Nothing But Thieves: Futureproof inspiration was "Kanye West meets Rage Against The Machine"

9 June 2021, 16:14 | Updated: 15 June 2021, 10:48

Nothing But Thieves talk Futureproof single

By Jenny Mensah

Conor and Joe told Radio X's George Godfrey about their latest single and revealed how it's influenced by the US rapper and the iconic band.

Nothing But Thieves have revealed how they were inspired by both Kanye West and Rage Against The Machine when creating their new single.

The Southend rockers premiered Futureproof this week, which blends elements of rock with hip-hop, and spoke to Radio X's George Godfrey about the writing process.

Lead singer Conor Mason revealed: "It was [a case of] how do we blend this genre that we love, which is hip-hop, and obviously a genre that we do and love, which is rock."

The band revealed that though it was a tough task and they were desperate not to sound like Limp Bizkit, they took influences from other artists.

Kanye West, Nothing But Thieves Conor Mason and Rage Against The Machine's Zack de la Rocha — Nothing But Thieves reveal Kanye West and Rage Against The Machine inspired their latest single. Picture: 1. Pierre Suu/GC Images 2. Alessandro Bosio/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images 3. Tim Mosenfelder/Corbis via Getty Images

"This was like Kanye meets Rage Against the Machine," revealed the frontman. "This was using the techniques of writing through hip-hop. For instance, focusing on the flow of a section and that's your chorus rather than thinking 'we need a big chorus here'."

He concluded: "It's just using elements and techniques of that genre that we love and trying to make it work with us."

Watch the official video for Futureproof below:

Nothing But Thieves - Futureproof (Official Video)

The video, which was directed by Jake Jelicich (Skrillex, Dua Lipa), sees the band bathed in an auburn glow. while giving an intense an energetic performance.

Elsewhere, the band said of the single: "Futureproof is about self-preservation; what that means to different people and the lengths that those people would go to achieve it."

The single follows Is Everybody Going Crazy?, Real Love Song and Impossible, which were released last year from their third album Moral Panic.

WATCH: Nothing But Thieves cover Dreams by Fleetwood Mac

Meanwhile, NBT are set for UK and Ireland tour dates this year, which will see them play their biggest headline show to date at The O2 Arena, London.