David Gilmour today announced his new album “Luck And Strange”, to be released on September 6 via Sony Music
The first track from the album, “The Piper’s Call”, will be released this Thursday, April 25, following a world exclusive first play on the BBC Radio 2 “Breakfast Show”.
“Luck And Strange” was recorded over five months in Brighton and London and is David Gilmour‘s first album of new material in nine years. The record was produced by David Gilmour and Charlie Andrew, best known for his work with ALT-J and Marika Hackman.
Of this new working relationship, David says: “We invited Charlie to the house, so he came and listened to some demos, and said things like, ‘Well, why does there have to be a guitar solo there?’ and ‘Do they all fade out? Can’t some of them just end?’ He has a wonderful lack of knowledge or respect for this past of mine. He’s very direct and not in any way overawed, and I love that. That is just so good for me because the last thing you want is people just deferring to you.”
The majority of the album’s lyrics have been composed by Polly Samson, Gilmour‘s co-writer and collaborator for the past thirty years. Samson says of the lyrical themes covered on “Luck And Strange”: “It’s written from the point of view of being older; mortality is the constant.” David Gilmour elaborates: “We spent a load of time during and after lockdown talking about and thinking about those kind of things.” Polly has also found the experience of working with Charlie Andrew liberating: “He wants to know what the songs are about, he wants everyone who’s playing on them to have the ideas that are in the lyric informing their playing. I have particularly loved it for that reason.”
The album features eight new tracks along with a beautiful reworking of THE MONTGOLFIER BROTHERS‘ “Between Two Points” and has artwork and photography by the renowned artist Anton Corbijn.
Musicians contributing to the record include Guy Pratt and Tom Herbert on bass, Adam Betts, Steve Gadd and Steve DiStanislao on drums, Rob Gentry and Roger Eno on keyboards with string and choral arrangements by Will Gardner. The title track also features the late PINK FLOYD keyboard player Richard Wright, recorded in 2007 at a jam in a barn at David‘s house.
Some contributions emerged from the live streams that David Gilmour and family performed to a global audience during the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021; Romany Gilmour sings, plays the harp and appears on lead vocals on “Between Two Points”. Gabriel Gilmour also sings backing vocals.
The album’s cover image, photographed and designed by Anton Corbijn, is inspired by a lyric written by Charlie Gilmour for the album’s final song “Scattered”.
Of working with his family on “Luck And Strange”, David says: “Polly and I have been writing together for over thirty years and the ‘Von Trapped’ live streams showed the great blend of Romany‘s voice and harp-playing and that led us into a feeling of discarding some of the past that I’d felt bound to and that I could throw those rules out and do whatever I felt like doing, and that has been such a joy.”
David Gilmour, the creative force behind PINK FLOYD‘s iconic sound, wasn’t always a member. Though a guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter with the legendary band, his journey began elsewhere. Childhood friends in Cambridge, UK, Gilmour and Syd Barrett first bonded over their guitars.
While Syd co-founded PINK FLOYD in 1965, David Gilmour explored music with other bands. Fate intervened in 1968 when David joined PINK FLOYD to support Syd, only to see him depart shortly after. Stepping into the spotlight, David‘s distinctive vocals and guitar work became a cornerstone of their success. This influence is undeniable on “Dark Side of the Moon,” the third best-selling album ever, forever etching Gilmour‘s legacy in rock history.
