Paul McCartney released his latest solo album last week, but it could have sounded much different had he taken Kanye West up on an offer to produce the LP.
In a new interview with GQ, the former Beatle revealed that his "FourFiveSeconds" collaborator reached out and pitched producing Egypt Station. McCartney said he considered it, but only briefly.
"And then I thought, no, I kind of knew what direction I wanted to go in," he said. "And I knew that would be very different from where Kanye would go with it."
McCartney continued, "I'm just amazed that he said it. And then we never talked about it again. It was just a thought that was thrown away. I certainly thought about it and got very excited and thought, 'That's something, there's no denying that…but is it something I want to do?' There's the thing. And I thought, 'Maybe not.'"
Ultimately, McCartney ended up working with Greg Kurstin and Ryan Tedder on the new album.
Macca also discussed adjusting to West's style of musical creation — which in his case involved brainstorming sessions followed by heavy audio manipulation — and Damon Albarn's claims that West's tactics resulted in an "abusive collaboration."
"I love the respect someone like Damon is attributing to me, but I'm not that fussed," McCartney told GQ. "If I want to go somewhere else from where I normally go or where I'm expected to go, I'll go. And if I enjoy it, that's enough for me. The great thing is, all sorts of hysterical things come out of it. I mean, there's a lot of people think Kanye discovered me. And that's not a joke."
Read the full GQ article here.
Egypt Station is out now on Capitol Records. See McCartney's upcoming Canadian tour dates here.
In a new interview with GQ, the former Beatle revealed that his "FourFiveSeconds" collaborator reached out and pitched producing Egypt Station. McCartney said he considered it, but only briefly.
"And then I thought, no, I kind of knew what direction I wanted to go in," he said. "And I knew that would be very different from where Kanye would go with it."
McCartney continued, "I'm just amazed that he said it. And then we never talked about it again. It was just a thought that was thrown away. I certainly thought about it and got very excited and thought, 'That's something, there's no denying that…but is it something I want to do?' There's the thing. And I thought, 'Maybe not.'"
Ultimately, McCartney ended up working with Greg Kurstin and Ryan Tedder on the new album.
Macca also discussed adjusting to West's style of musical creation — which in his case involved brainstorming sessions followed by heavy audio manipulation — and Damon Albarn's claims that West's tactics resulted in an "abusive collaboration."
"I love the respect someone like Damon is attributing to me, but I'm not that fussed," McCartney told GQ. "If I want to go somewhere else from where I normally go or where I'm expected to go, I'll go. And if I enjoy it, that's enough for me. The great thing is, all sorts of hysterical things come out of it. I mean, there's a lot of people think Kanye discovered me. And that's not a joke."
Read the full GQ article here.
Egypt Station is out now on Capitol Records. See McCartney's upcoming Canadian tour dates here.
