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Sep 22, 2023 By Mark Redfern

Duran Duran are releasing a new Halloween-themed album, Danse Macabre, on October 27 on Tape Modern via BMG, just in time for Halloween. Now they have shared its second single, “Black Moonlight,” which features Nile Rodgers. Listen below.

Keyboardist Nick Rhodes had this to say about the song in a press release: “Nile Rogers is a force of nature. When we get into a room, we start playing, and magic happens. Nile always says that CHIC is his first band, and Duran Duran is his second. Thematically, I personally prefer the moon to the sun. Simon took the idea and ran with it.”

Singer Simon Le Bon adds: “‘Black Moonlight’ is this classic Duran Duran-Nile Rodgers collaboration. When Nile started playing his guitar in the studio, he really inspired everyone with his riff, and the song just kind of wrote itself.”

Previously Duran Duran shared the album’s first single, title track “Danse Macabre.”

Danse Macabre is a mix of originals, covers, and new versions of older Duran Duran songs.

The album includes covers of Billie Eilish’s “Bury a Friend,” Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer” (feat. Victoria De Angelis of Måneskin), The Rolling Stones’ “Paint It Black,” Siouxsie and the Banshees’ “Spellbound,” Cerrone’s “Supernature,” and The Specials’ “Ghost Town,” along with the Rick James-inspired “Super Lonely Freak.”

Danse Macabre features former bandmates Warren Cuccurullo (collaborating with the band for the first time since 2001) and Andy Taylor, as well as Nile Rodgers and producers Josh Blair and Mr Hudson.

The album came about when the band—Simon Le Bon, John Taylor, Nick Rhodes, and Roger Taylor—played a show in Las Vegas on Halloween in 2022.

Nick Rhodes had this to say in a previous press release: “The song ‘Danse Macabre’ celebrates the joy and madness of Halloween. It is the title track of our forthcoming album, which gathers together an unusual mix of cover versions, reworked Duran Duran songs and several new compositions. The idea was born out of a show we played in Las Vegas on October 31st, 2022. We had decided to seize the moment to create a unique, special event…the temptation of using glorious gothic visuals set to a dark soundtrack of horror and humor was simply irresistible.

“That evening inspired us to explore further and to make an album, using Halloween as the key theme. The record metamorphosed through a pure, organic process, and not only was it made faster than anything since our debut album, it has also resulted in something none of us could have ever predicted. Emotion, mood, style and attitude have always been at the heart of Duran Duran’s DNA, we search for light in the darkness and darkness in the light, and I feel we have somehow managed to capture the essence of all of that in this project.”

Simon Le Bon said: “It’s about a crazy Halloween party. It’s supposed to be fun!”

John Taylor said: “After all these years, Danse Macabre offers an interesting insight into the personality of the band. The music packs a real punch.”

Roger Taylor added: “I hope you take a journey with us through the darker side of our inspirations into where we’re at in 2023. Maybe, you’ll leave with a deeper understanding of how Duran Duran got to this moment in time.”

Danse Macabre is the band’s 16th studio album and follows 2021’s FUTURE PAST. In 2022 the band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Read our recent interview with Duran Duran’s Roger Taylor.

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