Post by Tin on Dec 21, 2010 10:50:56 GMT -5
Duran Duran rose to fame in the 1980s with stylized videos that fuelled the early MTV generation, and in recent years has sold out live shows by playing new-wave hits such as Hungry Like the Wolf and The Reflex.
But with a new album, All You Need is Now, available on iTunes, the band is updating its sound for a younger generation while still offering a taste of their past.
The band called on uber-producer Mark Ronson for its 13th studio album, which features 12 new tracks.
"We all wanted to get a little bit more experimental with this record," said vocalist Simon Le Bon. "We wanted to reconnect with fans, on the territory on which the band and Mark Ronson, who is the producer, felt we should own. And that was this kind of modern synth, dance, experimental pop music."
Unlike some music veterans who are turning their backs on the industry in an age when inexpensive downloads of singles have decimated CD sales, keyboardist Nick Rhodes said he was now excited for the first time in a long time. The reason is All You Need Is Now.
"This album has been such a joy to make because of what we have achieved with it," he said. "It really drives you to want to go play shows and introduce these songs to the audience."
New songs have titles such as Girl Panic!, Safe (In the Heat of the Moment) featuring Ana Manotric of Scissor Sisters, and The Man Who Stole a Leopard, which features singer Kelis.
Ronson -- a DJ and solo artist who has produced for the likes of Christina Aguilera and Amy Winehouse -- went back to the early Duran Duran records to update what once worked and twist their formidable beats and rhythms into new songs the band hopes will please loyalists and win new fans.
All You Need Is Now will be available on CD and vinyl in February.
Read more: www.edmontonjournal.com/entertainment/need+Duran+Duran/4006704/story.html#ixzz18lIFLLZR