Blink-182's Travis Barker talks hip-hop and wanting to make a jazz album

September 25, 2017

We might know Travis Barker as the drum master behind Blink-182, but he has plenty up his sleeve when it comes to his solo album—and other musical ventures. Including wanting to work on a jazz project.

“When all's said and done I would love to do a jazz project. That would be so much fun,” Barker tells Music Radar. “When I get off this tour I will just beg to do something different. I love switching it up.”

Of course, Barker has a wide array of influences. He focuses a lot on the influence hip-hop has had on his drum beats, citing his studio sessions with people like Lil Wayne and Playboi Carti as having an impact on what he brings back to Blink-182. And that’s partially what make Blink stand out from other bands in their genre, Barker explains.

“That is what makes Blink sound like Blink and not like other bands in our genre of music,” Barker says. “I feel like having the freedom to have drum parts that are different and that are experimental is definitely fun and definitely makes it more exciting for me.”

And it’s through his solo work that he’s been able to try more experimentation. In fact, he explains that he tries to make his solo project sound “severely different” to everything else he does, focusing more on the production and making these tracks knowing that he’s going to play drums on the majority of them.

For his solo work, he explains that it’s about finding a balance so it’s “fun for fans who love the drums and love hip hop with live drums and a live musical element.”

He says he’s about 70 percent done with his new solo album, which will feature guest appearances from the likes of Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy, Run The Jewels, Wiz Khalifa, Kendrick, Jay 305, YG, Anderson Paak, The Game and Problem.

“I am 70 percent done with my new solo album. The next part, the most important piece, is for me to go play drums on it now,” Barker explains. “We’ve got the programming, I’ve made all of the beats, the second step was to get all of the artists and find out which artists sound great on which beats. The third step is me playing drums on it, mixing it and then putting it out.”

Not to mention, next year will be Barker’s twentieth anniversary since joining Blink, and as he tells Music Radar, his approach hasn’t changed much since he’s started. He’s always approached albums and writing drum parts the exact same way—and it's always been his own sound.

In fact, he explains that when he first hopped on board for Enema, he didn’t really know how it was going to work.

“No one ever got hold of me and said, ‘Hey, you’re going to be able to do this and you’re not going to be able to do this.’ It was just so quick and fast from filling in for a couple of shows to them telling me, ‘We think we want you to play drums with us,’” Barker explains.

“Then I got a phone call two weeks later telling me that the next day was my first show. The whole ride was like that. Like, ‘Hey, we’re recording the album in two weeks.’ I just did what I thought I should do and what was expected of me. I didn’t really ask a lot of questions.”

And a few of his favorite Blink tracks to play? “Feeling This,” “Bored To Death,” “Los Angeles,” “Stockholm Syndrome” and “Down.”

We’re stoked to celebrate 20 years of Blink with Barker—and hear that solo album, too.

How excited are you to hear Barker’s solo record? Let us know in the comments below!

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