Gaz Coombes says the praise his first solo album received was a “really beautiful experience”.
The Supergrass frontman “really let loose” when it came to recording his 2015 LP ‘Matador’ but he wasn’t thinking about critical acclaim at the time.
He told The Big Issue magazine: “My solo album ‘Matador’ was a really beautiful moment for me. It was the first time I really let loose in the studio, instinctively writing and recording. And it worked.
“I was so excited to be nominated for the Mercury Prize. I was just making this mad album and then suddenly these reviews came in and it took on its own energy.
“It was a really beautiful experience to remind myself that, more than 25 years after I started, there are always possibilities ahead.”
The ‘Alright’ hitmaker has enjoyed a “good journey” throughout his decades in music but never actually had a long-term plan in mind for his career.
He said: “I’ve always been quite in the moment with things. When I was 16, I never remember thinking about what I’d be doing 30 years later.
“But I would’ve loved to have known that things would still be going great – and that I had kids and the kids were good. It’s been a good journey.”
And the 46-year-old rocker has learned a lot from the musicians he’s learned along the way.
He added: “My younger self would be excited about having a long career with his mates, playing around the world. We met so many people in the industry that I’ve learned so much from.
“The idea of playing on stage with musicians like Nile Rodgers or Foo Fighters would have blown my tiny little mind.”