Mike Skinner, or to give him his stage name, The Streets, looks a little tired.

But then that's what happens if you don't get enough sleep.

"I've been doing Gordon Brown hours lately," he says, rubbing his eyes.

"Maybe not Gordon Brown, actually. More like Maggie Thatcher in her heyday, four hours sleep a night kind of thing, and constantly on the go. Even when I'm in my pyjamas in the evening, I'm talking on the phone."

The thought of 29-year-old Mike – a poster boy for smart casual sportswear and geezer cool – wearing pyjamas is almost as funny as the thought of him having something in common with the Iron Lady.

Any politician looking for a realistic portrayal of life in Britain, however, could do a lot worse than turn to Mike or one of his records.

He's been an alternative social commentator since the early noughties, when The Streets' Has It Come To This? made the cultural crossover from the small UK Garage music and pirate radio scene to the mainstream.

The indie kids and chart fans loved the song's poetic lyrics just as much as the clubbers did.

Just over a year and a couple of equally impressive singles later, came The Streets' first album, Original Pirate Material. The aforementioned track was joined by 13 more dazzling tales of life in the suburbs, clubbing, youth culture and boring jobs, making for one of the most exciting albums in modern times.

Most interesting of all was the man behind it, Mike Skinner. His unique Birmingham-via-London accent and whip-smart lyrics set him apart from the crowd, and while there have been countless imitators since his breakthrough at the start of the century, he remains unmatched.

Mike went on to top his debut with an even better follow-up, the concept-heavy A Grand Don't Come For Free. Then came the misunderstood third offering, Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living.

Now, it's time for The Streets' fourth album, Everything Is Borrowed.

While Mike could be forgiven for being apprehensive or excitable ahead of its release, he's actually calmer than he's been in months.

"It's easy to relax when the music is finished. We're just getting other things done now," he says.

"We're trying to make eight music videos in three weeks, so things are all a bit Challenge Anneka at the moment. I want to do a music video for every song on the album. It seemed like a really good idea before the record was finished, but it's all happened really late and things take a long time."

Unlike previous albums, which dealt with the minutiae of modern living – problems with mobile phones, certain must-have brands of footwear, fast food queues at the end of a boozy evening – Everything Is Borrowed concerns itself with wider issues, such as the environment, morality, history and religion.

The unmistakeable wit is still there in bucketloads, but the album is more sombre than past efforts. If things had worked out slightly differently, however, the tone would have been even darker.

"I threw one album away," Mike says. "I didn't think there was a problem, but everyone else did, including my mum, who was very vocal about it. It was just so tough to work for a year on 11 or 12 songs and realise I needed to start again. It was a bit annoying, really.

"Two of the songs have survived, though. On The Edge Of A Cliff and the other is On The Flip Of A Coin. If you listen to those songs, they're almost like parables. I like them, but a whole album of songs like that would be a little bit non-committal and indirect."

As you'd expect from listening to his music, Mike is incredibly articulate, and manages to sum up his thoughts in a couple of sentences. What you might not expect, though, is that he seems a delicate soul – vulnerable, thoughtful and deep. Another song on Everything Is Borrowed, Heaven For The Weather, showcases Mike's contemplative side well.

In a jaunty, piano-led track, possibly the most upbeat Streets' song – musically, at least – Mike examines the temptation to be bad, and how, as appealing as the concept of heaven might be, hell wins hands down in the desirability stakes, because the company is better.

Partying a little too hard is something Mike, who was born in Barnet, north London and grew up in Birmingham, knows a lot about. After his father died, just before the release of A Grand Don't Come For Free in 2004, Mike went off the rails and headlong into a drink and drug binge, the result of which he documented candidly on his third album.

He's fine now, though, and knows moderation is the key to a healthy life.

"The year I released Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living, I quit everything, for the whole year. Since then I've been a lot calmer," he says.

In a recent blog, Mike said he would make one more album under his Streets moniker before calling it a day. He's adamant he wasn't joking, and talks at length about what he wants to do after the fifth album, which he estimates will be out
next year.

"Quitting is for my own purpose. I just don't want to be doing things by habit, and I don't want to make formulaic music," he says.

"I want whatever I do to be different, and to reflect the times. That's why people are constantly choosing different genres to listen to as time goes by. I want to get away from my own preconceptions of what I am as a musician, so that hopefully I can keep entertaining people."

Finally, we move on to Mike's impending 30th birthday later this year.

He stops to think about it, which is something he says he hasn't done before.

"Maybe I'll think about it on the day," he says. "I'm going to go to Thailand to celebrate, I'm not worried about it.

"If I was sitting in my room smoking weed and hadn't done anything with my 20s then I might be a little worried, but I think I've achieved a lot.

"I've probably done too much in my 20s, so my 30s have got a lot to live up to."

The Streets' new album Everything Is Borrowed is out on Monday, September 15.

The Streets play the Plug in Sheffield on October 6, www.the-plug.com and Leeds Academy on October 19, www.leedsacademy.com


Mike Skinner Factfile

Mike was born on November 27, 1978.

He has suffered from epilepsy since he was seven.

He got his first keyboard when he was five, and began making music in
his bedroom during his early teens.

Mike founded his own record label, The Beats, to which he signed rap duo The Mitchell Brothers, among others. He closed the label last year, and filmed a funeral for it which can be seen on YouTube.

Mike is well known for wearing Reebok Classic trainers, referencing them in several songs. He also appeared in a series of adverts for the brand.