Arctic Monkey business

The Arctic Monkeys play a sold out show in Auckland tomorrow night.

Matt Helders from the Arctic Monkeys has no idea why his band is one of the biggest in the world. Many times during our conversation he mutters, "I don't know, I don't know what to say".

When pushed, Helders can elaborate on why he thinks they're so big. But you can hardly blame the polite 20-year-old for being a bit vague. He's in a rock'n'roll band, reaping the benefits of selling nearly 2 million copies of their debut album, touring the world, and partying after the gigs. Life is sweet.

Although, he admits that the Sheffield band, made up of Helders on drums, singer/guitarist Alex Turner, guitarist Jamie Cook, and bass player Nick O'Malley, have had to grow up in the last year.

"Before, we weren't really having to talk to a new person every day and we were quite shy, but now we're meeting people all the time and we're a bit more confident," he says coyly.

"But, I don't know, I suppose we're a bit more mature, and I guess we've had to treat it like a real job. But, I mean, we still [expletive] about and all that, and we haven't grown up too much."

The success story of the Arctic Monkeys, who play at the St James tomorrow night, has been told many times. But, just in case, here it is again. At their early shows in mid 2003 they gave out burned CDs of their music to fans.

The fans ripped the music to their computers, started sharing the Monkeys' songs among themselves over the internet, and word spread.

This internet-generated fanbase is the main reason their first album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not became the fastest-selling debut in Britain when released in January.

Helders is adamant the band had nothing to do with using the internet as a successful marketing tool and it's the fans they have to thank for that.

"But obviously, the other things we've done are down to us, like avoiding a lot of the traditional paths that other bands take."

By this he means not being in any hurry to sign to a record label (they eventually signed to Domino last year) and having a policy of releasing new music when they want (like June's EP, Who The [expletive] Are the Arctic Monkeys?).

They are also popular in New Zealand. Tomorrow night's gig is a sell-out (2500 people) and Whatever People Say I Am has sold nearly 15,000 copies.

All this, and the oldest members of the band are still only 21.

So you've still got a few years left in you yet then? "And a long time to survive. I guess it depends on which way you look at it," laughs Helders.

"We've just enjoyed every minute of it really and there's been no real downsides to it yet. It's not like I've always wanted to be in a band. But now that I am doing it it's just something that I've found that I like."

One of them didn't survive. In May, original bass player Andy Nicholson quit the band because of fatigue after months of solid touring.

"It just depends who you are, doesn't it?" is all Helders says about his former band mate.

The band grew up together and they always talked about being in a band. O'Malley (who replaced Nicholson) was also part of the Monkeys' circle of friends back then.

"Even now, you can get to all our houses within a minute. So yeah, we used to always talk about it and I think we were the ones who were most interested in it and we did it."

They played their first show to friends and family at the Grapes in Sheffield on June 13, 2003.

"We would have been 16 or so," says Helders. "Our parents were never telling us to get a real job or anything. They were always telling us that we might as well try it while we're still young because we'd regret it if we never knew what it was like."

Their fan base built up quickly in their hometown but elsewhere was a little slower to catch on. "We'd be playing to 300 people - sold out - in Sheffield and we'd still be playing to six people in Hull," he laughs.

Now they're playing concerts to "3000 people in the middle of nowhere in the US" thanks to songs like I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor and When the Sun Goes Down.

He laughs about the fact the soppy side of British music, like Coldplay and James Blunt, is big in New Zealand, but of the Brit bands who pack a little more punch it's only the Arctic Monkeys and Franz Ferdinand who have made a splash here.

But - surprise, surprise - he can't explain their mass appeal.

"Sometimes we ask ourselves why," he laughs. "I mean really, we haven't got an explanation for it."

Their appeal has a lot to do with their catchy and danceable tunes as well as Turner's friendly, often hilarious, and always inquisitive lyrics. For example, take the cheeky lines: "I bet that you look good on the dancefloor/Dancing to electro-pop like a robot from 1984".

"The things he's writing about are things that either he, or all of us, have experienced," says Helders. "It's all about our lives really and even though he writes the lyrics, a lot of it is inspired by us all. Alex is just like a normal kid, I suppose, but when it comes to writing songs and thinking about things he probably thinks about it a bit more than others do."

Helders says the constant touring means they've all got better at playing their instruments and it has inspired him to think more about the craft of music.

"I've started listening to a lot more music since I've been in a band. It kind of worked in reverse for me, because being in a band got me into music rather than getting me into a band.

"I mean, I always used to listen to music, but never really thought about it that much and I used to think it sounded good. But now I think more about what songs mean.

"Our first album was pretty straight to the point," he continues, "but now we can afford to mess around with rhythms because we know more about music.

"And now, when we write songs, we can sometimes tell what each other's thinking and we all have similar ideas. But we've still got a lot to learn."

They have been writing songs for their second album, and Helders has helped Turner demo some new tracks.

"We still have similar lyrics that aren't really that hard to understand, but musically we've matured and got a bit more experimental just to make it interesting for everyone.

"It's not like we want to try to show off on this one but obviously it's got to move on because we could make another 13 songs the same as the last but we wouldn't really be happy with that."

Not on your life.

Lowdown

Who: Arctic Monkeys
What: Young Sheffield quartet who play rock music you can dance to
Line up: Alex Turner (vocals/guitar); Jamie Cook (guitar); Nick O'Malley (bass); and Matt Helders (drums)
Releases: Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006) and Who The [expletive] Are The Arctic Monkeys? EP (2006), both out now
Playing: St James, Auckland, tomorrow night, with the Grates (SOLD OUT)