A new album by David Gilmour is just as rare an event as tours by the virtuoso musician, who once became famous as the guitarist of Pink Floyd. In this sense, the year 2024 is a special one, because Gilmour is releasing “Luck And Strange” today, his first solo album in nine years. And from October, the 78-year-old will be giving concerts again.
A studio on the Thames
To talk about his musical comeback, Gilmour invited us to his studio on the houseboat “Astoria”, where Pink Floyd once recorded “The Division Bell”. The boat is anchored in Richmond upon Thames, in the southwest of London. It is an idyllic place. Ducks swim on the Thames. Sometimes they make way for a slow motorboat or a few rowers.
“I’m not spending that much time here at the moment,” Gilmour said in an interview with the German Press Agency. “We’re not recording anything here. We only did the mixing for this album here. But we recorded in five or six different studios.” Among them was Mark Knopfler’s renowned recording studio British Grove.
Working week of a rock musician
Gilmour composed the new songs again with his wife, the writer and poet Polly Samson, in a specially created workspace in London. “I had set up a small studio, a tiny little room,” says Gilmour. “Polly had another room in the house to write in. Monday to Friday we went to work. We did that for several months last year.”
Then Gilmour brought in producer Charlie Andrew, whom he had contacted on Instagram after his wife had done some research. At the first meeting, he played Andrew his demos. “He said he liked them and would like to work on them,” says Gilmour. “That was all it took. I knew roughly how he worked. I didn’t have to give him any instructions. He came up with all sorts of ideas about how we should do it.”
Gilmour doesn’t want any yes-men around him
The guitarist and singer was particularly impressed by the fact that the producer, who was more than 30 years younger than him, did not concern himself with Gilmour’s glorious past when working on the album. Too often, the Pink Floyd virtuoso believes, he has to deal with yes-men. “That’s how it is in my world, most of the time most people don’t want to contradict me. That’s a danger. It’s a shame.”
Charlie Andrew took a different approach and sometimes questioned things. “Does every song have to be faded out? Does it need a guitar solo?” Gilmour agreed. “Most of his suggestions were good and I liked them straight away.”
Gilmour admits that he had to warm up to one suggestion. His song “A Single Spark” was completely changed. The original version is included as a bonus track on the album for comparison. “You can listen to it, it’s interesting.” You can see Gilmour’s enthusiasm when he talks about it.
Recording with deceased Pink Floyd colleague
The almost 14-minute jam that resulted in the title song “Luck And Strange” is also set to be released. “Then people can hear what we have now and where it came from,” says the 78-year-old, who seems younger. “I find that fascinating.”
What’s special about the title song is that it features Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright, who died in 2008. The recordings took place a year before Wright’s death in Gilmour’s barn with musicians from his touring band. “I just played like that and everyone joined in. There was no second take. There’s nothing different. That’s the song.” Only the vocals were added.
Harmonious album to sit back and relax
David Gilmour’s fifth solo album is, for the most part, a wonderfully relaxed affair. This becomes clear from the first guitar sounds of the atmospheric instrumental opener “Black Cat”. “Luck And Strange” is an album to sit back and enjoy, where the music flows as harmoniously as the Thames.
The song “Between Two Points” is a cover version. The original was by the British indie pop duo The Montgolfier Brothers and is 25 years old. “We heard it by chance one day and Polly suggested that I cover it.” When he started, Gilmour had doubts. “I thought: That’s not me. I can’t sing those words. They’re too fragile for me.” That’s why his daughter Romany sings the song.
Highlights include “Piper’s Call” with dreamy guitar sounds and “A Single Spark”, in which Gilmour struggles with the finiteness of life. “Dark And Velvet Nights” is the only one of the ten songs on the new album that rocks a little harder, before strings can be heard at the end. There are no weaker songs here.
Doing without guitar solos is possible, but unlikely
But what about the guitar solos? Is a David Gilmour album without guitar solos even possible? “Of course! Anything is possible. But it’s relatively unlikely,” he says, grinning. “I just like playing the guitar sometimes.” Then he quickly counts again. “I think there’s only one song on the new album that doesn’t have a guitar solo at all.”
In October and November, David Gilmour will play several concerts in Rome, London, Los Angeles and New York, which were sold out after a short time. The British music veteran is planning more shows for 2025.
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