The Black Keys tell us about returning to the UK and their “epic” new album

nme.com:

The Black Keys’ Patrick Carney has spoken to NME about the band’s upcoming tour of the UK and Europe, their “epic” new album, working with Noel Gallagher and why they’ll never play Glastonbury.The blues rock duo are set to kick off their European tour in Paris on June 19 before playing their first UK headline tour in over 10 years.“We’re both excited to get over there but we don’t feel any pressure about playing,” drummer Carney told NME. “Our first show in London was at the Camden Barfly to maybe 30 people and for a decade, we played every single venue imaginable to get to Ally Pally and The O2.“When you’re coming up, it can often feel like competition and you’re constantly stressed.

Now, we’re at the point where we can just enjoy everything.”The band are touring in support of 2022’s ‘Dropout Boogie’ and will be joined onstage by a group of “incredible musicians.”“The key to our sound is embracing the human element,” said Carney. “None of us are virtuosic musicians, there’s just a lot of raw rock ‘n’ roll.”As well as those headline shows, The Black Keys are also hoping to host more DJ nights, where they exclusively play tracks via 45 vinyl. “It’s just us, partying,” explained Carney. “We don’t want to go to some crummy bar after the show and listen to shitty music.

We’d stay backstage and play music but there’s no one else there, which is kind of boring. This is a way for us to control the jukebox and hang out together.”A post shared by The Black Keys (@theblackkeys) The last time The Black Keys fully toured the UK was in support of 2011’s ‘El Camino’.

Speaking about what’s changed for the band between then and now, Carney explained: “We’ve done a lot of growing up in the last 10 years.