KEY POINTS:
Jack White (of the White Stripes) and I created the theme song for Quantum of Solace. Another Way To Die is the 22nd Bond theme. We didn't really listen to any of the other Bond theme tunes before creating this one.
I'm not exactly up on the Bond films. I've seen a few Goldfinger, Casino Royale and from what I've heard, Shirley Bassey's Goldfinger is my favourite Bond theme. This song isn't like that, but the brassiness of Goldfinger comes through in this one.
It was in July that I heard I'd been chosen to sing the theme tune with Jack. The producers of the film approached Jack to write the theme song, with me in mind to sing it. I felt like us working together would create a real rock'n'soul sound. Jack's sound is very raw, very cut and dried, drums and guitar. I thought that by combining that style with mine, which already has a raw feel to it, and with my voice, we could do something really interesting that mixes rock and soul together.
Jack and I have been wanting to collaborate for a long while, and this was a great opportunity to do so. This won't be the last time we work together. This is just the beginning. We did have to face some challenges. It's the first duet in Bond history. That made it challenging, because it is two worlds coming together to create something that totally goes with the movie.
We didn't watch the film before creating the sound, but it worked out perfectly. Jack had read the script before writing the song. I've seen the film now, though. It starts with a crazy car-chase, and then after that ends the song comes in. And wow ... it's so right. The process of creating the Bond theme was fun. Jack is such a talented and soulful guy, we had a lot of fun being creative. The video was even more fun.
I would love to rock with him on my next album.
Alicia Keys plays at Vector Arena on Saturday December 6
- INDEPENDENT
