Alex Turner with Judan Suki at Sheffield's 2fly Studios, Turner asked Alan Smyth if he would produce an Arctic Monkeys demo. Smyth obliged and "thought they definitely had something special going on. I told Alex off for singing in an American voice at that first session." An introduction by Smyth led to the band acquiring a management team, Geoff Barradale and Ian McAndrew. They paid for Arctic Monkeys to record numerous three-song demos in 2003 and 2004. Barradale drove the band around venues in Scotland, the Midlands, and the north of England to establish their reputation as a live band. They handed
Alex Turner and The Streets. He has repeatedly cited Method Man as one of his favourite lyricists, and has referenced the Wu-Tang Clan in his own lyrics. The sound of 2013's "AM" was inspired by what Turner imagined "a hip-hop producer’s perspective would be", and the songs incorporated lyrical structures used by Lil Wayne and Drake. He is "a big fan" of the hip-hop producer and composer Adrian Younge, and drew inspiration from his music when writing "Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino". For Turner, The Strokes were "that one band that comes along when you are 14 or 15 years old that