The Edge has said that U2 have an “awful lot of material” for their next album.
The band are in the midst of condensing down ideas for material for this album, ideas which they came up with during the pandemic.
Last month, U2 had released a previously unheard track called, ‘Happiness’, which was recorded 20 years ago. The song was recorded during the band’s sessions for their 2004 album ‘How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb’.
More on this from Nova here.
“so many different things”
Speaking ahead of their future projects, The Edge had this to say.
“We’re working on so many different things. During the whole Covid lockdown, I just went crazy into creating tracks and song ideas. So we’re starting to go through some of those, and we’ve got an awful lot of material to wade through to see what it is”, he revealed.
He continued: “And I guess we’re at that great honeymoon period of a lot of experimentation, and looking at all kinds of possible themes musically”.
The Edge Rules Out Heavy Rock LP
While he revealed that the guitar will feature heavily on the band’s next album, The Edge has ruled out the return of a “heavy rock” album.
“I think the guitar will be a big part of the next record, but I don’t think it’s going to be a heavy rock album. I think it’s going to be a very different kind of use of the guitar, not a straight-up rock thing”, he explained.
“We’ve never done that. It’s just not who we are. We’ve always tried to avoid using the instrument in a way that’s too mainstream and kind of normal. We’ve always tried to find ways to use the guitar that has never been heard before, and it seems that’s an important part of what gets us excited”.
“get on the road”
Elsewhere, The Edge also hopes that U2 bandmates Bono, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr and come out on tour again.
He also shared his hopes for an environmentally conscious tour, following the conclusion of their residency at Las Vegas’ MSG Sphere.
“We’re looking forward to getting out and seeing our fans and going to where they are. I think that would be an important thing rather than them travelling to us”, he said.
“That helps on some levels, cutting out some sort of the carbon emissions of touring, but I think we can find a way to cut back on carbon and still manage to get on the road and see our fans where they are”.
Back in August, the band announced a new concert movie, which was filmed during their Vegas residency. Find out more here.