If you were a teen in the 2000s, then you’ve no doubt spent plenty of hours singing your heart out to The Kooks. The British indie rock band is set to play a string of Aussie shows in October to celebrate the (brace yourself – this might hurt a little) 15th anniversary of their incredible debut album Inside In/Inside Out, which features tracks that we continue to regularly blast from our cars and bedrooms, like “Naïve”, “Ooh La” and “She Moves in Her Own Way”.

Somehow, amongst their global tour, The Kooks have also managed to release their sixth studio album – 10 Tracks To Echo In The Dark. We recently caught up with one third of the band – Hugh Harris – to chat about the new album, the old album, and life in general.

Describe your new record, 10 Tracks To Echo In The Dark, in five words. Fantasy, nostalgia, Bauhaus, deconstructed, dreampop.

Why did you release the album in three parts? It’s more suited to how people digest music these days.

Tell us about the experience of going on the Inside In/Inside Out 15th anniversary tour, while simultaneously releasing new music. What has it been like to move between these two eras at once? It’s been very enlightening! Good songs stand up to each other, like tall poppies. It’s also been exhausting. We used to play at breakneck speeds – that’s definitely been made apparent in the process. But now we caress and enjoy melodies. Angst is wasted on the anxious.

The Inside In/Inside Out tour is coming to Australia in October. What aspect of these shows are you most looking forward to? Meeting our fans. Honestly, I miss our Australian fans. My dad was one of them and I miss him greatly.

Where did you write most of 10 Tracks To Echo In The Dark? Berlin and London / our hearts.

How has your creative process changed over the years? We used to work on songs all together and in one room; now we do it on computers and in studios separately and with producers. Which is great. But I think with tech being more convenient and faster working these days, it’s made a huge impact on songwriting and record producing, which doesn’t always imply for the better, or for worse… If you have a spare fence for me to sit on, this one just broke.

What’s your favourite track on the new album? “Closer”. It reminds me of so many times I’ve wanted to connect with someone special but couldn’t.

Where would you find each band member on a Sunday afternoon? Luke would be with his family, cooking lunch and drinking wine, and playing with his psycho cat, Buddy Holly. Alexis would be in his studio making beats with some vintage outboard gear that no-one’s ever heard of, and eating mushrooms he’s foraged from Hampstead Heath. I’d be driving back from a weekend in Sussex spent camping by the beach, Gardeners’ Question Time blaring on the radio, trying to have a deep-and-meaningful convo with my six-year-old daughter who’s far from the appropriate age at which to discuss the futility of life, but oddly much more prepared for such things.

What’s your favourite experience as a band so far? In Lima, Peru, we were invited to a restaurant called Central. The head chef, Virgilio Martinez, came out to greet us and served 16 courses of the most mind-stimulating, off-piste, Sci-fi provincial foods that Peru has to offer. I think Central is now something like the fourth top restaurant in the world. It has a six-month waiting list. I randomly liked some pics on their Insta and got a table. Wouldn’t have stood a chance had I not stolen The Kooks’ Insta login.

Any tour rituals? We play a song called “Tequila” by The Champs before every show. We drink tequila when they say “tequila” and…

“All shall be well” – Julian of Norwich.