MusicRadar

The Killers' Mark Stoermer came down from the balcony to finish his first solo album, Another Life.

"It was a crazy way to get a song," says The Killers' Mark Stoermer of The Haunts, a nightmarish, guitar-heavy track that's one of the highlights on his new solo album, Another Life. "I was staying at the Chateau Marmont in LA, having weird dreams and watching Kurosawa films. One night I had a ghost encounter and wound up trapped on the balcony, locked out of my room."

The bassist managed to call the front desk, and when a porter arrived he told Stoermer that the hotel was indeed haunted. "The place has always had a bit of a reputation, but I didn't expect that," says Stoermer. "Fantasy and reality came together for me. It was pretty freaky."

Equally vivid experiences, many of them involving matters of the heart, are recounted on Another Life's nine other cuts, which sees Stoermer, working on his own and with friends, exploring rock, alt-country and grungy pop. Recorded over the past year during a cool-down for The Killers, the album is, in Stoermer's view, "pretty much an experiment. I wanted to test my limits as a songwriter and see what I could do. Before you knew it, I had 15 or 20 songs, 10 of which I didn't mind people hearing."

For a limited time, fans can download the album for free on Stoermer's website (it will be issued on vinyl soon, and possibly on iTunes). MusicRadar sat down with Mark Stoermer the other day to talk about Another Life. In addition, we discussed the status of another record...the next one from The Killers.

Your album isn't a bass extravaganza in any way.

"No, it's not. My bass playing on my album is very much what it is in The Killers – it's there to support the song. Some things might be based around a bass riff, but more often than not, if there's a chord structure and a melody, I try to bolster those elements."

A few of the tracks – Weary Soul and Everybody Loves The Girl – bear a strong Bob Dylan influence, particularly his Nashville Skyline period.

"Yeah, that's definitely there on those songs. I was pretty late coming to Dylan. Until about four years or so ago, all I knew were his hits; I didn't know the body of work. Then I started really listening to him, and I couldn't stop. For a long time, I listened to Bob Dylan probably every day.

"Every album, every period – I absorbed it all. Without a doubt, Bob Dylan is one of my biggest influences. Dylan and The Beatles are huge for me. I do listen to other types of music - I love jazz and classical and…even Black Sabbath. [laughs] But Dylan, yeah, I'm not surprised that you can hear that."

Around the web:

• Mariana MacielThe songs are great (perfect) I loved it. Congratulations, love you too much Mark ♥.