Duran Duran Announce New Album ‘Future Past,’ Share Song ‘Invisible’
Duran Duran have announced their 15th studio album Future Past, out October 22nd via Tape Modern for EMG.
On Wednesday, the band gave a preview of the album with a new single, “Invisible,” produced by Duran Duran and Erol Alkan. The music video for the song was created by an artificial intelligence system called Huxley.
“Sonic architecture has always been incredibly important to Duran Duran,” co-founder and keyboardist Nick Rhodes said. “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.”
Along with Alkan, Future Past will feature production from Giorgio Moroder and Mark Ronson, plus collaborations with Blur guitarist Graham Coxon, David Bowie’s former pianist Mike Garson, and Lykke Li.
“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,” lead singer Simon Le Bon said. “Four days later, with the nucleus of 25-plus strong songs in the can, that all deserved development, I realized 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. Music by Duran Duran with Graham Coxon, Lykke Li, Mike Garson, Erol Alkan, Mark Ronson, Giorgio Moroder (for God’s sake!).”
He added: “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, because ‘a voiceless crowd isn’t backing down.’ John and Roger’s rhythm track is mountainous; Nick’s melodies twist and soar; Graham’s guitar is a knife. It feels exactly right for right now.”
Duran Duran released their last album, Paper Gods, in 2015.