The band’s team took to Twitter, writing “Duran Duran are thrilled to confirm a special new music project is in the works, set for release later this year on BMG.”

They continued, “The new recordings will feature extended Duran Duran family and friends, old and new, including our former band mate Andy Taylor who will join us on guitar on a few tracks.”

Duran Duran are set to begin their “Future Past” tour next month, with the Twitter post concluding, “Simon, Nick, John and Roger look forward to seeing you all out on the road this year!”

pic.twitter.com/BqBoWZ7a6x

— Duran Duran (@duranduran) March 20, 2023

This project will be the first time that Duran Duran have worked with their original guitarist, Andy Taylor, since his departure from the band back in 2006.

Andy Taylor was intending to reunite with the band when they were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame last year. However, his ongoing struggle with prostate cancer meant that this was unable to happen.

Speaking to 5 News about his diagnosis, Andy said, “You really wanna get the most out of life.”

“I’ve been very fortunate, I’ve had so much, in terms of living the dream, but because I do music, I think that’s probably really helped me to live with pessimism of an incurable disease.”

Andy wrote an emotional letter celebrating his time in the band when the news of their induction broke, saying, “You can dream about what happened to us but to experience it, on one’s own terms, as mates, was beyond incredible. I would like to thank each of my brothers in this great band.”

Following Andy’s withdrawal from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony, Duran Duran bassist John Taylor spoke to The Mirror, saying, “When he dropped the bomb two days before the Hall of Fame, it was really shocking and terribly sad. We’re working on an album right now that is going to be coming out at the end of the year and he’s playing guitar.”

Revealing more about what’s to be expected from this upcoming project, John continued, “Had he come to LA and just gone on the TV show, we probably wouldn’t have even thought about it. That [the album] happened as a result of this. There’s a lot of cover songs on the album, songs meaningful to us when we were kids. So having him be a part of that project is great.”

John briefly spoke about the recording process for the new project, sharing, “Le Bon is flying to Ibiza to work with Andy. I kind of wish I was there. I think it’ll be great. It’ll be really profound for them. They haven’t been in the studio together in maybe 10 to 20 years.”

Both Duran Duran and Andy seem happy to leave their infamous rift in the past, with Andy writing “Now for the bad blood, well the good news is that there is none, just pure love and respect for everything we wrote, recorded and achieved together. What’s the point? There’s no stopping this 44-year thing called ‘Duran Duran.'”

Purchase tickets for the “Future Past” tour here.

29/04/2023 – AO Arena – Manchester

01/05/2023 – The O2 – London

02/05/2023 – The O2 – London

04/05/2023 – First Direct Arena – Leeds

05/05/2023 – Utilita Arena Birmingham – Birmingham

07/05/2023 – 3Arena – Dublin

09/05/2023 – OVO Hydro – Glasgow

Stream Duran Duran’s discography here.

Following on from their headline sets at Reading & Leeds 2021, Biffy has revealed that their ninth album will be released on October 22. The record is being billed as “a reaction” to the band’s 2020s A Celebration Of Endings, and has been announced on September 3 by the six-minute first single “Unknown Male”.

“Unknown Male” is a track that explores themes of loss. The track runs at six minutes long starting with a focus on Neil’s vocals and simple yet emotional instrumentation. There is a sombre mood to the song as the singer’s soft vocals beautifully combine with a church-like organ. A clean guitar riff is occasionally included in the mix but remains mostly subdued in the beginning. The song then proceeds to turn into a very riff-heavy rock explosion.

In a press release, the group stated “This album is a real journey, a collision of every thought and emotion we’ve had over the past eighteen months. There was a real fortitude in ‘A Celebration’ but in this record we’re embracing the vulnerabilities of being a band and being a human in this twisted era of our lives. Even the title is the polar opposite. It’s asking, do we create these narratives in our own minds to give us some security when none of us know what’s waiting for us at the end of the day?”

You can see their new album’s cover art below.

Biffy Clyro recorded the project in a very different way than how they usually would. They recorded for only six weeks in their rehearsal room in a farmhouse that is closer to their homes.

The trio went in with the intention to complete some of their unfinished songs from their last record but instead The Myth of the Happily Ever After took over as it started to take shape in late 2020, with everything written and recorded within a ten-mile radius. Traditionally, most of Biffy songs have been written in Scotland before the band head to London or Los Angeles for recording,

The Myth of the Happily Ever After Tracklist:

1. DumDum
2. A Hunger in Your Haunt
3. Denier
4. Separate Missions
5. Witch’s Cup
6. Holy Water
7. Errors in the History of God
8. Haru Urara
9. Unknown Male 01
10. Existed
11. Slurpy Slurpy Sleep Sleep

Nearly three years on from her debut studio album ‘Lost & Found’, Jorja Smith fans have finally been promised a new project from the 23-year-old. The record will be comprised of eight tracks and will have only one feature, coming from South London MC Shaybo. Speaking about ‘Be Right Back’ in a press release, Smith said, “It’s called be right back because it’s just something I want my fans to have right now, this isn’t an album and these songs wouldn’t have made it. If I needed to make these songs, then someone needs to hear them too.”

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‘Gone’ is a song which appears deeply personal, as the Walsall-raised singer-songwriter wrestles the notion of losing a loved one over contemporary, piano-driven R&B production. She sings, “My God, you took him at the corner/ On God, you lost it in the moment/ What now, you’ve caught yourself a case and/ Maybe the world would be much better off without ya.” The meaning of these lines is rather ambiguous. Smith addresses God as if she is referring to a loved one that has passed away, and yet the following line she sings “you’ve caught yourself a case”, instead implying that the person in question has been lost to the prison system.

Judging by her press statement regarding the new track, it seems as if this multivalence was very much intentional: “There’s something about being able to write about one thing and for it to mean so many different things to others. I love that this song, well any of my songs really, will be interpreted in different ways, depending on the experiences of the people listening. This one is just me asking why people have to be taken from us.”

Smith undoubtedly has a knack for relatable but nuanced songwriting. As a song that explored the dynamics of an unbalanced relationship, ‘Addicted’ similarly delved into her own personal experience in a way that could be outwardly generalised to the potential experiences of her listeners. ‘Be Right Back’ will be another opportunity for Smith to both strengthen her emotional connection with her hardcore following and build new ones.

Listen to Jorja Smith’s new single ‘Gone’ below:

Healy says to the camera that there will be ‘old music and a bit of new music’ but that the indie singer is ‘not gonna make a fanfare about it’. In the video, he goes on to mention that the music will not be out today but it will be out ‘pretty soon’, leaving fans hopeful for new lockdown bops from the new project. Healy exclaims he is ‘excited’ about the project and it will be a ‘nice little thing.’

New Drive Like I Do update from Matty Healy alert. pic.twitter.com/evnDX8dAni

— Dork (@readdork) February 16, 2021

Drive Like I Do’s resurrection has been teased by Healy for years, especially within the last year. The Girls singer set up a new Instagram account for Drive Like I Do, posting indie, ambiguous photos and snippets of potential new tracks. The latest post on the Instagram is of an old school vintage looking photography of a road and pavement with no caption. Besides its lack of excitement, the update is making fans go wild with the first comment being ‘give us a date so we can all go home.’ The band certainly know how to keep their listeners engaged and waiting.

 

 

 

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Whilst speaking to NME about the new Drive Like I Do project, Healy stated “I’m getting the old stuff remastered and I’m basically going to put out the first album, the album that never was released. And then we’ll follow that up with a new album. There’s so much Drive Like I Do stuff that was great that there’s not even demos of, so I’m going to record those songs and put them out with the two records that do kind of technically exist in the world.”

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Healy has since stated it is not a ‘full album’ but essentially that the Drive Like I Do project is finished. Fans are awaiting the bands new drop under their old moniker with one stating ‘Every DAY I think about the semi-articulated upcoming 1975 Drive Like I Do project. It’ll ruin my life. I’m buzzing.’ 

Every DAY I think about the semi-articulated upcoming 1975 Drive Like I Do project. It’ll ruin my life. I’m buzzing.

— Jen (@jenannemarie) February 15, 2021