Travis are featured on the BBC News website, on the Entertainment homepage. An exclusive performance of "Song To Self" also appears in the BBC iPlayer.
"Glasgow indie rock band Travis have returned to release their sixth studio album, Ode to J Smith, and embark on a UK tour.
Since their debut album Good Feeling was released in 1997, the band have headlined Glastonbury and twice received Brit Awards for best album. Travis front man Fran Healy speaks about being friends with Chris Martin, admiring Katy Perry and recording their new album in two weeks..
Who is J Smith?
He's a fictional character, used as a device to write this record. Parts of him are based on my own experiences projected onto a character. We've always come from a Joni Mitchell-style confessional school of song-writing. But this album takes more of a Bob Dylan perspective.
The album's very definitely guitar-led - heavier like your first album Good Feeling. Was this a conscious decision to move back towards an electric sound?
It was accidental. We were coming back from South America and I lost my amplifier. I was sent another amp, which was very loud. My regular guitar didn't work on it so I had to use an old 1956 Jazzmaster. It sounded loud and amazing so I wrote a lot of songs using it."
Read the full interview here!
