DURAN DURAN - RED HOT

Duran Duran killed in the ‘80s electric pop scene, and their newly released Red Carpet Massacre shows that they still have the razor-sharp sensibility for combining catchy, danceable hits with artful songwriting. With over 70 million records sold, 18 American hit singles, 30 top 30 songs in the UK, and an arena-filling international presence, Duran Duran has endured a longevity that is rarely associated with its contemporaries. Bassist John Taylor explains why this is by saying, “I think it’s just not quitting. I see groups and individuals just hang up their guitars, their drumsticks – whatever it is, and often times people don’t want to work out the issues that arise with their band mates. We just keep moving forward. We love what we do, we’re very passionate about it, and we feel very honored to still be doing it.”

While Duran Duran did experience additional commercial and critical success in the ‘90s with its second self-titled album, it had its share of member changes and breaks. John says, “I left the band for a while and I tried making music with others. Through that experience, I appreciated the particular chemistry I have with these guys…and I’ve got to say that we may not be virtuosos, but there’s a chemistry we have and it works.”

Now it’s 2007, and not only are we approaching the 30th anniversary of Duran Duran, but the beginning of the next era for the band. They’ve collaborated with the stellar production team of Timbaland and Nate 'Danja' Hills, as well as long-time Duran fan Justin Timberlake on Red Carpet Massacre. John describes the experience as, “Pretty damn intense. Timberlake was in the first day on the New York session, and then we did five days with Timbaland and Danja…we kind of felt a flow. Then Danja came to London and he produced a bunch of tracks with us there. He picked up from the New York sessions and got the band’s vibe. We then worked with Justin one more time right at the very end and cut a track with him.” He adds, “They’re very exciting guys to work with. Since I’ve got back into the band, we’ve worked with producers but nobody that was really on their game the way these guys were. They were very inspiring to work with. It just really pushed you to up your game.” The result is a collection of powerful, club-ready cuts like “Nite Runner,” that displays Duran’s versatility and ability to keep up with the changing times.

John realized right away when working with this production team that he’d be playing some keyboard bass. He says, “There was no way that I was going to be able to make all this work with a regular bass, and I had to find new ways of saying things with my bass.” For his amazing synth bass sounds, John relies on the Korg RADIAS Synthesizer/Vocoder. He loves how it combines the old school, hands-on feel of a real analog unit with modern voicing, user ease and capabilities. “It has everything I could possibly want to use it for,” he notes, adding, “I’ve only touched the surface of what that machine is capable of. I didn’t pick up my RADIAS until we went on tour, but I have to say it has been able to adapt to everything that I did in the studio with Timbaland and Nate.”

When John showed the RADIAS to Duran Duran keyboardist, Nick Rhodes, it blew him away. That led to what they call the “electro set,” a collection of their hits that they perform on tour where the whole band is playing synths. John explains, “We’d sort of been talking about how a lot of bands today have what they call the “acoustic portion” of the set. It’s become sort of an industry standard...and we’ve done that but it never felt really genuine because we’re not that kind of a band. When we go back to our roots, we go back to synthesizers and early sequencers and that sort of thing. So we thought instead of going back to an acoustic guitar type of presentation, why don’t we go electro?”

In addition to the RADIAS, they’ve equipped the stage setup with a Korg M3 Music Workstation/Sampler and microKORG Synthesizer/Vocoder. They can’t get enough of all three instruments and are looking forward to utilizing them on future recordings. John says, “Basically, we’re all playing keyboards in the electro set so there was a bit of a learning curve. I was already into them so I thought this is going to be great for me, because I have to play a bit of keyboard in the presentation of the new album. I suggested to Simon (Le Bon, lead singer,) ‘How would you feel about just playing a couple of lines here and there?’ and he was willing to try it. Of course, once he started working with the vocoder on the microKORG, he was like a kid in a candy store! We’re all interfacing with technology in a way certainly Simon, Roger (Taylor, drummer,) and I are not used to, and we’re having a lot of fun. We’re really loving it.”

Be sure to check out Duran Duran’s Red Carpet Massacre and visit their website, www.duranduran.com for additional information on the band, including performance dates!

Words : Evan O’Brien
Photo : Stephanie Pistel