Duran Duran announce new album and share new single Invisible
By Classic Pop | May 21, 2021
Duran Duran have announced details of their brand new album, their first since 2015’s Paper Gods.
Future Past is set for release on 22 October and boasts such guests as Erol Alkan, Giorgio Moroder, Mark Ronson, Graham Coxon, Mike Garson and Lykke Li, with more collaborators yet to be announced.
The band this week released its first single, Invisible, produced by Erol Alkan and Duran Duran and mixed by Mark ‘Spike’ Stent. The official music video was created by an Artificial Intelligence (A.I) called Huxley and comes out ahead of the band’s worldwide exclusive televised performance of the track, set to air live from London on the 2021 Billboard Music Awards, on Sunday, 23 May 23 on America’s NBC network.
Talking about the single, keyboardist Nick Rhodes says: “Sonic architecture has always been incredibly important to Duran Duran. I think, with Invisible, we really have managed to carve the sculpture the way we wanted it. Sonically, it’s a very unusual piece of music. I think when you merge all the instruments together, it creates an overall sound that perhaps you haven’t heard before.”
The band members collaborated with Japanese artist Daisuke Yokota, whose photography they had long admired, on both the front cover of the Invisible single and their forthcoming album. Rhodes first met Yokota in 2019 when he was in Japan making a documentary on post-war photography.
Speaking on their forthcoming album, and latest single, Simon Le Bon also reveals: “When we first went into the studio in late 2018, I was trying to persuade the guys that all we needed to do was write two or three tracks for an EP. Four days later, with the nucleus of 25-plus strong songs in the can, that all deserved development, I realised we’d be in it for the long haul, but that was before COVID. So here we are in 2021 with our 15th studio album, Future Past straining at the leash. I’m not saying it’s epic, but well, yes I am. We open with the song Invisible, which began as a story about a one-sided relationship but grew into something much bigger. John and Roger’s rhythm track is mountainous; Nick’s melodies twist and soar; Graham [Coxon]’s guitar is a knife. It feels exactly right for right now.”
Renowned throughout their 40-year career for their trailblazing endeavours in both music and emerging technology, Duran Duran continue their trend, this time with a special collaboration with 360 Reality Audio, a new immersive music experience using Sony’s spatial sound technologies. Announced this week, Duran Duran and Sony’s 360 Reality Audio have entered into a creative collaboration, and first of its kind, to provide fans an entirely new and immersive way to listen to their songs. The first release from this collaboration will be their new single. This will be followed by 360 mixes of their upcoming album, together with new 360 versions of their back catalogue. 360 Reality Audio is on supported streaming services Amazon Music HD, TIDAL HiFi, and Deezer HiFi.
“As a band we’ve always looked to new technology for a way to enhance our sound. The Sony 360 system brings a new and different dimension to the tracks,” Nick Rhodes explains.
Future Past will be available on all digital platforms. As well as the standard CD a limited edition deluxe hardback book CD format will be available featuring three additional tracks. The album will also be available on coloured vinyl. The official album store will offer exclusive vinyl and cassette formats with limited edition signed prints.
You can pre-order the album here.
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