Duran Duran surprises with new album, four decades after his debut

(CNN) – When he debuted Duran Duran UK pop group, I didn’t know how long it was going to last. However, 40 years later, the new wave group is still active and this Friday they released their 15th studio album, “Future Past”.

“We never would have expected to continue making music together after all this time. We were just kids and we got together for punk rock,” bassist John Taylor told Reuters.

“(In) the late 70s, where no one was thinking long term, we wondered if we could play next year.”

Formed by Taylor and keyboardist Nick Rhodes in 1978, Duran Duran rose to fame with hits like “Girls on Film” and “Rio.”

The band, with singer Simon Le Bon and drummer Roger Taylor, has sold more than 100 million records worldwide and has won two Grammy Awards.

Their new song “Anniversary” celebrates 40 years since they released their first album in 1981.

“‘Anniversary’ is a song that celebrates our time together as a band, but it’s also open to everyone and anything they want to celebrate,” said Taylor.

For their new release, the band had the collaboration of producers Erol Alkan and Giorgio Moroder and appearances by Blur guitarist Graham Coxon, Japanese punk band CHAI and rapper Ivorian Doll, among others, in an eclectic mix of tracks. .

“From the beginning we set very broad parameters. Our first album contained songs to dance … but it also had a six or seven minute instrumental with an orchestra and some darker songs,” said Rhodes.

“We always feel comfortable trying different things in different musical genres,” he added.

The group began working on the album in late 2018 and worked on it sporadically in 2019. The covid-19 pandemic forced them to stop for about 10 months.

“In a way it was really advantageous to have had a break because we had never had that experience before, and we were able to look at it with fresh eyes and listen to it with fresh ears,” said Rhodes. “It gave us a totally new feeling,” he explained.