Ride returns today with news of their seventh studio album, Interaction, available March 29 via Wichita Recordings/PIAS. The new record is the Oxford quartet's third since their 2014 reform, having been together longer in their current second phase than in their original iteration as '90s shoegaze pioneers. The announcement is accompanied by the album's first single, ' Peace Sign', which is now available.
Interaction will follow that of 2017 Weather diaries and 2019 This is not a safe place, which reignited Ride's spark, pleasing old fans and introducing one of the most innovative guitar bands of their generation to a whole new audience. Produced by the band with Richie Kennedy and mixed by Claudius Mittendorfer, it connects all the dots of their career, taking the frenetic guitar attacks, hypnotic rhythms and dreamy melodic hooks of their early work and setting them into a more expansive sonic template, inspired by 80s pop gems like Tears For Fears, Talk Talk and early U2.
Thematically, it combines Ride's classic lyrical hallmarks, such as escapism, dreams, and the dissatisfaction of modern life, with a sense of resilience and perseverance that comes from imploding, then reforming, and finding a path to his second peak, as guitarist and singer Andy Bell. he explains: “This album has taken a long time to make and has seen the band go through many ups and downs; perhaps the most of any Ride album. But it has seen us come through the process as a band in a good place, feeling able to let go of the past and ready to celebrate the combined musical talents that brought us together in the first place.”
With its powerful bassline and euphoric '80s-inspired synths and saxophone, 'Peace Sign' is the perfect introduction to Interaction. Speaking about the new single, Andy says: “'Peace Sign' began as a jam recorded at Marks' OX4 studio in early 2021. We called it 'Berlin' and it initially featured Loz on drums, Steve on bass, and me on a Prophet 5 synth. About six Months later I got the recording and turned it into a song. Lyrically I was inspired by a film called 'The Mountaineer' about the visionary climber Marc-André Leclerc. Shortly after we finished working on the song, I remember I was talking to my bandmates about Leclerc on OX4, and a good memory from that time was that we were all watching that movie in Mark's studio.”
Listen to 'Peace Sign' – BELOW:
Formed by guitarist and vocalist Andy Bell and Mark Gardener, along with drummer Laurence “Loz” Colbert and bassist Steve Queralt, Ride formed in Oxford in 1988; Four friends rooted in art school aesthetics who combined '60s guitar-pop sensibilities with avalanches of noise and driving rhythms. It was a recalibration of the indie-rock that would come to be defined as 'shoegaze' and with its seminal debut in 1990 Nowhere came a run of critical and commercial success that finally collapsed in 1996, with turmoil within the band prompting them to call it a day.
They reformed in 2014, finding a global scene full of bands indebted to Ride and their peers (Tame Impala, Beach House, Slowdive, to name a few), and after a successful tour they entered the studio with legendary producer Erol Alkan to create the critical review album. acclaimed Weather diaries and follow up This is not a safe place. Now, in 2024, shoegaze is one of the fastest growing music genres, having captured a new wave of Gen Z fans through TikTok, with artists like DIIV, bdrmm and Just Mustard turning millions of views into impressive numbers. transmission and ticket sales. A quarter of a century since their original formation and with a new generation discovering their music, Interaction finds Ride reaching new creative heights and stronger than ever.
Ride – Interplay Tracklist:
peace sign
last frontier
Light in a quiet room
Monaco
I came to see the shipwreck
Stay Free
Last night I came somewhere to dream
Dawn Hunter
midnight traveler
Portland Rocks
Essaouira
Yesterday is just a song
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