CheekyChicago

Cheeky: Who is on your dream wish list of whom you’d like to collaborate with in the future, whether it be touring, recording, producing 0r performing?

Tom Chaplin: We have worked with Gwen Stefani already. We recently worked with Canadian-Somali rapper K’Naan on this new album [Night Train]. We worked with Kanye West, but that project has yet to see the light of day. I am a huge fan of hip hop, so I would love to work with someone renowned in that genre. I would say that Snoop Dogg is the number one artist that I would want to work with in the future.

Cheeky: What advice would you give an up-and-coming band who finds themselves in the middle of a bidding war between major labels on the verge of getting signed?

TC: The hardest thing for us was trying to cope with being successful. Our first record [Hopes and Fears] was a big hit and all of a sudden we were in demand. We said “yes” to a lot of things that we would now definitely say “no” to. My best piece of advice for any band just starting out is to stop trying to please everybody and just enjoy your success.

Cheeky: The placement of “Somewhere Only We Know” in the movie He’s Just Not That Into You was quite remarkable. How involved are you in the decision-making process of licensing your music to films, TV shows and advertisements?

TC: We get a lot of requests to use our music in movies because our lyrics are very descriptive and work very well in film scenes. Generally, we say “no” to most licensing requests. However, we do say “yes” to offers that we like. It is a bit of an honor to even be asked.

Cheeky: How much of the business side of the music industry did you understand before signing a publishing deal (Chrysalis Music) and recording contract (Island Records)?

TC: About as much as I understand now, which is not much at all. We meet a lot of hip hop guys like Kanye West who always want to talk about the business side of things. We don’t like talking about the business side of the music industry at all. We don’t like talking about money or the financial aspects and details of our career. We started Keane because we loved making music. All we wanted when we signed a major label recording contract was to have complete control over our career. Even to this day, we oversee everything that goes into our music videos, album artwork, etc. The most important thing a band can do with their career is to retain artistic control. I think that Lady Gaga is the best example of an artist who clearly takes and maintains control of her career. She is this huge pop machine, but you can tell that everything she does comes personally from her and nobody else.