MPB Meets: Arctic Monkeys Drummer & Photographer Matt Helders

Matt Helders formed the indie band Arctic Monkeys in Sheffield in 2002. As a drummer, he’s since toured the world, sold millions of albums and collaborated with other famous musicians including Iggy Pop and Josh Homme. He’s also a pretty good photographer. Here, MPB hears from Matt Helders about his Leica setup, how he prefers to shoot and the relationship between his music and his photos. Drumroll, please.

Update: Since we first spoke with Matt Helders, one of the images we talked about has become the enigmatic cover of the 2022 Arctic Monkeys album 'The Car'. We caught up with Matt again and he revealed more about the image and its journey to album cover.

MH: So, the story behind the image is basically the result of me getting a new lens for my Leica M6M6. I found a 90mm f/2 Summicron-M and wanted to give it a go. At the time, I was living downtown in LA and the view out of my bedroom window was that rooftop car park. Most days I’d see something interesting going on there, and sometimes nothing at all. I ended up taking a lot of photographs of that roof. This was way before the album had even been thought about. I sent the photograph to Alex [Turner, singer], along with some other shots I’d taken, basically just showcasing the new lens. Nothing to do with the band. It seemed to have an effect on him and he thought the picture was important in some way and it stuck with him through the process of writing the record. The idea of a car is mentioned in a couple of the tunes. So, when it came to naming the record and choosing the artwork, it just made sense. I shot this on my Leica M6 with Portra 400 and a 90mm f/2.8 Elmarit-M.

MPB: Thanks for speaking to us, Matt. Could you tell us how you got into photography?

MH: Photography is something that interested me from an early age, but I suppose I didn’t start regularly taking photographs until I was about 16—oddly enough, around the same time I started playing the drums. I think mainly because at college—the English version of college where you go at age 16 for a couple of years—I had access to both drums and cameras, a dark room, etc.

MPB: Do you try to allocate time solely to photography, or are you more of a documentarian - taking the camera with you everywhere and capturing the everyday?

MH: It depends. Usually, I just have a camera with me everywhere I go and I look for opportunities. Sometimes I won’t take a single photograph, other times I’ll do a full roll in an afternoon. I’m very economical with my photography. I usually only take one photo of each thing and move on, an idea I stole from Eggleston. For me that’s part of the excitement, getting a roll of film back with 36 different ideas. There are other times when I’ve wanted to shoot something in particular or set up a shoot, but I have had less success with that method.

MPB: What’s the most frustrating aspect of being a photographer?

MH: Probably that the golden hour is only an hour!

MPB: Why do you prefer working with Leica rangefinders and film?

MH: I think I work quicker with the rangefinder film cameras focus. I used SLRs at school, and I think I spent too much time trying to make sure it was perfectly in focus in the viewfinders. Only seeing what was in focus was a bit annoying at times. Then I started to like the size and convenience of rangefinders. I had a Canon Canonet, which I loved - and that eventually led to a love of Leica. I also used Contax G2s for a while, those still have a special place in my heart.

MPB: You sometimes use a Sony A7—is this for specific moments or situations?

MH: I think I tried to make digital work for me for a while, solely for convenience. Especially when travelling and not wanting to wait ‘til I got home to develop my film. I liked the Sony A7 because I had adapters to use all my old lenses. I also tried the digital Leica with no screen—ironically, this made me use my M6 more! I realised I was spending more time thinking about computers and SD card than I was about photography. I think having a negative is important. It’s something that—if you take care of it—will always be able to be seen, shown or displayed. I don’t have anything against digital, I just find I have less to worry about when I shoot film.

MPB: You’re a musician and photographer. How do those two roles complement one another?

MH: They’re both creative outlets. Being in my band is very collaborative, whereas photography is just me—which I like. Obviously, at times my worlds collide, in a nice way. Music, touring and being in the studio present plenty of opportunities to photograph something or someone interesting. I’m careful not to get the same old behind-the-scenes 'in the studio' shots. But there are times, like when I was recording with Iggy, that I was sort of free to just photograph what was happening around me. So, basically, when I wasn’t playing the drums, I was taking photographs. With Arctic Monkeys, I’m constantly with a camera.

MPB: What would you like to explore in the future?

MH: I definitely have some ideas for particular projects I’m interested in. Something more structured and planned. I just need to dedicate time to that. At the moment, I’m still very much just shooting day-to-day things, trying to make the mundane look interesting. I just got a 90mm lens for my Leica to experiment with. I think that’s going to be interesting.

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