Bartees Strange has opened up about his relationship with super-producer Jack Antonoff, who helped to produce the Baltimore-based musician’s latest album, ‘Horror’. Watch our full video interview above
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He also hailed Bloc Party’s Kele Okereke and TV On The Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe as formative influences, and discussed his work on brand-new material.
Strange was speaking to NME backstage at Reading 2025 after his performance on the Festival Republic Stage. Asked what qualities that Antonoff has over other producers, Strange replied: “I produce a lot of records now and I think the biggest thing is you become who you’re working with and you help them take a few extra steps they wouldn’t normally take.
“The way you do that is by building trust. In the beginning, they’re only gonna listen to you so much, but by the end, they should trust you with everything. No-one’s better than him at that.”
Strange added: “I think it’s because he kind of approaches records like a plumber. He’s not a precious guy. He’ll pull up there early; he’s working hard. Everything’s set up. Every idea, we can throw it at the wall. No idea is bad.
“He’s not a tremendously talented player, so when he plays, it disarms the situation. He’s not a freaky guitar player or drummer. He’s just good at getting the ideas out. So after he plays, you’re like, ‘Oh, I can play that better’, and then it becomes a conversation. It’s very low-stakes and it becomes really beautiful stuff because he has great taste. That guy’s great.”
‘Horror’, Strange’s third album – encompassing indie, rap and dance – was almost completed by the time that Antonoff joined the project.
Still, Strange recalled: “He added a lot. He helped me take it from 80 to 100 per cent, for sure. There were some songs that completely came alive once he got involved. He’s really good, man. I really like him.
“All the structures and stuff stayed the same, and a lot of all the lyrics, but for example ‘Too Much’, he just kind of made that song sound like it was from outer space. [He added] all these weird ship noises and the synths, swells and dynamics were all things that he was able to build around the framework of my production.
“On songs like ‘Wants Needs’, he just helped me punch it up and simplify it. He made my bridge work. The bridge didn’t work and he started sampling parts of other songs on the record and bringing them in. It was really amazing. The dude’s freaky.”
When NME suggested that Antonoff was ‘The Plumber Of Pop’, Strange replied: “I think he is; he’s like a blue-collar pop guy. It’s sick.”
Although he’s now based in Baltimore, Strange was born in the UK, in Ipswich, and moved to Oklahoma as a child. “I knew the world was bigger than the places I was living because I lived here,” he explained. “I knew there were other places so I was always curious about the music that was happening here.
“That was how I found out about Burial and Jai Paul, and so many artists – like the Klaxons and Enter Shikari – that I never would have found if I’d just focused on where I was at. I still listen to [the Enter Shikari song] ‘Sorry You’re Not A Winner and [the Klaxons song] ‘Golden Skans’.
Strange has previously spoken about the influence of Bloc Party, who also played Reading & Leeds this weekend. “I heard ‘Helicopter’ on Fifa and I was like, ‘Who is this? This song’s amazing!” Strange told NME. “And then on Fuse, I saw a live performance and I was like, [Okereke is] Black! Oh, whoa, that’s so cool.’ I’d never seen that and I was so in love with it. The drummer [Matt Tong] was insane. I remember being in love with the drummer and thought that the guitar parts were so amazing.’ It was just incredible music. Urgent.”
Back in April, TV On The Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe spoke to NME about the representation of people of colour in indie music and explained that he’d become pals with Strange: “It’s been a joy to be friends with him.” Asked if Adebimpe was also an inspiration, Strange replied: “Yeah man. I saw [TV On The Radio] playing on [Late Night with David] Letterman when I came home from football practice when it was just on in the living room.
“They were doing ‘Wolf Like Me’ and that was the moment. I remember just being like, ‘I wanna be like him. That guy is the coolest guy I’ve ever seen in my life.’ But yeah: we’re buddies; we talk every once in a while.”
When NME noted that TV On The Radio were more “left-field” than many of their ‘00s indie contemporaries, Strange replied: “Yeah, I think that’s why I connected with it because I think the first time I heard it, I was like, ‘I’ve never heard anything like this.’ When I heard Bloc Party, I had a reference for it. It was like a lot of things that were happening, but it was just, like, cooler.
“With the TV stuff, I was like, ‘This feels like hearing Radiohead or something. I don’t know how they’re doing it and I have to see it.’ I’ve seen them so many times since as a kid in high school. I love them.”
Strange also revealed that he’s been working on new material and will “record in January, probably”.
He said the new record would be “simple”, adding: “I’ve kinda done all I need to do with the big stuff. Everyone knows I can produce; I can make a thing sound cool. I’m gonna do something small.”
Asked if he’ll self-produce this time, he replied: “I’m just gonna do it how I always do it. I’ll probably start it by myself. I’m definitely gonna show it to Jack, just ‘cause we’re friends. That’s the thing: Jack and I are just buddies now, so I’m gonna go over to his house and play it.”
If Antonoff had notes, Strange said, his response would be: “‘Oh, cool – let’s play with it.’”
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