Arctic Monkeys wanted to record 'AM' in the way Timbaland works.

The 'Crying Lightning' hitmakers were inspired by R'n'B production values but still wanted to keep their traditional rock sound.

Frontman Alex Turner explained: ''We had this idea for a record where you take the compositional perspective of an R'n'B producer and apply that to a four-piece rock 'n' roll band.

''Manipulating our instruments into the building blocks for the songs in the way I'd imagine Timbaland or someone constructs music.''

Alex hopes they were able to ''strike a balance'' between the genres in order to do something different and progressive with the album.

He continued to Q magazine: ''There were nods to vocal effects that happen a lot in that music, like the production you get on certain Aailyah tracks.

''The backing vocals rush in the door and rush out again - in the middle of verses sometimes - which is something that's more common in contemporary R'n'B than it is in rock.

''It's still a rock 'n' roll record but you're trying to strike a balance by borrowing from other areas in the musical universe to move things forward.''