Duran Duran – Forty Years Later

Duran Duran are back with their fifteen studio album Future Past

- By David Chiu

More than 40 years after first forming, the famed and influential British rock band are still tight-knit. When the four members—singer Simon Le Bon, keyboardist Nick Rhodes, bassist John Taylor and drummer Roger Taylor—get together in a room, as they did during a recent visit to New York to promote their forthcoming album, Future Past, the camaraderie and joking among them is more what you’d expect more from best friends than workmates.

Rhodes says, “The reason we weathered the storms is because we all really like working together, and what we can create as a unit is far more powerful than things we would do individually.”

Future Past, the band’s 15th studio album (due out on October 22), is fittingly titled since Duran Duran have always been a reflection of their influences—such as David Bowie, Roxy Music and Chic—while creating music that is future-minded. The new record has all the band’s hallmarks: sleek electronic-dance pop (“All of You,” “Tonight United,” “More Joy!”); sophisticated art rock (“Beautiful Lies,” “Nothing Less,” “Falling”); reflective numbers (the title track); and even some hard-hitting hypnotic funk rock (“Invisible,” the album’s first single). Future Past features a cast of guest artists, including producer/musician Mark Ronson; the Japanese female rock band CHAI; and pianist Mike Garson, best known for his work with David Bowie.