Jalen Ngonda has told NME that Arctic Monkeys played a major role in shaping some of his songwriting, especially after he first heard their 2013 album AM.
Speaking backstage at Mad Cool 2026 in Madrid, the 32-year-old singer said he was not familiar with the Sheffield band while growing up in Maryland. He said that changed after he moved to Liverpool, where he immersed himself in the UK music scene while attending music school.
Ngonda said his bandmates would often bring up Arctic Monkeys songs such as R U Mine? when he suggested classic soul tracks like The Supremes’ You Can’t Hurry Love. He added that getting to know Alex Turner’s work, including The Last Shadow Puppets and Submarine, helped inspire the songs he was writing at the time.
He also said his 2017 song I Need You was influenced by AM, even if the connection is not obvious on the surface. Ngonda singled out the band’s 2018 album Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino as the one he likes most.
Elsewhere in the interview, Ngonda spoke about touring with Olivia Dean and said he believes music rooted in real feeling will always matter. He released his second album, Doctrine of Love, on Daptone Records earlier this year and is set to tour the UK and Ireland next month.
