The Rolling Stones‘ Mick Jagger has revealed which modern artists he’s a fan of.
The legendary rock band are gearing up to release their 25th studio album, ‘Foreign Tongues‘, which is out on July 10 via Polydor/Universal Music. In the lead-up, Jagger previously revealed he’s been a fan of Zara Larsson since 2018, and now he’s sharing even more new music he’s been listening to.
In a new interview with GQ, Jagger was asked which current musicians he’s inspired by, to which he responded: “I did a track with Burna Boy. That was hilarious. ‘Cause I’m a real afrobeats person. And I’ve always liked Burna Boy. David Bowie was a great example of someone who only wanted to listen to what was going on now. But it’s such a lot of work to do that. It’s so much work. Loads of it is rubbish. So, I don’t ignore what’s going on, but I’m not a slave to what’s going on.
Jagger was then asked if he had heard Geese – and it turns out, he has. “Geese, everyone’s talking about them. They’re very experimental, Geese, really,” he said. “I mean, for a rock band. I quite like it. I heard all the talk about it, and as soon as the record, [‘Getting Killed‘], came out, I was expecting it to be more indie. I wasn’t expecting it to be quite that out there, but I admire that.”
Later, he also gave Rosalía his approval, saying, “I mean, there’s also a lot of good women singers who have done great recently. Look at Rosalia’s album [‘Lux‘]. That was something really conceptual, really interesting. And she really pulled it off, and I really admire her for doing it.”
Upon announcing the follow-up to 2023’s Grammy-winning ‘Hackney Diamonds’, Jagger and co. revealed that the record would boast contributions from the Cure frontman Robert Smith, and the likes of Paul McCartney and Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ Chad Smith.
Earlier this week, they shared Divine Intervention’, featuring Smith, along with another single, ‘Jealous Lover’.
The Stones’ forthcoming album will also include the previously released singles ‘Rough And Twisted’ and ‘In The Stars’, as well as a cover of the Amy Winehouse classic ‘You Know I’m No Good’. It’ll also feature the group’s late drummer, Charlie Watts.
Check out the full tracklist for ‘Foreign Tongues’ here.
In other news, The Rolling Stones have announced a new podcast series, Speaking In Tongues, giving fans a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the making of ‘Foreign Tongues’ across six episodes.
Last month, NME attended the ‘Foreign Tongues’ launch event in New York City, where the Stones discussed the diversity of sound on their new album and a country track called ‘Ringing Hollow’.
Elsewhere, Jagger recently teased the possibility of a new Rolling Stones tour coming up, saying that he hoped to do some “shows next year”. He’d previously said he “can’t wait” to get back out on the road with the group, and Keith Richards hinted that they could confirm some dates for 2027.
Jagger has also admitted that the idea of a big-screen Rolling Stones biopic “interests” him.