July 15, 2013 [Hey! Tomorrow is the 33rd anniversary of Duran's first live gig with the Fab5 line-up at the Rum Runner!]
Over the last few months the band has been working intensely on their new album, whose working tiltle is still unknow to the public. They have been writing and recording in their small London studio with Joshua Blair, the recording and mixing engineer responsible for engineering "All You Need is Now. A small studio, according to Simon, with a very small piece of equipment compared their old studio setting... "we used to spend a lot more time writing out of the studio, now we do much of our writing inside the studio".

It’s an ongoing process as always says Nick

Let's make the point of the status of the making DD N°14 | This installment is basically about the progress made in the making of the album, so the page is filled with comments and news that the band members have released through their official different websites and social media, but there's also the fan point of view... as I recently went to UK and had the great pleasure to met the band. I spent a few, but always special, moments with the guys. So this post is enriched with that personal aspect and some new candid pictures of the guys.
Hope you like it!

Even though they are just moments the ones I spent with the band, happy and personal ones I have to add, I can certainly say that I've found them in great shape and in very good spirit but above they all seemed very motivated and truly enthusiastic about the work and the music they have been creating. They are farther along in the process this time than they were with All You Need Is Now and that's also another element of positivity. One day, when we asked if they had in mind a release time, Nick said that he hopes to release it in April..."

I think it’s potentially doable

this is also somehow the same thing he said recently on the KatyKafe "I knows that is dangerous, but we set our own a goal, a release probably in late spring next year. I'm not foolish enough to make any promises but yes, I hope we can make it. That means we have to have it largely finished this year, I think it’s potentially doable.

So after a deserved summer break [part of July and August] the guys will keep working up to the end of the year to finish the album, they aim for a Spring release and they actually hope to tour over the Summer. We just hope that Durantime doesn't apply this time around!

In the studio

Simon describe the atmosphere in the studio | Pieces of paper stack on the wall with unrelated lyrics, and concepts…Lighting is quite important, he says, Nick likes it so dark you can’t see anything… some other people prefer it quite bright, so we're trying to find a compromise. I tend to prefer darker, more moody, sort of sight.

It's a co-production

Mark Ronson is still involved but only partially on this album: "We are writing, he's producing, said Simon during the recent Kafe chat, that‘s the plan anyway. It's a co-production. "He probably won’t do the whole album, he's very busy too at the moment."

Direction | Simon points out the importance to maintain the connection to their fans, staying true to the band's musical value… "so we are still very much in Duran Duran sound, but we are developing the sound that we created on the last album, it s a developement from there really, and it got funk, It’s a bit more dancy perhaps than the last one. We are all in that mood, we are all in a dancy, up-tempo mood at the moment. >>

The most interesting sounds from today are coming from Dance music.

I think that still the revolution of synthesizers, which I was a small part
of along the way,
is creating new sounds, new beats,
things that feel very, very modern.

Nick Rhodes, June 2013 Harper's Bazaar

Groovy is the word

>> That's also what Nick told me when I asked about the new album, he used exactly the same word "groovy" to describe the sound, and he also confirmed the funky vein of some pieces.

Nick's recent comments about the work done are quite positive: "We have got about 10 pieces of music, some of them have titles, one of them is virtually finished, a lot of the songs sounds very groovy, which I find pleasing personally. It’s different from than the last album, there's a lot of energy in the songs, in the sounds. There are few quite unusual pieces too."

Simon says that he has been on a very creative mode recently: "we did a lot of good work". When I asked how the work on the new album was progressing he said "that’s alright actually, interesting, good stuff!" While Nick answerd to the fans asking the very same question: "good, really good, slowly but surely".

The Duran sound in three words according to Simon: Nude, Duran, Funk.

The funky element seems to be a constant in every member's comment, Simon said "the sound of Nile Rodgers/Daft Punk is an inspiration, they defined the sound of the summer, and if everybody is happy that way, that influences us... Nick spoke using flattering words talking about the Daft Punk's Get Lucky during a recent interview on the Harpers Bazaar website>>

>> [H's B] Any current favorites?

You know that Daft Punk single you can’t go anywhere without hearing? It’s for the right reason, I think. It’s actually really cool, and it makes you smile, and it’s a groovy piece of music.
It does a lot of things that I think people forget music can do. There are a lot of songs out there that moan and complain and protest — I get that, too. The best of those are some of the greatest songs ever written.
But sometimes, it’s really great to just hear a song that will lift your spirits and make you think, “Wow, I haven’t heard anything like that before.”

Simon loves Nile [check this out!]

I’m always up for writing/working with Nile Rodgers says Simon

"Nile Rodgers, I think it’s a fantastic guitarist, a very talented producer, and is also a lovely person to be around and I would very much like working with Nile again. So let's see what happens!" >>

Above a nice pic of Nick putting away in the inside pocket of his jacket a pair of eyeglasses.
It was a nice moment, when I asked if he actually wear them, he said yes and they are Prada.

Simon and his mustache

I'm glad to be one of the luckiest who actually saw the mustache in person before Simon got rid of them. I liked his look, quite unique I have to say. Even though he looks younger without I think he was incredibly cool also with the mustache.

I'm quite a collector of memorabilia about the early years of Simon Le Bon as singer and actor, before he joined the band, so one day I showed him an agency photograph of him when he was very young and he was still working as an actor.
Well, I thought he was about 17 years old in that photo but he corrected me, he was only 14 when the photo was taken! How cool! So I replied "you didn't have mustache then..."
I suppose he was quite amused by the photo and by the funny comment I made, so he started to draw a mustache on that picture, he then dedicated to me and also wrote "ME"... just in case someone didn't recognize him?! It was an hilarious moment!

I have to say that Simon was in really good spirit... I suppose the long break he took after the tour, was all he needed to go back to work with enthusiasm and joy.

Simon in his best impersonation of Daft Punk

"We are still very much in Duran Duran sound,
but we are developing the sound that we created on the last album, it s a developement from there really, and it got funk, It’s a bit more dancy perhaps than
the last one. We are all in that mood, we are all in a dancy, up-tempo mood at the moment."

Happy birthday and happy Summer, Keep on shining Nick Rhodes!

One day I told Nick that words weren't enough to thank him for all the creativity he puts in his job on for the great joy he brings to us all. So, since words might have sound redundant I gave him a little bunch of sunflowers... I thought they were appropritate because the summer was about to start... He said that he loves sunflowers and I remember that found it funny when he litterally put his nose inside the bunch flowers trying to smell the scent...

* The sunflower's petals have been likened to bright yellow rays of sunshine, which evoke feelings of warmth and happiness. In addition, the sunflower is often associated with adoration, dedication and longevity.

• "Nick plays quite a lot of Jupiter 8 [and Prophet-5] on this album, because he likes the old analog synthesizers, he preferes them to digital ones because he thinks he can get a lot more variations and sounds." I tend to agree, adds Simon, "Nick became quite an addict on fiddling around, there’s more artistry, more creativity in making your own sounds rather than just using the presets of the digital synthesizers... "

"They don’t just play the same songs, it’s a one-off performance."

If you can, don't miss out the chance to attend a Le Bon Tong deejay set! I had the pleasure to dance at their beat during a cool night out at Love & Liquor in London on June 14th.

Becky and Amber mix indie and dance, it's a very dynamic duo.

Like her superstar DJ father Pete Tongthe, Becky 21-year-old is getting London dancing. And she is doing it with a little help from her friend, the model Amber Le Bon, 23, daughter of Simon.
“Having two people on the decks together is a hoot,” says Clement Ogbonnaya, creative director at Kilburn’s Love & Liquor Club. “The crowd enjoy seeing them interact, it’s like a chance to hang out with them. You can imagine you’re in their living room."
Becky says: "If you’re alone in the booth you can play what you like but if Amber is there we laugh off mistakes. She likes more indie music, like her dad, and I’m more dance-orientated so we go with her style at the start and end with mine. Once you’ve got the technical side, which is difficult, it’s a performance.”
Do they ever play Simon Le Bon’s music? “She’d cringe. I think she’s heard those songs too much, it would be naff.”
Is there ever competition between duos? In the case of Le Bon Tong, it’s not a problem because they excel in their own fields — Tong as a radio plugger for Media Village PR helping new bands get heard, and Le Bon as a model. They have known each other since childhood.
“The Le Bons are a cool family — calm, nice people,” says Tong. After sets, the two always go out. “I always cancel my car home. You can’t just go straight to bed. Amber and I talk about all sorts, boys, weird stuff.”
Le Bon has a spare room in her house at the moment and Tong is looking to move out of her mum’s place, yet on Tong’s salary from her day job in the music industry she says, “Amber’s rent is way too expensive”. Although Pete Tong is worth an estimated £20m, he encourages Becky to be independent. [edited from the London Evening Standartd article]