On top of cancelling the SF concert (and maybe the Coachella appearance) today, I ran across this article about the synth-based album Bernard was supposedly working on:
Bernard Sumner Scraps Album With Stuart Price
It's been reported that Joy Division/New Order/Bad Lieutenant captain Bernard Sumner has a synth record in the works with British producer/songwriter Stuart Price. Unfortunately, as Sumner reveals to Spinner, that project has been scrapped.
"I believe you can do anything with enough enthusiasm," Sumner says. "To make a good record, you have to put 100 percent in. And now, you have to make about 16 to 18 songs. In the old days, when I was in Joy Division or New Order, if you did that, it would be a double album."
It's not to say that Sumner and Price haven't worked together before -- the producer, who's worked with Madonna, Diddy and the Killers, also lent his skills on New Order's last effort, 2005's 'Waiting for the Sirens' Call' -- but it's looking like it would be too much work to get enough material out.
"To do that with Stuart, that would be impossible," Sumner says. "I couldn't make two albums at one time. There's nothing in the pipeline at the moment."
As we've reported before, Sumner is focused on his current project, Bad Lieutenant. After some visa woes kept them from touring the US last fall, the band is in limbo again, as the volcanic ash that's wreaking havoc in the UK forced the cancellation of their flight to San Francisco.
They're scheduled for a four-date run in the US, starting tomorrow at the Regency Ballroom in the Bay Area before heading to Coachella this weekend. Here's hoping they can finally make it. If they do, what can fans expect? "We play some New Order and some Joy Division," Sumner says. "It's a bit of a career retrospective. It weaves together really well. We're a great band live. I'm back on the live tip."
