Best known as the frontman of The View, Kyle Falconer has created a successful solo career of his own in recent years, away from the Scottish indie rock band’s recent comeback.
This month, Falconer will release some of his strongest work to date, with solo album ‘Lovely Night of Terror’ landing on March 27th.
Packed with special guest collaborations, including The Libertines’ Peter Doherty and The Darkness’s Justin Hawkins, Kyle heads into the latest release understandably brimming with confidence.
We caught up with him to discuss the new record, along with his songwriting retreat in Spain, intimate tour dates, what the future holds and plenty more…
NC: With Lovely Night of Terror coming out this month, how are you feeling ahead of the release? You seem quite confident about this one.
Kyle: “I think it’s the first time I’ve had a full studio set-up in my house, so I wanted to take full advantage of that. I started writing with my friend Andy and the songs just started becoming really good. It was a really personal record at first, just me and Andy playing everything, and we wrote and recorded the music together. Then it became a case of asking people if they’d like to get involved. We got a great response because the songs were strong. Everyone who heard them was like, “Send me the song, I’d love to do it.”
NC: I wondered if any of the record had come out of the La Sierra Casa collaborative songwriting retreat you run in Spain?
Kyle: “A couple of the collaborations did come from that. I’d been trying to get Jamie (Webster) involved for a while, and when he was out there he said he’d do something if the right song came along. But most of it was just me sending songs to people and seeing what they thought. I think because the songs didn’t feel like typical indie songs, they were a bit more melodic, it made sense to bring other people in and push them slightly outside their comfort zones.”
NC: For anyone who doesn’t know about the retreat, what actually happens there?
Kyle: “Usually about 20 to 30 people come along, and we’ll have a guest artist. In the past we’ve had people like Justin Hawkins or Jamie Webster. Everyone gets split into groups and spends about four or five days writing songs together. On the last day, everyone performs. What’s great is that some people have never written a song before, or never played with anyone else. It’s about getting people out of their shell and showing them it doesn’t have to be a scary process.”
NC: Have you always wanted to do something like that, helping people collaborate and write songs?
Kyle: “Yeah, I think so. Even when I was young I was always the one bringing people together in bands. I just like showing people that songwriting doesn’t have to be this mystical thing. You hear stories about songs taking 10 years to write, but a lot of the time you just sit down and write something in half an hour. People are often scared of showing what’s in their head. It’s about giving them the confidence to just go for it.”
NC: The new record feels like it’s structured in two halves, the collaborations first and then more solo material. What was the thinking behind this?
Kyle: “It wasn’t really intentional at first. I just wanted to put the singles at the start. It felt like the obvious way to do it, if someone puts the record on, they’ll hear those songs straight away. But it does get a bit more personal as it goes on. I’ve always liked albums that start big and then slow down a bit towards the end.”
NC: Some of the songs feel particularly radio-friendly this time around, was this the aim?
Kyle: “Yeah, that was the idea. I kept them simple, no massive production or loads of harmonies. Just a song that people can sing along to. It feels a bit old-school in that sense.”
NC: One of the headline collaborations is with Pete Doherty. How did that come about?
Kyle: “I’ve known Pete for about 20 years. I sent him the album and he phoned me saying he loved one of the songs and he said he wanted to sing on it. Tracking him down to record it was the hard part! In the end he was playing in Edinburgh and I happened to be going through with my three kids. I jumped out, went backstage with a laptop, and we recorded the vocal there. The song was already done, he just had to sing it.”
NC: Another interesting collaboration is with Justin Hawkins. That’s not the most obvious pairing?
Kyle: “I was obsessed with The Darkness when I was younger, so that was a dream for me. I sent him all the songs and he picked one because he liked the chord changes. It was cool because it’s not really something he’d normally sing on. It’s probably more like one of my songs than his, but getting his approval meant a lot.”
NC: You also worked with Jamie Webster. What made you want to collaborate with him?
Kyle: “He’s just a man of the people. Years ago a mate sent me a video of him singing “Face for the Radio,” which is a View song, and we kept in touch after that. He’s a class guy and a great singer. People think of him as that football-terrace type singer, but he’s actually really melodic.”
NC: You’ve got some tour dates coming up, including shows at venues like Night & Day Café, what made you go for the more intimate venues?
Kyle: “That place was the first venue we ever played in Manchester with The View, and I’ve played it loads of times since. It just holds good memories. This is the first time I’m touring with my band for the solo stuff, so I wanted to start small and build it up.”
NC: Will the setlists mostly be new material?
Kyle: “Mostly, yeah. But every show we’ve been adding another song just to see how it goes. If someone shouts for something, I might play it, it just depends how the night feels.”
NC: With the album and shows coming up, what’s next? Is the focus fully on the solo project?
Kyle: “I’m not sure what’s happening with The View right now. For the moment it’s full steam ahead with the solo stuff. I’m really excited for this record to come out. It’s just a great record, I’ve been sitting on it for about a year now.”
Kyle Falconer’s new solo album ‘Lovely Night of Terror’ is out on March 27th. To order and for more information, head to: Kyle Falconer – Official Store.
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