of take control of the station in a way.
NA: Well, you could as far as fading yourself out and back up again, which isn’t the power you thought it would probably be.
SP: No, I was thinking I could lock the door and then just start playing tunes and, you know. But yeah, you’d fade me out.
NA: Somehow, I don’t feel it’s analog enough for you.
SP: Yeah.
NA: I mean, like there’s no 70s synths and stuff.
SP: Some of this stuff does actually look like some of the synths I have in the studio. So I’m very at home in this environment, though. Thank you.
NA: I once went to Too Many DJs. I went to their house in Gent in Belgium and Serge, it was mad. Like, every corner of this place, it looked like it was going to fall down.. Over like three or four… had analog synths and these mad machines tucked in every corner. It kind of imagines… It, like, makes me imagine what your brain must look like.
SP: Yeah, yeah. It’s definitely like, yeah, it’s a passionate… I can nerd out on a modular synth, yeah, I can bore the hell out of you if you want.
NA: Do you have a wasp? Have you ever seen one of those?
SP: No, I’ve got the remake, they’ve remade it. I’ve got one of those, not an original. But I’m on the lookout always. If it’s got wood on the side, you know, that sort of lacquered wood, then I’m your man. Like I’ll buy it. I just, I would get, I take a punt on that.
NA: Did you have to check yourself? Did your partner have to say, can you just stop buying this stuff?
SP: 100% she’s on it all the time. But what’s great about it is they are now worth so much like, weirdly, it’s been like the best investment ever. Because when they would come, you know, in the post and you go, “You spent what on that?” And like, yeah, yeah, honestly, and they make a great sound. But they’re so hard to come by now, they’re all worth like my collections kind of probably, you know, it’s worth a few quid. So I’m like sitting there at home going, “Yeah, this worked out for me, this synth thing.”
NA: Okay, let’s present a domestic scenario here, which is your partner going, “You know, why have you got so many of these things?” And you going, “Oh yeah, but you know how much they’re worth if I sold them?” And then she asking, “Well, how many of those are you going to sell?”
SP: Exactly. They’re not going anywhere, are they? It’s just the worst thing ever. Just yeah, I do love them.
NA: But you love your clothes as well, don’t you?
SP: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, that’s come. You know what I was like, my mum’s so like elegant and beautiful, and like growing up, she was just like, I think that just like rubbed… My auntie owned a clothes shop. So, I was kind of in and around clothes. And, you know, I think that, you know, like, the front man thing is kind of part of it. Like, it’s part of the entertainment. It’s sort of part of like, you know, like a, it’s like a costume, you know, like a… Like a superhero outfit in a way. You know, like you get your outfit, right. You get your trim right, and then you’re ready to take it on, you know? So I think yeah, I do buzz off my clothes, man.
NA: Well, look, you brought up kind of growing up… So I wanted to play you something. Then when you hear it, I want to ask you about where it transports you to and the memories attached to it. Listen to this…
L’italiano by Toto Cutugno plays
SP: You know what, of all the things, right? That was not on the list. That’s massive. Bro, you don’t even understand what you’ve done to me now. Wow, that is wild. Yeah. That was played loud in my house. A lot. Do you know what? We did a gig in Italy at the weekend and we nearly came out to that.
NA: No way!
SP: Honestly, honestly, no, honestly. And I was like, I don’t know if I… ‘Cause you don’t quite know the, you’re not quite in tune with the culture. Whether they’ll understand the, like, the joke or whether it would be seen as a bit, “What is this?” But you know, we didn’t in the end, but yeah, that was on the list of like, “Let’s put that on.”
NA: Was that a song that your dad would play?
SP: Yeah. Oh God, man, he’d be on the table. “Lasciatemi cantare” Yeah. On the table, going full… Wow. That’s massive.
NA: And is that childhood spent in Italy? ‘Cause every summer you were in Italy, weren’t you?
SP: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And yeah, and lots, lots of Italian restaurants that get, that tune gets a lot of love from the, from the restaurants.
NA: It’s like 40 years old, that song.
SP: Is it?
NA: Yeah. 1983.
SP: Amazing. It’s a bit of a tune, you know? You know what? You could, you could cover, you know? You could do something with that, I think.
NA: Why have you… ’cause also, I’m going to play, I’m just playing the opening of it again. Just play it.
SA: I didn’t realize it opened with just the vocal.
NA: Yeah, that’s what I’m saying.
SP: I thought you’d got a special, like, weirdly like ripped to like, from the studio version.
NA: No! So in order to sample it
SP: Oh it’s in, you’re in.
L’italiano by Toto Cutugno plays
SP: Brave decision.
NA: Right?
SP: Yeah, it’s big. I like that a lot. I didn’t realize it. That’s weird. I’ve never noticed that that came straight in like that. Wow.
NA: Wow. Okay. And then for that,  to hear music, ’cause that wasn’t the music that your father really listened to. I mean, he loved that song presumably, but he was really into blues, wasn’t he?
SP: Yeah. That’s kind of, a lot of blues, but like a lot of that, you know, like really Italian music got played. Like the Umberto Tozzi and, you know, these guys, like the sort of, the things you do here. Exactly. The things you hear. So that was, that was played a lot, but yeah, he was kind of, yeah. The Stones… That- they, you know, and then, you know, that was kind of smashed out a lot.. But yeah, that, that, that’s definitely that Italian sort of restaurant music was, was played a lot at home.
NA: And how was his air guitar?
SP: Pretty big, actually, you know. e had a guitar with no strings on. That was as close as I got to like, a musical instrument at my house. So it was just, it was a prop basically. So you could just, you know, Dire Straits would come on and then that weird guitar with no strings, it’d be there, like, just giving it a little bit of shoulder.
NA: When you think about, when you think now actually, where you are at life… The albums you’ve made, how much of it do you go, “Oh okay!” you can identify moments, you can identify songs, you can identify what your parents said to you that have led you to this point.
SP: Yeah, you know, this is like… Happenings is the eighth record, and I was thinking about it, lik… The process of how I’ve written and made these Kasabian albums has been exactly the same from the start. So, you know, that first album ‘Kasabian’, I wrote that exactly how I’ve written this one, in terms of the process. Now, obviously, what’s changed is me, you know, moving through life, noticing different things, being influenced by different music, and just, you know, just living. It was like, so, I’ve got two boys and I think that they can… They’re snapshots of where I was at that time. So I’ve left little clues, you know, for them. And they’ll be like, well, you know, what was my old man doing, like in the noughties or whatever,… And it’s like they can fire into those records and just go, there’s little clues of where I was and what I was doing. And I think that’s wild. Like, because, it is quite a landmark at eight albums, quite a lot. And it’s difficult every time you’re sat in the studio, it’s like, whatever, what’s left to say? You know what I mean? But I’m very curious person. Like, I need to find new things out. So I kind of enjoy that part of it because, you know, I need to move. I need to just go, “I really like that. What’s that? Let’s look at that for a bit.” And so, yeah, it’s kind of crazy what you leave behind and then you don’t even realise at the time… Now you look back and think, well, I was in a place then! Yeah.
NA: Is this album happenings the kind of closest to emerging between THE S.L.P. music and Kasabian’s music? Because you’re both the same person, but the S.L.P. is like a solo project. But listening back to it, as I was earlier on, I was just wondering about how aligned these two things are.
SP: It’s funny because it’s just, again, with that, you know, THE S.L.P. record, it’s made exactly how a Kasabian records is made. So there’s not, you know, S.L.P. is Kasabian. Kasabian is THE S.L.P.
NA: Right, okay, it’s interchangeable.
SP: Yeah, definitely. And like I said, because it’s made exactly the same. Like THE S.L.P. album was made exactly like West Ryder was made. You know, in a studio, me trying to figure everything out. You know what I mean? It’s like, that’s the thing. But yeah, but I think it’s just where the albums are just, they are where I seem to be looking at that time in my life, and then for me, it’s all about instinct and not questioning, keeping that child-like enthusiasm about what is amazing about making music… And this album, I wrote it so quickly after the last record, because I was just in such a joyous place and I wanted to just sort of capture that on record and make really, you know, make big, big… Like, make bangers like 10 solid, big tunes. Like no verses, just choruses. So, you know, I wouldn’t, you know, and then have everything super tight. ‘Call’ was the first thing I had and I was like, this is, this has got something. This feels really fresh… And I know live it’s going to go off. Like, I know that first drop of that song, everything is just going to go, like, chaos. So that was, it was just so much fun making this record, I gotta say.
NA: Okay, well look, I want to hear this track, because what you’ve just described was perfect for me as I played this track and it just came “WOOF!” out of the speakers at me. Let’s listen to this. This is from the brand new Kasabian album ‘Happenings.’
G.O.A.T. by Kasabian plays
NA: Oof.
SP: Oof.
NA: Getting involved, Serge.
SP: That’s it.
NA: Getting involved.
SP: Come on.
NA: Interesting with G.O.A.T. –  did you follow the whole Drake/Kendrick Lamar beef?
SP: Yeah.
NA: Did you follow that quite closely? It’s quite interesting because in the world you’re in, but although, you know, you’ve worked with Little Simz, you’ve worked with Slowthai, you and…, and I know you for a fact know a lot about lots of different genres of music. How do you see that? How do you feel about that? Two MCs just publicly going at each other lyrically like that?
SP: It’s a really interesting one, because part of you thinks of the, like… That just drives an interest and like, you know, is one side trying to just, I mean, we’re just trying to grab attention, right, all day? It’s really difficult with, you know, but we’ve got access to everyone, phones straight away. If you start beefing with someone, all of a sudden you are the news and then everyone’s talking about you. And you notice everyone’s streams, goes up, tickets, you sell more tickets. But there’s a price to pay, obviously, because it gets to a point where maybe they start it as a kind of bit of a publicity thing, but then it can turn twisted and it sounds as if like, I don’t know, like there was someone like shooting at Drake’s house or, you know, it gets serious, especially, you know, with that, it’s deep… You know, the American hip hop thing and there’s been a history of, you know, crazy. So, I don’t know, like it’s… Sometimes you think like, I don’t know, like it was fine at the start, but then it got a bit… But then, you know, does it end with like them doing a gig together? Maybe. I don’t know how far it’s gone, but it just seems, I don’t know… Sometimes it’s, I kinda miss that a little bit about rock and roll, you know, like, especially when we started out, that was kind of part of the fun of it, you know? Like, you know, just to sort of… Just get in there and just ruffle the feathers and have a little beef with someone was quite fun, you know?
NA: That’s the thing. I mean, Liam’s just been doing solo gigs, hasn’t he? Big kind of arena tour, Liam Gallagher and he definitely brought that… I mean, but I have read interviews, Serge, where you guys have said that you kind of played up that because you think that’s what journalists wanted, when actually you’d be as happy talking to them about Stockhausen, for instance, as it would be necessarily about going, “Oh yeah, I got nutted at the weekend, it was mental.”
SP: Yeah, of course. We were definitely steered in that direction, but yeah, it’s, I don’t know, like, sometimes you just let it, you know, you’ve got to… When you’re a kid, you know, you got to remember, you’re a kid and I think, like, that attitude got you out of the situation you were in. So, let’s say you’re a kid at school, you’re like, you got a weird name, you like music, play guitar, got funny hair, you’re getting ripped, you’re getting, you’ve got to be hard and you’ve got to have an attitude of “Get out of the way”, you know what I mean? You’re just standing in my way, I’m going to trample, because I need to get what I need to get. Now, you need that to get to that point and then you get to that point and you kind of, you can let go a bit of it then, but you can’t let go because he’s just in you then. And then you’re just picking fights with everyone and everyone, because you need that energy to kind of go, “Well, that energy’s got me here, so I need to carry that on.” So, you’re getting it, you’re getting it and then, you know, you’re trying to reach a point where you go, “Ah, maybe I’m okay now and, you know, maybe I don’t need that anymore.”
NA: Are you 100 percent that guy now?
SP: I think I have more respect for anyone making art at any point. I think that’s the thing that I’ve reached a point where I’m like, “I just shout out to any artist”, whether it’s good or bad, whatever man.” Like, if you’ve committed and you’re out there and you’re grinding, you’re doing your thing… I’ve got total respect for that. So, I think it would be harsh of me to sort of, you know, pick on that because I just think if you’re putting yourself out there, especially now more than ever, because you are getting shot… and if you’re putting stuff out, this is part of the contract, you’re getting abuse from all angles, you know what I mean? So, it’s like, you know, and I’m just all for the artist, man, and I’ve just got respect for that.
NA: What about the 20 trucks and the backstage and the catering and the hundreds of people involved in getting you on stage? How do you feel about that now, eight albums deep?
NA: I mean, it’s just like, I think it’s a beautiful thing, like, that it just creates a world in which, you know, there’s just things for people to do… You know, like that little spark or that weird little idea, you know, especially like some of the songs that I’ve made that have come from such strange places and then that then creates this, you know, like this business, this thing for people to, you know, like to be a part of.
NA: Who love music.
SP: That’s amazing, it’s beautiful, you know, it’s absolutely amazing and, you know, especially on tour with us, like, we keep it tight and it’s family and, you know, and everyone just gets total respect, you know what I mean? Everyone’s like part of it.
NA: Why the title, ‘Happenings’?
SP: I wanted something super concise. One word that I was, yeah, I was into that, you know, along with the record, keep it simple. I was just, I feel like, you know, the sort of art movement of taking art out of the gallery and into the street, I always thought that was a beautiful thing and, like, that… You know, the sort of psychedelic happenings in the, you know, late 60s, they always fascinated me and then I feel like, you know, that this sort of rave scene, they were happenings, you know, like, you get a phone call in a… You know, a red phone box, Luton, Friday night, you know, 8 o’clock and people, 20,000 people turn up. It’s like, it’s that energy that I think’s incredible, so, you know, we’re gonna set up a few happenings around the world and I like the sort of, the line, like, ” AKasabian happening in Tokyo” or “a Kasabian happening in, you know, Halifax” or whatever.
NA: What about a Kasabian happening at Glastonbury this weekend, Serge?
SP: The wellies, the wellies are always packed, they’re always waiting to go. They’re always waiting to go.
NA: I’m heading down tomorrow, Serge. When are you heading down? When are you heading down, Serge? I’m on the road with my son as a prize for his GCSEs tomorrow.
SP: What a beautiful present that is.
NA: Yeah, the two of us are going down a bit of a road trip. Meeting up with my best mate and his son whose mate’s with my son, so…
SP: Is this your last day by the way? Yeah, it is, yeah. Listen, it’s an honor that I get to spend it with you, man, I think you’re a titan, broadcasting titan.
NA: Oh bro, that’s very kind of you to say, but don’t get away from it. I’m trying to get you into it, don’t think you can flatter me away from this subject.
SP: How obvious is that? I thought I’d do a little side move there, but you spotted it. I told you you’re good at your job, man.
NA: So look, because you know, you know, the rumour’s out, right? The rumour’s out.
SP: Yeah. Okay, so the wellies are always packed.
SP: The wellies are always packed.
NA: Okay, so just on a whim you might decide with the boys, that you might, do you know what? Should we just pack the gear as well? A couple of guitars.
SP: Yeah, I mean, you know, if you were hanging around the Woodsies, you never know what you might find, that’s all I’m saying.
NA: Which is where I’m camping.
SP: Is it?
NA: Yeah.
SP: Wow.
NA: But wait a minute, don’t tell me you’re doing it on a Friday afternoon, because I don’t get there until Friday afternoon.
SP: Well, yeah, yeah, yeah.
NA: Am I good or not good?
SP: You’re very good.
NA: Okay. I’m gonna come and find you. I’m gonna come and find you, that’s so good. Look,  happening’s amazing, you’re gonna get on the road with your own tour, obviously. All the dates… When do you go, when does it start? Apart from Woodsies.
SP: So we got this massive gig at Leicester on the 6th of July, the day after the album’s coming out, we’re playing at Victoria Park.
NA: Amazing.
SP: Yeah, we’ve got Master Peace playing, Everything Everything, Kaiser Chiefs, it’s just, yeah, it’s gonna be special, like really, like, yeah… And the new songs, you know, they’re just working so well live, like this, the whole thing… Like it’s just, I’m like trying to strap myself in to just, not just be like some crazy person jumping around, so I’ve got so much energy right now, it’s hard to just…
NA: I feel it.
SP: Just gotta kind of keep it on the low, because I’m, you know?
NA: It feels remiss me, but it’s boringly predictive to ask about, predictable to ask about Tom all the time, but one thing I was thinking about was the word forgiveness and the path towards forgiveness, and then also the path towards, and this feels like, and I’ve interviewed John Bon Jovi a few times, and you know, you don’t keep asking about Richie Sambora every time you interview John Bon Jovi… But the path to forgiveness and whether that path would ever lead to you and him sharing a stage again?
silence
SP: I mean, listen, I know too much… And that’s kind of enough, that’s all I want to say.
NA: That’s fine, and I accept that, and I get that, I totally, totally get that… But one thing I do want to know is – are you camping?
SP: I never camp.
NA: Have you ever camped at Glasto?
SP: The first time we did it, we bought a, like we went to an Army surplus store and got a really massive sort of Army tent, and pitched it, and I never saw it again, because we just went straight through, I mean it was straight through.
NA: Oh no!
SP: Yeah, yeah, yeah, full on. Got there Friday morning, left Sunday afternoon, broken.
NA: Well, this is going to be very different if indeed you decide to go, but as you said, it’s always wellies on standby… But thanks for the flattery, anyway, to try and get yourself out of that.
SP: I meant every word.
NA: Listen, okay, well, if you do walk past the Woodsies and you happen to have a guitar strapped to your back, do some acoustic tracks from the album for us.
SP: GCSEs. I’m going to give your son quite a big props for that. Yeah, it’s massive.
NA: Results are out on 22nd of August for everyone listening now who’s got kids with GCSes. How did you do GCSEs?
SP: Terribly. I think I got, yeah, bad, bad. I was awful at school. I just didn’t get on with any of it. Thank the lord I found songwriting and production. I think, I’d have found my way. I’d have found something to do in that world, you know what I mean? But yeah, in terms of curriculum and all that, man, no, I struggled. Horrible.
NA: How were you with focusing?
SP: Pin-sharp, like insane, which is great for what I do. But then, you know, when it decides to focus on things that aren’t necessarily that useful, then it’s a bit of a, bit of a nightmare.
NA: Like ordering vintage synths.
SP: Yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah. Yeah.
NA: Oh, and wait a minute. I wanted to ask you this… I’ve got to get my book of notes now, because I can’t remember the names. But, um, where are they? Where are the names? They’re the most amazing names… Sorry, I know it’s really, oh yes, Vince Noir and Beatrix Kiddo.
SP: That’s the dogs. Yeah. They’re my dogs.
NA: How are the dogs? I never wanted dogs.
NA: I know. This is outrageous, by the way, that you said no to dogs. I mean, what were you thinking?
SP: My wife’s a veterinary nurse, and she’s like, she’s just worked on me for like, you know, just somehow over like, I don’t know, maybe 10-15 years… And then one day, I’m like sat on the settea with a, a vizsla, just going, I just never wanted this. I never wanted it. And now I am, I am literally the dog… I’m in the street, like talking to other dog owners
NA: Love it.
SP: Like, “That guy!”
NA: I’m that guy.
SP: Yeah, I know. I don’t, I’m not. I’m not talking to anyone. I’m like, definitely headphones and I’m going about my business… And I love everyone. But, you know, I just haven’t got anything to say. But now I’m like, “Oh, she’s beautiful. What food are you on?”
NA: “Raw food? You on raw or dry food?”
SP: Yeah, exactly. And, like, yeah, and they are like, in the morning, like, well, you know, it’s been said a million times about dogs, but you get up and they are just happy you are here. Unlike your, rest of your family couldn’t care less. You know what I mean? But these two, they’re all, you know, they’re amazing, man, like, and very, very wildly different. Crazy. Love them.
NA: Vince Noir and Beatrix Kiddo. I love the names as well. They’re absolutely… I went to Japan, came back and my wife got a second dog. She didn’t like, didn’t tell me.
SP: That’s how it goes. That’s exactly how it goes. That’s how it goes.
NA: Oh, you’ll have a third and a fourth and fifth before you know it. So it’s always lovely to see you. Hopefully, I might, you know, see you again at some point over the weekend.
SP: We might pass.
NA: 5th of July happenings, the album is out and then touring, go and check out. Kasabian dates and go and get tickets. Going to be amazing. Right, Woodsie. See you there, mate.
SP: Love it.
NA: Cheers, Serge. Serge Pizzorno there. And Kassabian album, as I said is called Happenings out on the 5th of July. What a lovely, lovely man.