News on upcoming Duran Duran album

I just received this press release about the new Duran Duran album. Can't wait to hear it!
Archive photo courtesy of Epic Records.

The four original members of Duran Duran - John Taylor, Roger Taylor, Nick Rhodes and Simon Le Bon - have announced their 13th studio album, entitled All You Need Is Now. The 9-track digital LP is due out  on the iTunes Store on December 21^st while the expanded physical LP and various format special packages will come in February 2011. The first single from the record, title track “All You Need Is Now,” will be available worldwide on December 14^th on iTunes. 

Produced by the Grammy Award-winning Mark Ronson (Amy Winehouse, Adele, Kaiser Chiefs, Lily Allen) and mixed by Spike Stent (Madonna, Björk, No Doubt), the record is a return-to-roots homage to Duran Duran’s most celebrated musical panache.

 

This new tale begins in 2008. As part of a year-long run, they headlined festivals in a number of countries, playing arenas in others, and became the first group to perform at the Louvre Museum in Paris.  Two nights later, in the same city, Duran Duran treated fans to a specially created “mega-mix” one-hour set that was filmed in a tiny theatre, with longtime fan, Mark Ronson. This rare live performance, immediately proved that there was a powerful chemistry between Ronson and the band, and within just a few weeks, a much larger collaboration had developed, with Mark committing to produce the band’s 13th studio album. Starting out in the late Spring of 2009, at Sphere Studios in London, this much-anticipated Duran/Ronson union flourished, as writing and recording began on an exciting new body of work, which Ronson has boldly stated is the “imaginary follow up to Rio that never was.”

 

With this newfound partnership, the band was energized and excited by the music they were creating. The result is nothing short of pure Duran Duran brilliance.  The album features guest vocals/rap from longtime Duran Duran pal/collaborator Ana Matronic of the Scissor Sisters while Owen Pallett of Arcade Fire contributes the album’s string arrangements.

 

Always at the forefront of the art scene, the band enlisted the talents of up-and-coming British art star Clunie Reid for the album artwork and packaging. Reid’s work has been recently shown at leading UK and US spaces, including the Saatchi Gallery, The Tate and the New Museum in New York. British fashion magazine POP’s creative team will provide art direction for the project.

 

All You Need Is Now Digital LP tracklisting in full:

       1. All You Need Is Now

2. Blame The Machines
3. Being Followed
4. Leave A Light On
5. Safe
6. Girl Panic
7. The Man Who Stole A Leopard
8. Runway Runaway
9. Before the Rain

*A 12-track physical package will be available for purchase on CD and vinyl with special deluxe options in February 2011.