Artist Of The Week: Keane

Keane‘s latest release, the EP Night Train, was released in May of this year. The songs, recorded all over the world, are culled primarily from scraps, leftovers and unfinished songs. Special guests include K’Naan on two tracks and Tigarah covering Yellow Magic Orchestra.

Click through to see their exclusive in-studio performances of “Stop For A Minute,” “Clear Skies,” My Shadow” from Night Train. By request, they make me happy and go back to the debut album Hopes And Fears to do a stunning version of “Bend And Break.” Be sure to listen to their interview which details the making of this eclectic EP and stories behind some of the songs.

Last.fm Discover gladly welcomed Tom Chaplin, Tim Rice-Oxley, Richard Hughes and Jesse Quin of Keane to our studio following the release of the Night Train EP. Instead of the traditional ways of recording, Keane used studios in Berlin, Brisbane, Copenhagen, London, Los Angeles, Paris and Washington, DC during the Perfect Symmetry world tour. “ We're not very good at having a sort of a formula and sticking to it, but I think that's a good thing.
” Tim Rice-Oxley

This release is built around the K’Naan collaborations. The band’s original idea was to get Kanye West for “Looking Back” and get that “west coast vibe” to it, laid back, funky and soulful. Once they put together “Stop For A Minute,” they decided to go with K’Naan who they were fans of. They soon discovered that he in fact, was a fan of Keane as well.

They just wrapped up a small tour of the U.S. which included a spectacular show on a beautiful night in Brooklyn, NY on the waterfront. Tom Chaplin teased, they’ll be back soon. Their live show is one of the best you’ll ever see.

Keane on the song “Stop for a Minute”

“Stop For A Minute”

Keane on the song “Clear Skies”

“Clear Skies”

Keane on the song “My Shadow”

“My Shadow”

Keane on the song “Bend and Break”

“Bend and Break”

Keane on the song “Looking Back”

Keane on the song “Back in Time”

Keane tells us about the Yellow Magic Orchestra cover “Ishin Denshin (You’ve Got To Help Yourself)”

What different places was the Night Train EP recorded?

Were any songs from the EP played live before being released?

What keeps Keane here today?

Why an EP?