Drones (album)
| Muse album | |
|---|---|
| Name | Drones[1] |
| Tracks | 12 |
| Total length | 56:33 |
| Recorded | 2014–2015 |
| Writer/composer | Matthew Bellamy, Dominic Howard, Christopher Wolstenholme |
| Producer | Muse and Robert "Mutt" Lange[2] |
| Art work | Matt Mahurin[3] |
| Publisher | Helium 3, Warner, A&E Records |
| Format(s) |
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| Catalogue № |
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| Release date | 8th June 2015[4] |
| Chart position | Unknown |
| album chronology | |
|
The 2nd Law ← Drones[1]
| |
| Singles | |
| |
The Beginning
Matt began to write songs in 2013 in "The Unsustainable Tour" with matt trying to write it "spontaneously as possible" in soundchecks and in hotel rooms because he wanted to be "meticulous" to make it sound good and to do it all without a hurry and to slow down the whole process. [5]
In a interview at Pure FM, the broadcaster said that Matt has been rehearsing a new "riff", and asked to Dom if that "means that a new single will be released sometime soon before the new album", to which replied Dom saying that they are not going to release something brand new this year 2013 and that they are going to be back into the studio in 2014 to record their seventh album. [6]
After playing Agitated and Yes Please at Helsinki Olympiastadion Matt said; "We haven't played those songs in like 6 years... Something like that. That was a rehearsal. That's what the next album sounds like, okay?" [7] Matt said to Billboard after the iHeartRadio gig, that they are going to play in few festivals because they will be recording the seventh album in 2014 he said: "At the moment I’ve got lots of vague ideas, but writing on the road always tends to sound like what you’re touring at that point so I try to wait until we’re away from that. There might be one or two special festivals. Maybe one in America and just one in Europe. The idea is to make an album next year." [8] Matt also said at the Green Room Interview at iHeartRadio: "This most recent album is quite electronic in sound, the album before is very progressive and have a lot of classical music on it, I think the next album we might return to more so straight rock sound, kinda sounding to early albums I think"[9].
In November 2013, Matt met Rich Costey; Since The Resistance Muse has self produced their own work, this suggests that maybe a "Producer" can come back.
Sounds & Themes
In fall of 2013, Matt said that the album maybe could be a "conceptual album" but because the music industry is moving so fast, they don't know how it will end and that in early 2015 they could be releasing the new album. According to Matt, the new album will have more "rock" focusing more in traditional instruments (Guitar, Bass and Drums) [10]
An article published by NME on 16th December 2013 suggested that the new album could be ready by early 2015. "I've written some good tracks, actually" Bellamy told Triple J. "We haven't had a chance to rehearse them out yet. We'll take a break next year for a little few months and then we'll get in the studio. If it all goes very well, the new album could well be early 2015 or late 2015. Christmas 2014 might be [when we release] our next single." Bellamy said he wants to "reconnect" with the oldest elements of Muse and that he is keen to experiment less on the new songs. "I've got a pretty good picture of what I'd like the next album to be like," he said. "It's the comedown and the sort of waking up the next day being like, 'What the fuck? What the fuck? That was crazy'...I kind of feel like it will be nice to reconnect and remind ourselves of just the basics of who we are." He continued: "I have this strong feeling that the next album should be something that really does strip away the additional things that we've experimented with on the last two albums, which is electronics, symphonics and orchestral work and all that kind of stuff."
According to Matt Bellamy's interview with a German magazine, the album its a concept album with superordinate themes (such as the deep ecology, the empathy gap, world war III, the east-west conflict), that together form one, main theme of the album. [11]
According to Chris, the main focus of the album is the rocky guitar, bass and drums sound, while some songs still include synth elements, as he mentioned in an interview with xFm "It's important we went back to being a rock band. It was fun exploring the electronic side of things, and we do on this album, but most of what you hear is the guitar, bass and drums." [12]
Rehearsals and recording
On the 22nd of February, Dom updated his Twitter bio to "Raring to go on album no 7..", suggesting studio time was imminent. On the 8th of March, an Instagram photo was posted, with a description saying that Muse had started writing for their next album and that they were working at 4th Street Recording Studios[13]
However, interviews with the band during April revealed that they had not yet started recording anything for the album. Howard stated, "We're going to start this year. [Coachella] is our last two gigs, then we're completely done for touring this album. We're going to go back in May and start working on some new stuff, so I think we'll start making it this year. If we can get something out this year, that would be great, but definitely next year."
By the end of May, fans who spoke to the band revealed that they still hadn't started recording material.
On 3rd September, a tweet by @JAiggins showed a couple of Muse flight cases, accompanied by the message "Not a bad way to spend a evening working@AIRStudios @muse". It was assumed recording had begun at AIR studios in Hampstead, London, however it was later confirmed by @JAiggins that they were only rehearsing, not recording.
A Twitter used, @zzzJustinS met the band after a Royal Blood concert. Dom Howard told him that they had finished writing all the songs for the new album, and they will enter a studio in Vancouver to begin recording next week. The band subsequently began preparing to record on the 3rd October. Dom informed fans by uploading a picture to his Instagram account accompanied by the caption "The set up has started!".
On the 3rd/4th of October (time differences cause discrepancies) the official Muse Instagram account uploaded a picture of the band playing/recording in Studio 2 at The Warehouse Studio in Vancouver Canada.
Between Oct. 18th and Nov. 5th, Muse took a break from recording. As of November 5th, Muse have started working on the album again.
On his birthday, December 7th, 2014, Dom Howard mentioned on his Twitter that the album is nearly done and that "it's fucking awesome". You can see the tweet here [1]
During December 2014, Muse went to Milan, Italy to record strings.[14]
In January of 2015, Muse went to the studio and recorded additional instrument parts and finished the album. They also posted a video of Matt Bellamy recording on their Instagram.
On February 5th, 2015, Tom Kirk posted a new Tweet about the new album, implying that the recording of the album is already finished. You can see it here.
Chris Wolstenholme has updated his Twitter description on February 7th, 2015, and it says that the new album "Drones" is coming out soon. You can see that on his Twitter account.
During March of 2015, Muse took over the spaces of Air Studios in London, UK, to finish up the album. They also mixed the album in the facility.
Release
The album is set to release on June 8th, 2015, as confirmed by the band on their Facebook. [15]
Drones is avalible for pre-ordering as of March 12th of 2015. The pre-order was announced on March 11th, 2015, when Muse published a minisite with the adress 'drones.muse.mu', which announced the date and the time of the pre-order release. The site was removed after a short while, but came back a day later, as a site to pre-order the album from. The pre-order bundle also came out with their first revealed song, Psycho.
The first official single, entitled Dead Inside, was released on March 23rd. The physical copy of the single also includes Psycho. There are rumours that the next single to be released will be Mercy.
Drones will be released on CD, DVD, Vinyl and Digital. There's also a deluxe version avalible to be pre-ordered, which will, alongside the usual track list on the CD and DVD, also contain pro-shots of live performances from songs of the album, filmed during Psycho UK Tour, as well as bonus studio footage.
Name
On January 26th, 2015, Muse uploaded a video to instagram suggesting that the album title is "Drones." [16]. On the same day (Jan 26th, 2015), Tom Kirk posted various Tweets about the topic 'Drones', such as this one and on January 29th, Glen Rowe posted this picture on his Twitter, suggesting that the album really is named "Drones".
Later, on February 5th, 2015, Muse finally confirmed the name via their Instagram account [17], as did Chris Wolstenholme on February 7th, in his Twitter description, saying that the new album "Drones" is coming out soon.
The term "Drone", in technology refers to radio-controlled pilotless missiles or aircrafts (such as military spy planes) and/or any sorts of remote-controlled robot vehicles.
From Matt: “To me, 'Drones' are metaphorical psychopaths which enable psychopathic behaviour with no recourse. The world is run by Drones utilizing Drones to turn us all into Drones. This album explores the journey of a human, from their abandonment and loss of hope, to their indoctrination by the system to be a human drone, to their eventual defection from their oppressors."[18]
Also for Matt 'drones' it's a modern metaphor about losing empathy and not care about what happens around the world[19]
Artwork
On February 7th, 2015, photographer, illustrator and film director Matt Mahurin posted a picture on Instagram, saying that he's doing photography, illustration and design for the new Muse album, titled "Drones". You can also see his other work on his Instagram profile.
He finished his work in the beginning of March 2015, when he posted a photo of an external hard drive on his Instagram.
On 11th March, Muse confirmed the album cover by posting it on Instagram. The post can be seen by clicking on this link.
The Story
‘Drones’ is a conceptual album which explores the journey of a human, from his abandonment and loss of hope, to his indoctrination by the system to be a human drone and eventually defection from his oppressors.
According to Matt Bellamy, the first track Dead Inside the protagonist loses hope and feels lost; he feels abandoned, vulnerable and loses the idea of love and it leads him to a dark place after that
In Psycho he gets brainwashed by the military, which turns him into a psycho killer, then goes to war, and towards the last track, he starts revolting and defecting against the system
In Mercy, Reapers and The Handler the protagonist goes through very dark places, with mercy talking about fighting against the people trying to control your mind and making you doing stuff they want to do
In Defector and Revolt, the protagonist of the story takes again control of his life and fight back against the dark forces who are trying to control him
In Aftermath the protagonist finds love again and The Globalist narrates the rise and fall of a Dictator.
The Message
Matt said that he wants people to take from the album that: "The power of an individual can overcome a complex system, a corrupt corporation, a corrupt government or technollogy as a whole stripping out humanity; That there's something inside of us that can overcome that, even just in one person"[20]
Psycho UK Tour
The tour was announced on March 11th, 2015 on their website. Members received a pre-sale on the same day, and general sale begins 9:30am on March 12th, 2015. The tour included dates from March 15th, 2015 in Belfast, around the UK to Brighton, Glasgow, Manchester, Exeter, and more, until March 28th, 2015.
More info on this page.
Drones festivals tour
The tour will begin on May 28th, 2015. To see more details about the Drones festivals tour, see this page.
Track list
- Dead Inside – 4:23
- Drill Sergeant – 0:29
- Psycho – 5:16
- Mercy – 3:51
- Reapers – 6:10
- The Handler – 6:45
- JFK – 1:34
- Defector – 4:51
- Revolt – 3:36
- Aftermath – 4:39
- The Globalist – 9:42
- Drones – 5:17
Personnel
Muse
Additional personnel
- Robert "Mutt" Lange - Production
- Tomasso Coliva - Assistant production
- Matt Mahurin - Cover art
- Rich Costey - Mixing
- Tom Kirk - Backing vocals (track 11)
- Tomasso Coliva - Backing vocals (track 11)
Seventh album recording gallery
"The set up has started!" (3rd October 2014; Dom's Instagram)
"Day 1..." (3rd October 2014; Muse's Instagram)
"Always good to use this old friend! Sounding awesome!" (4th October 2014; Dom's Instagram)
"Listening to some FAT bass distortion." (4th October 2014; Muse's Instagram)
"Managed to get a mid-take selfie.." (5th October 2014; Dom's Instagram)
"The guitar amp is in another room..." (5th October 2014; Muse's Instagram; click this link for the video)
Take 7 coming up." (7th October 2014; Muse's Instagram)
"Waiting to play round two on a track. No offensive.." (7th October 2014; Dom's Instagram)
"Working on a bass solo" (7th October 2014; Muse's Instagram)
"Slide action" (8th October 2014; Muse's Instagram)
(10th October 2014; Muse's Instagram)
"It's sounding (ph)at.." (10th October 2014; Dom's Instagram; later reposted on Muse's Instagram)
"Waiting for Dom to work out his fill ins, could be a while" (14th October 2014; Muse's Instagram)
(14th October 2014; Muse's Instagram)
"2s" (16th October 2014, Muse's Instagram)
"She's served me well!" (16th October 2014; Dom's Instagram; later reposted on Muse's Instagram)
"End of first session. It's been emotional." (18th October 2014; Muse's Instagram)
"Back in action" (5th November 2014; Muse's Instagram)
"Mutt Lange is making me play until my fingers bleed!" (6th November 2014; Muse's Instagram)
"#SayNoMore #Vancouver" (12th November 2014; Tom Kirk's Twitter)
"Discussing musical speciation" (13th November 2014; Muse's Instagram)
"Hooligan BVs" (14th November 2014; Muse's Instagram)
(14th December 2014; Michele Torresetti's Facebook)
(14th December 2014; Michele Torresetti's Facebook)
(14th December 2014; Michele Torresetti's Facebook)
(14th December 2014; Michele Torresetti's Facebook)
(16th December 2014; Background on Muse's Webpage)
(16th December 2014; Background on Muse's Webpage)
(16th December 2014; Background on Muse's Webpage)
(16th December 2014; Background on Muse's Webpage)
(16th December 2014; Background on Muse's Webpage)
(16th December 2014; Background on Muse's Webpage)
"Milan strings" (16th December 2014; Muse's Instagram; click this link for the video)
Howard the duck.. Lives in my percussion box. (17th December 2014; Dom's Instagram)
(20th January 2015; Muse's Instagram; click this link for the video)
(24th January 2015; Muse's Instagram)
(26th January 2015; Muse's Instagram; click this link for the video)
"#MuseDrones" (7th February 2015; Muse's Instagram; click this link for the video)
"#MuseDrones" (9th February 2015; Muse's Instagram; click this link for the video)
"#MuseDrones" (13th February 2015; Muse's Instagram; click " this link for the video)
"#MuseDrones" (17th February 2015; Muse's Instagram; click this link for the video)
"#MuseDrones" (26th February 2015; Muse's Instagram; click this link for the video)
"#MuseDrones" (6th March 2015; Muse's Instagram; click this link for the video)
"Mixing #psycho to a VERY tight deadline #MuseDrones" (9th March 2015; Muse's Instagram; click this link for the video)
Drones gallery
See also
References
- ↑ Muse. (2015-01-26). Instagram Video.. Instagram. Retrieved 2015-02-05 from instagram.com.
- ↑ Muse. (2014-10-24). Muse on Instagram: We are honoured to be making our new album with this legendary producer.. Instagram. Retrieved 2014-07-21 from instagram.com.
- ↑ Matt Mahurin. (2015-02-07). Matt Mahurin's Instagram post about the artwork. Instagram. Retrieved 2014-02-07 from instagram.com.
- ↑ Facebook. (2015-03-11). Muse announce official release date for Drones. Facebook. Retrieved 2015-03-11 from facebook.com.
- ↑ Ticketmaster. (2015-03-02). Die Ruhe Vor Dem Sturm. Retrieved 2015-03-02.
- ↑ Youtube. (2013-04-05). Dom Howard interview on Pure FM. Retrieved 2013-04-05 from Youtube.
- ↑ Youtube. (2013-07-28). Muse Blackout live@Helsinki 27.7.2013 [0:03-0:15]. Youtube. Retrieved 2013-07-28 from youtube.com.
- ↑ Youtube. (2013-09-21). Muse backstage Q&A at iHeartRadio Music Festival 2013. Retrieved 2013-09-22 from Youtube.
- ↑ Youtube. (2013-10-01). Muse Interview at iHeartRadio Music Festival Green Room. Retrieved 2013-10-01 from Youtube.
- ↑ Youtube. (2013-11-22). Muse To Focus On Real Instruments On 2015 Album. Youtube. Retrieved 2013-11-23 from youtube.com.
- ↑ Tumblr. (2015-03-03). Matts first Drones interview. Retrieved 2015-03-03 from Tumblr.
- ↑ http://www.xfm.co.uk/artists/muse/songs/dead-inside/#BG8oYL2KHEgrJ0AX.99
- ↑ Instagram. (2014-03-08). Instagram photo by sejonavajas. Retrieved 2014-03-08 from Instagram.
- ↑ Instagram. (2014-12-16). Instagram Video. Retrieved 2014-12-16 from Instagram.
- ↑ Facebook. (2015-03-11). Drones release confirmed by Muse. Facebook. Retrieved 2015-03-11 from {{{dom}}}.
- ↑ Instagram. (2015-01-26). Drones on the Instagram video. Instagram. Retrieved 2015-02-05 from instagram.com.
- ↑ Instagram. (2015-02-05). Muse confirm album name. Alternative Press. Retrieved 2015-02-05 from altpress.com.
- ↑ Muse. (2015-03-11). Muse - Drones. Retrieved 2015-03-11 from Muse.mu.
- ↑ Matt Bellamy. (2015-03-23). Matt Bellamy on BBC Radio 1 - Dead Inside Premiere. Retrieved 2015-03-23.
- ↑ Muse Matt Bellamy and Dom Howard Interview Sixx Sense 17-04-2015 (2015-04-17). Soundcloud. Retrieved 2015-04-17 from soundcloud.com.