Alt-J Live on KCRW: “Left Hand Free”

Since Alt-J made their live U.S. radio debut on KCRW just over two years ago, a LOT has changed for the band. They won the Mercury Prize in the UK that year and were pretty much catapulted to stardom.

We’ve been spinning the first two singles off their sophomore release, and were really excited to have them in the studio today to play the new songs live!

Alt-J frontman Joe Newman says the band tried to recapture the same spirit of their debut as they crafted their follow up: “a group of guys who are friends first and bandmates a very close second that are hanging out enjoying each other company and making music that reflects that.”

The clear standout – “Left Hand Free” – was a very quick song to write but they didn’t realize what they had on their hands: “We don’t understand songs that well. We just like to write them. We never know what’s going to be big and what’s not.”

Joe adds later that “listening to our music is sort of a bit like going inside our minds.”

It’s a journey I’m happy to take.

Find the full session in the archives here.

RR

Alt-J by Larry Hirshowitz