Pop/rock icon Elton John continues to blaze a trail this week, with the launch of his 32nd (!) album The Lockdown Sessions – a eclectic and super creative record that sees the legendary recording artist collaborate with some of musics biggest names to produce a body of work jam packed with potential hits!
Released Friday, October 22nd via Interscope records, the album was recorded remotely over the course of the last 18 months and features the UK #1 single Cold Heart (PNAU remix) with Dua Lipa, along with previous releases Finish Line with Stevie Wonder and After All with Charlie Puth.
Having been forced to pause his record breaking Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour back in March 2020, due to the unfolding COVID pandemic, Elton retreated to the studio to begin work on what many believe to be the Your Song hitmaker’s boldest and most interesting record to date!
Made up of 16 tracks, including 10 brand new songs, the album sees Elton coming full circle and returning to his roots as a session musician, by teaming up with artist including Nicki Minaj, Years & Years, Miley Cyrus, Surfaces, Gorillaz, Rina Sawayama and Lil Nas X to record a dazzling and diverse collection of songs.
Commenting on the album Sir Elton says: “The last thing I expected to do during lockdown was make an album. But, as the pandemic went on, one-off projects kept cropping up. Some of the recording sessions had to be done remotely, via Zoom, which I’d obviously never done before. Some of the sessions were recorded under very stringent safety regulations: working with another artist, but separated by glass screens.”
“But all the tracks I worked on were really interesting and diverse, stuff that was completely different to anything I’m known for, stuff that took me out of my comfort zone into completely new territory. And I realised there was something weirdly familiar about working like this. At the start of my career, in the late 60s, I worked as a session musician. Working with different artists during lockdown reminded me of that. I’d come full circle: I was a session musician again. And it was still a blast.”
Cold Heart (PNAU Remix) (Official Video)
Just last week, Elton set a new record as the only solo artist in Official UK Chart history to score a Top 10 single in six different decades. An unparalleled career that has forever changed the cultural landscape, Elton John’s collaborations with Bernie Taupin and others continue to shape the cultural landscape, break records, top charts and win new fans across the generations.