Smashing Pumpkins are hard at work on the third instalment of the Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and Machina trilogy with "another big album" in the works. In a new interview with Audio Ink Radio, SP guitarist Jeff Schroeder shared some tidbits about what the band have been getting up to in the studio this year.
The recent recording sessions — done remotely, with band members in different cities — follow the 2020 release of double-album Cyr.
"We're about halfway through working on another big album, which is, basically, I guess, a sequel to Mellon Collie and Machina, so it's the third in a trilogy — more of a concept-based album. And this one is 33 songs," said Schroeder, referring to Smashing Pumpkins' canonical 1995 and 2000 albums.
The guitarist continued: "We've been working for a long — almost, basically, the whole year on it. But we're in the middle of real tracking and stuff right now. That'll probably take most of the rest of the year, 'cause it's a big, sprawling thing."
According to Schroeder, it's been a challenge to tackle something so large:
Even for me as a guitar player, usually you're always working on things and have a bunch of ideas to try on these new tracks. Then, after four songs, you're like, "Okay, I have to come up with some other stuff." So, then you work hard and get through the first 11 songs, and you're like, "Oh, wait a second. That's only the first act. I've got two more acts to go!" So you've really got to dig in deep into your soul to find out what's in there. What's this song calling for? How can I listen to this song differently than I listened to the last one? It really pushes you artistically. Some days it's hard and we fail; I fail. And then you come back the next day and try again. It's rewarding when you go, "Wow, yesterday sucked and today is actually quite good on the same song." So it can be fun.
In the meantime, Smashing Pumpkins are about to release an archival album, Live at the Viper Room 1998. Recorded acoustically at the famous Hollywood venue, the vinyl becomes available for pre-order this Saturday (July 31).
Frontman Billy Corgan also shared that he was in the studio with metalcore outfit Code Orange last month.
Listen to the full interview with Schroeder below.
The recent recording sessions — done remotely, with band members in different cities — follow the 2020 release of double-album Cyr.
"We're about halfway through working on another big album, which is, basically, I guess, a sequel to Mellon Collie and Machina, so it's the third in a trilogy — more of a concept-based album. And this one is 33 songs," said Schroeder, referring to Smashing Pumpkins' canonical 1995 and 2000 albums.
The guitarist continued: "We've been working for a long — almost, basically, the whole year on it. But we're in the middle of real tracking and stuff right now. That'll probably take most of the rest of the year, 'cause it's a big, sprawling thing."
According to Schroeder, it's been a challenge to tackle something so large:
Even for me as a guitar player, usually you're always working on things and have a bunch of ideas to try on these new tracks. Then, after four songs, you're like, "Okay, I have to come up with some other stuff." So, then you work hard and get through the first 11 songs, and you're like, "Oh, wait a second. That's only the first act. I've got two more acts to go!" So you've really got to dig in deep into your soul to find out what's in there. What's this song calling for? How can I listen to this song differently than I listened to the last one? It really pushes you artistically. Some days it's hard and we fail; I fail. And then you come back the next day and try again. It's rewarding when you go, "Wow, yesterday sucked and today is actually quite good on the same song." So it can be fun.
In the meantime, Smashing Pumpkins are about to release an archival album, Live at the Viper Room 1998. Recorded acoustically at the famous Hollywood venue, the vinyl becomes available for pre-order this Saturday (July 31).
Frontman Billy Corgan also shared that he was in the studio with metalcore outfit Code Orange last month.
Listen to the full interview with Schroeder below.
