As well as currently tearing up stadiums with Oasis on their mammoth UK tour, Kasabian have elaborated on their decision to title their new album ‘West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum’.
After being released last monday (Clash Music review HERE), Kasabian’s third album has seen them return with a psychedelic third outing, and the band have baffled fans as to its unexpected title and album cover, depicting the group dressed as various characters.
Now guitarist Serge Pizzorno has spoken out about the album’s title and artwork, which is based on a Yorkshire mental institution and inspired by none other than German krautrock mentalists Amon Düül II. Over to Serge:
“The album isn’t about the place, I just first heard about it on a TV documentary, and the words just struck me,” explained Pizzorno of the title. “I love the way it looked and the feeling it evokes. Apparently, it was one of the first loony bins for the poor, before that it was mainly rich people who got treatment.”
The asylum in question is the High Royds Psychiatric Hospital in Wakefield, which closed its doors in 2003. The hospital also inspired the title of Kaiser chiefs track ‘Highroyds’. The Kasabain artwork sees the group dressed as various characters, with each set to represent a character within the asylum. Pizzorno added:
“The album cover comes from thinking about the words really. It’s us getting dressed up for a party at the asylum, looking in the mirror at the costumes..”
“Amon Düül II’s ‘Made In Germany’ is one of my favourite albums and I really love the sleeve of that record,” he said. “I wanted to do something in that tradition. I just thought, bands don’t really do covers like that any more. Admittedly, some people might think we look really silly, but for me I just think it really works.”
Kasabian’s ‘West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum’ is currently heading for number one in this weeks album charts.
