Prior to the release of their new This Is Happening album, frontman James Murphy started hinting that LCD Soundsystem would be a band no longer once the record was released. In a recent interview with Exclaim!, however, Murphy clarified that LCD Soundsystem won't be disappearing completely, but they will be slowing down.
In the interview, Murphy said that This Is Happening "marks the end of an era of what the band is."
He continued: "It's three albums that are professional rock band albums, where you go on tour and you make singles and videos and stuff. I think it's a nice trilogy and I think that's the end of that because it's a full-time job in which you can't do anything else. I'm 40 and these guys have things they gotta do and people have kids. It's the most fun job with the best people but, as awesome as it is, it doesn't seem to be worth doing at the exclusion of everything else. So, it might as well go back to it being a fun thing that we can do different things with."
Murphy went on to explain he won't be starting a new band either. "That would be meaningless," he said. "Then I'd just start another stupid band with another name. There's no reason to do that. It just means I don't wanna be a professional musician anymore... I wanna just go back and produce other people again, keep running DFA, work with my friends, make singles ― things like that."
And while LCD Soundsystem may still be No. 1 in Murphy's eyes, he recently lamented on some interesting projects he's had to pass on due to working on the band. Speaking to BBC 6 Music, he said, "I missed the opportunity to work with Arcade Fire in the studio twice on two albums in a row just because they were recording at the same time I did and that broke my heart 'cause we toured together. I consider them to be very good friends and I admire what they do and it would have been really fun to work with them."
As LCD Soundsystem finally slow down, Murphy is hoping he can find the time to do more collaborations and return to his roots in club culture. "I want to put together a festival in New York. There is a lot of stuff I want to do. I am a busy person by nature!" he told BBC 6 Music. "I haven't done a remix in a long time. I haven't put out a proper dance twelve-inch in a long time and I miss that. I haven't had a weekly party in a long time and I miss that desperately... So this is just an opportunity to sit still for a minute, listen to my records at home again and get excited in a different way. I am still excited about what we do, but I want to find a new way of dealing with my time."
In the interview, Murphy said that This Is Happening "marks the end of an era of what the band is."
He continued: "It's three albums that are professional rock band albums, where you go on tour and you make singles and videos and stuff. I think it's a nice trilogy and I think that's the end of that because it's a full-time job in which you can't do anything else. I'm 40 and these guys have things they gotta do and people have kids. It's the most fun job with the best people but, as awesome as it is, it doesn't seem to be worth doing at the exclusion of everything else. So, it might as well go back to it being a fun thing that we can do different things with."
Murphy went on to explain he won't be starting a new band either. "That would be meaningless," he said. "Then I'd just start another stupid band with another name. There's no reason to do that. It just means I don't wanna be a professional musician anymore... I wanna just go back and produce other people again, keep running DFA, work with my friends, make singles ― things like that."
And while LCD Soundsystem may still be No. 1 in Murphy's eyes, he recently lamented on some interesting projects he's had to pass on due to working on the band. Speaking to BBC 6 Music, he said, "I missed the opportunity to work with Arcade Fire in the studio twice on two albums in a row just because they were recording at the same time I did and that broke my heart 'cause we toured together. I consider them to be very good friends and I admire what they do and it would have been really fun to work with them."
As LCD Soundsystem finally slow down, Murphy is hoping he can find the time to do more collaborations and return to his roots in club culture. "I want to put together a festival in New York. There is a lot of stuff I want to do. I am a busy person by nature!" he told BBC 6 Music. "I haven't done a remix in a long time. I haven't put out a proper dance twelve-inch in a long time and I miss that. I haven't had a weekly party in a long time and I miss that desperately... So this is just an opportunity to sit still for a minute, listen to my records at home again and get excited in a different way. I am still excited about what we do, but I want to find a new way of dealing with my time."
