DURAN DURAN
ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM ‘PAPER GODS’ – TO BE
RELEASED ON SEPTEMBER 11TH ON WARNER BROS.
RECORDS
FIRST SINGLE IS “PRESSURE OFF” FEATURING JANELLE MONÁE
UK AND US TOUR DATES ALSO ANNOUNCED
(Photo by Stephanie Pistel – download high res version)
Multi-platinum superstars Duran Duran will release their 14th studio album, Paper Gods in the U.S.
on September 18th and in the rest of the world on September 11th through Warner Bros. Records.
Singer Simon Le Bon, keyboardist Nick Rhodes, bassist John Taylor, and drummer Roger Taylor
recorded the album in London with producers Nile Rodgers, Mark Ronson, Josh Blair and Mr
Hudson.
The record features special guests Janelle Monáe (on the first single “Pressure Off”), former Red
Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante, Canadian Juno Award winning singer Kiesza, British
singer/songwriter Mr Hudson, violinist Davidé Rossi and actress Lindsay Lohan. The album was
mixed by Mark ‘Spike’ Stent. Paper Gods will be available for pre-order and “Pressure Off” will be
available for purchase at all participating digital retailers and DuranDuran.com this week.
The songs on Paper Gods capture the duality and sense of conflict at the heart of Duran Duran’s
music. “It really goes back to that strange early Duran mix: the hard-edged pop, coexisting with this
dark, weird, experimental side,” John says.
“That’s something that’s essential to all of us,” Nick adds. “It’s great to be able to lift people’s spirits —
and your own — with a strong shot of pure pop, but the world we live in isn’t all just made of that stuff,
so it seems natural to me that we have kept one foot in the darker, more Gothic side of life.”
Early sessions for Paper Gods began in 2013, with Mark Ronson and engineer Josh Blair once
again joining the band in their south London recording studio, as they had for 2011’s All You Need
is Now, which was produced by Ronson. When Ronson was called away to begin working on his
own album, Duran Duran and Blair hooked up with the Kanye West/Jay-Z collaborator Ben “Mr”
Hudson, and the sessions caught fire. In the summer of 2014, Ronson returned once more to the
project, adding long-time Duran collaborator Nile Rodgers to the mix for two of the album’s standout
tracks. The remaining songs were co-produced by Josh Blair and the band.
“We found a whole new level of inspiration on this album,” says Rhodes.
“We’ve allowed ourselves the time to make music that we can be proud of,” adds Le Bon. “I judge
what we release by my favourite albums — Horses, Harvest, Let It Bleed, Blue, Transformer, Aladdin
Sane. Those are classic albums. The only rule is it’s got to be music you can live with for the rest of
your life.”
CHIC co-founder Nile Rodgers and Mark Ronson co-wrote, and produced the tracks “Pressure
Off” and “Only in Dreams. Rodgers also features on the first single from what will be the band’s 14th
studio release. The former harks back to the taut funk of Duran Duran’s 1986 album Notorious,
which was also co-produced by Rodgers.
“Notorious was a strong touchstone for the band,” says Roger Taylor. “All You Need is Now definitely
reflected our earlier albums, but our starting point here was Notorious. We’re fortunate to be able to
be inspired by our own back catalogue – not many bands can say that.”
In a collaboration overseen by China Chow, the band worked closely with Los Angeles-based artist
Alex Israel, who created the album's cover art. It features a collage of images that reference the
visual history of Duran Duran, each placed like a sticker on a reproduction of Israel's "Sky
Backdrop" painting. The logo and graphic design are by Brian Roettinger.
Alongside news of the new album, Duran Duran have also announced that they will perform a series
of summer festivals, as well as several shows in the U.S. in September and October, followed by a
UK
arena
tour
that
kicks
off
in
late
November.
Fan Community
members
(www.duranduranmusic.com) will have access to pre-sale tickets and VIP packages. Following the
Duran Duran VIP member presale, in the UK, American Express Card Members will have the
ability to purchase tickets before the general public on-sale. (See below for full details and dates).
Formed in Birmingham, England, in 1978, Duran Duran are one of the most culturally influential and
commercially successful bands of all time, topping the charts around the world over the past three
decades and selling more than 100 million records worldwide. The band has been honored with
multiple Grammy, BRIT, Ivor Novello and MTV Video Music Lifetime Achievement Awards, as
well as a 20th Century Style Icon award from the City of Milan.
In July, they will receive the Spotify UK Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s 40th
Anniversary O2 Silver Clef Awards. Tireless innovators, they are always at the vanguard of music,
fashion, art, technology and film — a group with unique and everlasting appeal.
Duran Duran’s upcoming tour dates are as follows:
06/20 Barcelona, Spain
06/27 The Hague, Netherlands
06/28 Kerry, Ireland
08/05 Riverhead, NY
Martha Clara Vineyards)
08/06 Bethlehem, PA
09/01 Ibiza
09/05 Gibraltar
09/11 Isle of Wight, UK
US Tour:
Sonar by Night Festival
Night At The Park
Killarney Festival
FOLD Festival (Freak Out! Let’s Dance Festival Musikfest – ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks
Heart at the Ibiza Gran Hotel
Gibraltar Music Festival @ Victoria Stadium
Bestival @ Robin Hill Park
09/20 Morrison, CO
Clean Bandit
09/23 Puyallup, WA
09/25 Reno, NV
Bandit
09/26 Las Vegas, NV
09/27 San Diego, CA
10/01 Los Angeles, CA
Clean Bandit
10/02 San Francisco, CA
Rodgers & Clean Bandit
10/03 Rancho Mirage, CA
Red Rocks Amphitheatre w/ CHIC featuring Nile Rodgers &
Washington State Fair w/ CHIC featuring Nile Rodgers
Grand Theatre - Grand Sierra Resort & Casino w/ Clean
Life is Beautiful Festival
Cal Coast Union Open Air Theatre w/ Clean Bandit
Hollywood Bowl w/ CHIC featuring Nile Rodgers &
The Greek Theatre, Berkeley w/ CHIC featuring Nile
The Show - Agua Caliente Casino w/ Clean Bandit
UK Tour: **
11/27
11/28
11/30
12/02
12/04
12/05
12/06
12/08
12/09
12/11
12/12
Manchester, UK
Leeds, UK
Cardiff, UK
Brighton, UK
Birmingham, UK
Newcastle, UK
Glasgow, Scotland
London, UK
Bournemouth, UK
Nottingham, UK
Liverpool, UK
Manchester Arena
First Direct Arena
Motorpoint Arena
Brighton Centre
Genting Arena
Metro Radio Arena
The SSE Hydro
The O2
Bournemouth International Centre
Capital FM Arena
Echo Arena
** In the UK, thanks to American Express Invites®, all American Express Card Members get
exclusive priority booking for tickets before the general public. American Express Invites priority
booking starts 9am 16 June 2015 and ends 9am 19 June 2015. Tickets are available through
ticketmaster.co.uk/amex.
www.duranduran.com
For more information please contact andy.prevezer@warnermusic.com