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The Sun
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
On stage, I become a romanticised, superhero version of me, says Matt Berninger as he opens up on solo album release
ANYONE who's seen Matt Berninger sing live will know that he has a commanding stage presence. Tall, elegant and blessed with a sumptuous baritone, The National's frontman looks every inch a rock star. 4 4 All 6ft 3in of him. With his beloved band, he's made acclaimed records for 25 years, headlined numerous festivals — and sung with Taylor Swift. And yet, as I discover and he admits, there's a very different person beneath the veneer. As he releases his second solo album, the soul-searching Get Sunk, he says: 'Sometimes, you must go into the world in character just to survive. 'To go on stage and be Matt Berninger of The National for two-and-a-half hours, you need armour. 'I become a romanticised, superhero version of me,' he continues via video call from Los Angeles, where he's rehearsing for his solo tour. 'It's especially odd for people like me who don't play the guitar, like the Bonos of this world. It can be particularly humiliating if you do it badly, you've got nothing to hide behind.' 'Get rid of the acting' Berninger, 54, is supremely aware that audiences 'can smell a fake a mile away'. 'After a while, you've got to take off that stupid costume because you start to get weird and become a dick,' he says. 'I've been through that. You even slip into caricature at home or on the school run. 'I have to tell myself, 'I'm not on stage right now so why am I singing to the garbage men?'' Berninger says things came to a head on The National's last tour. 'I just thought, 'Get rid of all the acting. If you're in a bad mood, talk about it. Don't pretend to be happy and confident if you're not.'' The reason I'm sharing these particular insights is because Get Sunk, five years in the making, brings the REAL Matt Berninger into sharp focus. Though he actually auditioned for acting roles during the pandemic — 'just trying to make the hustle but will never try again' — his song Breaking Into Acting, a duet with Meg Duffy (aka Hand Habits), deals openly with his 'scam' stage persona. 'I can't write a line unless it somehow rings with me emotionally,' he affirms when I ask about his refreshingly candid lyrics. Get Sunk is the follow-up to Berninger's solo debut, 2020's Serpentine Prison, and began life the same year just as the Covid pandemic upended his and all our lives. Unable to tour that record, his first without his National cohorts, he hunkered down in the Silver Lake district of LA with producer Sean O'Brien. They came up with another album's worth of songs, of which only four have survived — Inland Ocean, Junk, Little By Little and Times Of Difficulty. The last of these contains the lines: 'In times of heartache, get drunk/In times of tears, get sunk.' These sentiments proved prophetic, as you'll discover when their author tells us what happened next. 'Yes, I even wrote that when Biden was president,' quips Berninger, suggesting he's not a fan of the present incumbent. He adopts a more serious tone and adds: 'We couldn't put out a new record out because I hadn't even been able to support Serpentine Prison. I didn't want another one to disappear into the void. 'So I did a year of nothing and got really depressed.' Berninger has talked about his battles with depression in the past but confesses that this bout proved particularly debilitating, and that it came with writer's block and crushing insomnia. 'Some antidepressants helped a little but I was sleepless for weeks and months at a time,' he says as he begins an unflinching description of his turmoil. 'Your brain melts down' 'Insomnia can really scramble your logic — you can't leave the bedroom, you can't look out the window but you also can't sleep. 'You just pace and your brain melts down. That's what happened to me.' Berninger vividly recalls being unable to leave the house: 'Sunlight depressed me, hummingbirds outside the window antagonised me. I had contempt for bumblebees because of their joy and because they didn't give a f* about all my problems. I was like, 'F* you!' 'That's what depression does to you. It's crazy and it took a healing process. 'I'd never been to the bottom before and I hope that was the bottom. I learned a lot. 'Am I back at the top? By no means. The bottom's not as far down as we think it is. It's always right there, really close. 'You could fall into a two-inch puddle and think you are at the bottom of the sea — but now I've got my neck above the waterline.' Berninger reveals that two things kickstarted his recovery process. 'Getting back with The National helped pull me out,' he says. 'And moving from California to Connecticut.' In 2023, he and his family, wife Carin Besser and teenage daughter Isla, upped sticks from LA's beachfront resort of Venice for a rural idyll in the East Coast state not far north of New York City. 4 That, in turn, led him to re-engage with his solo project and the songs started to flow again. Six new compositions were added to the original four and even most of those underwent rewrites with re-recorded vocals. 'I started to enjoy sunlight again and now I just can't get enough of it,' he enthuses. 'I don't have screens so hornets, bees and snakes come into the house and I kind of welcome them. I have reconnected to my love of life.' The call of the wild has long run strong in Berninger and that is reflected in Get Sunk songs Inland Ocean and Frozen Oranges, both beautifully realised and dripping with nostalgia. 'I've never been to a gym in my life but find me a park or a woods or a hill or a trail,' he says. During his childhood in Cincinnati, Ohio, he would spend bucolic holidays on his aunt and uncle's farm in nearby Indiana. 'I spent my wild youth with my older sister Rachel and my five cousins,' says Berninger, as the cherished memories come flooding back. 'We all had rifles' 'The seven of us would hike the railroad tracks to different towns, just like in the movie Stand By Me. 'We all had rifles. It was farm life and my aunt Elaine, also my godmother, was the matriarch. When I was about 12, I would chew tobacco in the fields while harvesting it with my cousins. 'I'd roll up the dried brown stuff, chew on it and get a buzz. I've been a nicotine aficionado ever since — though I don't smoke cigarettes any more.' Later, in the Eighties, the crop changed from tobacco to Christmas trees and Berninger remembers working among them through his college years. Berninger began writing about his time in Indiana before his move to Connecticut but his new surroundings had a profound effect. 'I started to tune into how I felt as a kid, all that time I spent in the woods, just staring at creeks and bugs and snakes. 'I like being more connected to it again. I like to take my shoes off and walk around barefoot — it does something.' However, Berninger adds that he wasn't the driving force behind his return to the East Coast. (He spent 15 years in Brooklyn during the formative years of The National). 'I had built a house in Venice and I thought I was going to be there forever,' he says. 'My daughter was about to go to high school and she's a big Gilmore Girls fan (the comedy set in a fictional Connecticut town). So it was really her and my wife's decision to move.' Once in his new and welcome surroundings, Berninger rediscovered his love of painting, and he began writing lyrics on old baseballs. 'Originally, I was more of a visual artist than a songwriter,' he says. 'I did a design programme at the University Of Cincinnati and worked as a designer in New York City for ten years. 'In The National, I ended up painting lists of songs and what we could do with them on whiteboards. The band's studios are filled with them. 'And I've been writing on baseballs for a long time because they take ink well and they feel good. 'I used to toss baseballs with my dad and now I do it with my daughter. It's more fun than writing in a notebook. It slows you down and makes you think differently.' If Get Sunk is the lyrically rich product of this unique process, it is also notable for guest appearances, including the aforementioned Hand Habits on Breaking Into Acting and Ronboy (Julia Laws) on the wistful Silver Jeep, also blessed with Kyle Resnick's sublime trumpet. There's also a reappearance by R&B legend Booker T. Jones (best known for Green Onions) who produced Serpentine Prison and plays organ and keyboards on self-deprecating Junk, gently pleading Little By Little and life-affirming finale Times Of Difficulty. I ask Berninger if he enjoys collaborating and my question prompts insights into some of The National's high profile friends. 'The first time The National brought anybody in was Sufjan Stevens because Bryce (Dessner) was doing a lot of work with him. That's how we met Annie Clark (St. Vincent). 'Sufjan brought so much — he added colour and energy. He gave us a way of thinking that changed our chemistry.' He adds: 'Obviously there's Taylor Swift and Phoebe Bridgers. These are huge stars but we knew these guys. 'Phoebe opened for us, one of the people we met in the trenches. Even Taylor I met six or seven years ago because she reached out and she was a fan. So it's kind of organic.' Berninger is at pains to point out that 'they're not plug-in names for the featuring credits. That's not how we work.' His bandmate, multi-instrumentalist Aaron Dessner, work- ed with Swift on her albums Folklore, Evermore and The Tortured Poets Department. And Berninger adds graciously: 'The National songs with Taylor on them are our most listened to songs in the world. 'I'm just stuff' 'If you put The National into Spotify, the first couple of songs are Taylor and Aaron songs but it all makes sense. 'We started out as five dudes from Ohio but now it feels like a giant community, much more than a band. 'Everyone in The National is a total blood sucker for talent and we want to be infected by those people's mastery.' That said, this moment is all about one man's voyage of self-discovery which has resulted in an album for the ages, Get Sunk. Water is an abiding theme of the record, whether 'it's rain, the ocean, a river, a puddle, ice in a glass, a frozen pond, snow' or 'fruit sustained by it like apples and oranges.' Berninger signs off in thought-provoking style: 'I stare into the deep end of swimming pools. I look out across the ocean all the time. I spend a lot of time in creeks. 'There's something unknowing about water but it is why we're all here on earth. It's life, it's death. A raindrop is a metaphor for heartbreak. 'Ultimately, love, bravery and kindness are the only things that will survive. It makes me happy knowing that means there's not much pressure on me. 'I'm just stuff. I'm just water and molecules.' Get Sunk ★★★★★
Fox News
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Billy Ray Cyrus & Liz Hurley Go Public
Billy Ray Cyrus and Elizabeth Hurley go public, a tribute to a deceased rock star, and Joe Jonas gets unexpected support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit Jeffrey Petz
Daily Mail
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Rebel 'porn heiress' India Rose James, whose £329million fortune aged 21 made her richer than the Queen, gets engaged to indie musician in celeb-loved New York tattoo parlour
'Rebel porn heiress' India Rose James, one of the richest young women in Britain, has announced her engagement to American indie musician and artist Daniel Vildosala. The 33-year-old London art gallery owner announced the news on Tuesday night, posting a photo on Instagram of her engagement ring - a vintage-style sapphire surrounded by diamonds - with her hand resting on Daniel's forearm. Inked across his skin were the words: 'Will you marry me?' 'Friends, don't make other plans in 2026!' she captioned her post from New York. It's perhaps a surprising move from former rebel India, the 'Princess of Soho' who had a baby with a rockstar, and was once known for her pink hair, partying ways and edgy fashion sense. Aged 21, India's £329million fortune made her richer than the Queen, and she was the youngest person to ever appear on The Sunday Times rich list. But now her party-hard days, which even saw her be kicked out of £15,145-a-term St George's School in Ascot, seem to be behind her - having celebrated seven years of sobriety in March. As part of her engagement announcement, India shared a photo of their visit to New York City's Fun City Tattoo studio, where Daniel got his proposal inked. The shop, founded in the 1970s, is the oldest in New York and includes former famous clients such as Johnny Depp, Kate Moss, Harry Styles and Miley Cyrus. Another photo shows India receiving a gift box of bespoke cookies shaped like champagne bottles, a heart bearing their names, and an open ring box. Daniel - a musician and visual artist known for his experimental compositions and mixed-media visual work - reposted India's post on his Instagram stories with the caption: 'Fiance [sic] secured.' India is the granddaughter of the late property magnate and porn publisher Paul Raymond, known as the 'King of Soho', and who was once Britain's richest man. His wealth was largely invested in property in London's Soho, so when he passed away in 2008, India and her half-sister, Fawn, 39, inherited a large chunk of an estimated £600 million. In the new Sunday Times Rich List published last week, their combined wealth was listed at £718million. They also made it to sixth place in the '40 richest people under 40 in the UK', putting them just a few ranks below the young Duke of Westminster, who boasts a near-£10 billion fortune. India, who runs the Soho Revue Gallery, has been dating Daniel for several years after meeting through mutual friends on the London art scene. She joked to her friends that they shouldn't make any other plans for 2026 They live together in central London with India's seven-year-old daughter, Sapphire - aka Saffi - whose father is the Kooks guitarist Hugh Harris. The sapphire engagement ring is thought to be a nod to her daughter's name. India received a flood of comments online from friends in response to her news, including socialite Camille Charriere, who wrote: 'Sorry I don't use these words lightly but I fear this is iconic.' Model Daisy Lowe added, 'Massive congratulations loves!!' while Portia Freeman, wife of The Kooks bassist Pete Denton, added, 'Huge huge congratulations, this is truly gorgeous xxxxx.' India has not yet shared further details on the engagement, but friends close to the couple say they are likely to host celebrations on both sides of the Atlantic, with London and New York both holding special significance for them. Daniel, originally from Mexico, has exhibited work in both cities and frequently collaborates with independent music collectives. In 2008, her grandfather passed away, meaning India and her half-sister, Fawn were left a share of his estate, including freeholds of The Box, Soho House and the former Foyles site. Paul Raymond, India's beloved grandfather 'Papa', opened the famously raunchy Raymond Revuebar in 1958 before branching out and founding his own adult magazine empire in 1964. Over the following years ploughed his profits into property to the extent that it was said he bought a freehold a week in 1977. The nickname 'the King of Soho' followed. When Paul died in 2008, the majority of his portfolio was left to India and her half-sister Fawn (whose biological father is Duncan Mackay from the rock band 10cc, but was adopted by India's father John James as a child) then aged 16 and 22, respectively. A hefty chunk was also left to Paul's son Howard. India and Fawn's mother Debbie Raymond, Paul's daughter, died of a drug overdose at the age of 36, leaving behind ten-month-old India and six-year-old Fawn. Despite her wealthy background and Soho upbringing, India has spoken openly about wanting to live a more grounded life. She has insisted that she's not a nepo baby, and while the money gave her a leg up, she works hard and her credit card has a 'limit'. Writing in The Times in 2023, she recalls how 'At a party recently someone was complaining about 'nepo babies' and a few faces turned to me. 'What can I say? I was left money, which undoubtedly gave me a leg up. But I set up the gallery on my own; I pay a higher percentage to the artists than most galleries because I want to invest in the creative community. 'If I inherit some money, does that make me a nepo baby? I don't think so.' She said growing up she was told she would 'never have to work', thanks to the vast fortune she would one day inherit. In another interview with The Times in 2020, she said she'd taught herself the value of money, and said her relationship with it at times hadn't been 'positive', as it was 'always there'. When she was 18, she used her first instalment from her grandfather's legacy to move into a flat above a casino in Leicester Square. She told the Mail's YOU Magazine: 'I was brought up not knowing about the money, apart from when my dad would say, 'You're going to get this,' and I'd think, 'Oh, I don't need a job.'' India has also been vocal about her sobriety, marking herself seven years' clean in March this year. 'I don't judge people who are [partying], but I don't want that,' she told Tatler in 2020. 'I also don't want my daughter, if she looks me up online - which I'm sure she will at some point - to find that there are loads of articles about me out drunk. 'That's not right. I want her to be reading articles about my achievements.' In March, India celebrated being seven years sober on her Instagram account, but added she's 'still a chainsmoker', posing with a cigarette. She said: '7 years sober today! (2555 days), Thanks to all my loved ones who have supported me over the years. 'According to Google lots of great things come in 7's.' But her early 20s, India was a girl about town. A photo from that time shows a £10 note being burned with the comment 'just saw £10 go up in flames... I could have used that to go home'. Another tweet stated: 'On Alex's roof in Soho, looking down on the little people.' India, who was kicked out of private school St George's, Ascot over her 'uncontrollable attitude' before attending Bearwood College in Wokingham, Berkshire for sixth form became a firm fixture on the London social scene, frequenting fashion launches and art openings. It was on a night out at celebrity haunt Brown's Hotel, in Mayfair, that she met her former fiancé Hugh Harris, lead guitarist of The Kooks. Their first kiss was at Reading Festival in 2015 and three months later India was pregnant. Hugh proposed with an enormous emerald on the roof of the Hotel Café Royal in Piccadilly Circus in 2016. Soon afterwards their daughter Sapphire, known as Saffi, was born at The Portland Hospital in Central London, where the likes of Victoria Beckham and the Duchess of York have also chosen to give birth. The couple never married and later separated. On Instagram, India and Daniel have shared their adventures together, travelling to Sicily and the US, attending Glastonbury music festival, and dressing up for Alice Manners' birthday party in April. India is also known for her extravagance. In 2021, she threw a lavish Harry Potter-themed 30th birthday party. Along with India's magical, custom-made LED dress taking centre stage, the sumptious bash included a bookshelf with a hidden bar behind it, a boa constrictor, a tattoo bar and an army of performers performing a martial arts inspired dance during a sit-down meal. Invites came in the form of wizardly gold coins, while posters echoing those of Sirius Black's face were plastered across the wall, bearing the faces of India's friends including model Tigerlily Taylor and actor Matt Smith. Meanwhile India's custom dress was designed by India's pal and London-based designer Sonny Tassell, featuring clever LED lights which lit up in the dark. In an interview with the Mail's YOU magazine in 2017, India opened up about her grandfather's pursuits. 'He saw a gap in the market and he went for it. It paid off,' she says. 'I have no issue at all with how he made his fortune. I have nothing against porn.' However, she admitted that her wealth has changed other people's behaviour towards her, revealing one of her exes was clearly only with her for her money. She said: 'One ex was with me for my money. I could tell that he was using me. He would ask me to get him cabs as he didn't want to take the Tube. I gave him a fiver once and he threw it in my face – so I had to get rid of him.' Her wealth hadn't stopped her from fighting for what she believes in and in 2022, the Mail's Richard Eden revealed she was taking on the local council in order to bring a historic Soho drinking club back to life. That year, India acquired the old St James & Soho club, a listed building which had remained unloved and empty for more than seven years. The club, which opened in 1864, was where the working men of Soho went to drink, until it fell into disrepair and was purchased by James's business Soho Estates. At the time, Philip Thompson, a director of Soho Estates, said: 'We would love it to be brought back as a members' club [but] the council rules are very restrictive. 'Council planners won't let us use it for anything that isn't an educational use, or a gallery, but we would love to bring it back as a members' club if we could get the planners to agree.'
CTV News
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Thai rock star jailed on gun and drugs charges
Seksan Sukpimai, better known by his stage name Sek Loso, is seen in a photo posted on Instagram. BANGKOK, Thailand -- Thailand's Supreme Court has jailed one of the kingdom's best-known rock stars for more than three years on gun possession and drugs charges. Seksan Sukpimai, better known by his stage name Sek Loso, was convicted of illegal gun possession, drug use and obstructing a police officer. The 50-year-old founder and lead singer of Loso, one of Thailand's most successful rock bands, has long been a staple of Thai gossip columns because of his colourful personal life. He was originally arrested in 2017 after firing a gun into the sky following a concert in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat. The Supreme Court ruling ordered Seksan to serve two years, 12 months and 20 days in jail.
Malay Mail
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Malay Mail
Thai rock icon Sek Loso sentenced to over three years for guns and drugs
BANGKOK, May 21 — Thailand's Supreme Court has jailed one of the kingdom's best-known rock stars for more than three years on gun possession and drugs charges. Seksan Sukpimai, better known by his stage name Sek Loso, was convicted of illegal gun possession, drug use and obstructing a police officer. The 50-year-old founder and lead singer of Loso, one of Thailand's most successful rock bands, has long been a staple of Thai gossip columns because of his colourful personal life. He was originally arrested in 2017 after firing a gun into the sky following a concert in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat. The Supreme Court ruling ordered Seksan to serve two years, 12 months and 20 days in jail. — AFP
