Nick Cave On Finishing 'Skeleton Tree' After Son's Death: 'It Was Terrifying, Difficult'

In the first interview given since the unexpected death of his son, Arthur, 18 months ago, Nick Cave has spoken out about the "difficult" process of finishing Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds' newest record, Skeleton Tree.

Speaking to The Australian, Cave explains much of the recording process was done in Brighton, with plans to expand on the sparse tracks in Paris further down the line.

However, when the band entered the Paris studio after Arthur's death, Cave details that the sessions were "not a good idea".

"I hope I never have to do anything like that again. It was only a few months after Arthur died. It was too early," Cave admits. "But it just felt important that I do it. You know, life goes on and all. It was crazy. Terrifying, really. I was a mess, big time. So was everybody, actually. It was a very difficult time.

"Much of what we did simply did not work. We tried re-recording the songs; putting them in time, in tune, whatever. Pretty much everything we tried to do sounded bad. It was like the record itself, in its untreated state, was simply refusing to allow itself to be embellished or polished. So, in a sense, Skeleton Tree was the product of that."

Cave also explains that some lyrics on Skeleton Tree were added after his son's passing. "It’s kind of pointless to try and work out what was and what wasn’t [added].

"The truth of it is that there is not a note or word on the album that is not affected by Arthur’s death."

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds are currently on tour with Skeleton Tree nationally until 31 January.