Duran Duran have released their highly anticipated sixteenth full-length, 'Danse Macabre', out today via Tape Modern/BMG.
Victoria De Angelis of Måneskin appears on the album’s focus track, a cover of Talking Heads’ ‘Psycho Killer’, unleashing a collision of neon keys, sweaty grooves, slick drums, and snappy vocal harmonies. “The first time I met Victoria, I asked her who her bass inspirations were,” bassist John Taylor remembers. “Right away, she said, ‘Tina Weymouth!’ I said, ‘Me too.’ When the idea of covering ‘Psycho Killer’ came up, I thought, ‘I’m going to call Vic’. She loved the idea, naturally!"
Victoria De Angelis adds, “I got a call from John…saying he was working on a cover of Psycho Killer, and he wanted to ask me first about playing on it. It was insane being asked by one of the greatest bass players ever to play one of my favorite songs with Duran Duran. Absolutely insane. I’m so grateful and honored, it was so much fun recording together with John and he was so sweet to me and encouraged me to express myself and play it my own way. I’ll always remember that day.”
Always ones to revel in the shadows, playing with artistic, aesthetic, and emotional extremes, the iconic UK quartet unearth bright melodies from darkness as they thread together new songs, themed covers, and newly reimagined versions of their own ‘spooky’ classics. Catalyzed by one special live performance that Duran Duran filmed in Las Vegas on October 31st of last year, 'Danse Macabre' is the soundtrack to their ultimate Halloween party. Included across the album’s 13 tracks are Halloween covers of Billie Eilish’s ‘Bury A Friend’, Talking Heads’ ‘Psycho Killer’, The Rolling Stones’ ‘Paint It Black’, the Rick James-inspired ‘Super Lonely Freak’, Siouxsie and the Banshees’ ‘Spellbound’, Cerrone’s ‘Supernature’ and The Specials’ ‘Ghost Town’.
The album also includes special collaborations with former Duran Duran band members Andy Taylor and Warren Cuccurullo, Nile Rodgers, and producers Josh Blair and Mr. Hudson.
Elsewhere, ‘Black Moonlight’ sees the band’s timeless song writing break into dance-rock glamor with the addition of Nile Rodgers and Andy Taylor on guitar, where epic coda ‘Confession In The Afterlife’ finds Duran Duran reunited with producer Mr. Hudson anew. Title track ‘Danse Macabre’, which Billboard proclaimed, “is like no Duran Duran song that came before it,” with Vulture hailing it “a gothic delight of synthesized riches,” and USA Today adding “the song is powered by a vibe of impending dread, a mesmerizing cadence” arrived with a stunning official music video, brought to life with creative director Linc Gasking, showcasing cutting-edge, AI-driven techniques in a 3D animated masterpiece that, in previous times, would have demanded an entire team, over a year and a substantial budget to produce. Rolling Stone magazine described the video as a ‘graveyard smash’.
'Danse Macabre' follows a wave of landmark achievements for Duran Duran. Their 2022 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame marked yet another career peak with the year already having seen the band headline London’s Hyde Park, perform at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Concert at Buckingham Palace, close the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in their home town of Birmingham, and a headline tour across North America which included sold out shows at New York’s Madison Square Garden and three nights at the Hollywood Bowl.
'Danse Macabre', is out now via Tape Modern for BMG with artwork featuring images adapted from a collection of authentic vintage séance photos sourced by Nick Rhodes at auction. It is available on Black 2LP and CD, with a limited-edition Translucent Galaxy 2LP. The album is also available on high res Blu-ray audio.
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