Editors are Working With Blanck Mass on Album #7
Last week, Editors entered Chapel Studios to begin recording their seventh album! Longtime fans may know Chapel Studios as the place Editors recorded their first album, The Back Room. Does that mean album #7 will sound more rock? Before you get carried away with that idea, consider this new evidence: Apparently, Blanck Mass is playing a role in the new album.
Blanck Mass was heavily involved in the early part of Editors making Violence. The band later reworked the songs with producer Leo Abrahams, leading to the final version of their 2018 album. However, in 2019, fans got to hear those earlier versions on The Blanck Mass Sessions. (It included the mesmerizing, previously unreleased Violence song, “Barricades.”) The Blanck Mass versions of Editors’ Violence songs were more electronic and industrial. Will Editors’ next album continue in the Blanck Mass Sessions direction? Or will the collaboration lead to something different and unexpected?
We somewhat saw this collaboration coming, too. Twice last year, Editors frontman Tom Smith teased that he and Blanck Mass were “scheming,” the second time including two additional Editors band members in the virtual fun. It seems that these plans have been in the making for at least a year.
Check out Editors’ latest studio update, now showing Blanck Mass in their midst:
Last week, we got to see Tom sternly surveying the studio:
We also got some sneaky updates from Elliott Williams:
Saturday, May 22 Saturday, May 22 Wednesday, May 19
More About Editors #7
It’s been three years since Editors released their last studio album, Violence. In 2019, fans got the special album The Blanck Mass Sessions and the band’s first greatest hits compilation, Black Gold: Best Of Editors. It included three new songs: “Frankenstein,” “Black Gold,” and “Upside Down.” We’ve gotten nothing new since then, though last spring Editors did digitally release all four volumes of You Are Fading, the rarities compilations first included in their 2011 Unedited box set.
For a band that normally has only two or so years between albums, it’s already been a while, companion albums and compilations notwithstanding. In late 2019 and early 2020, Editors affirmed that they would start their seventh record soon, anticipating it to be “sparse and moody. Of course, that was before COVID-19 hit.
In February, Tom did a series of interviews upon the release of his second Smith & Burrows album (more on that below!).
In an interview with John Earls at The Vinyl Whistle, Tom said:
I’ve a pile of songs ready for the Editors boys to work on. Editors can’t really work remotely, we need to be in the room together to make our songs work. The Best Of album we had out recently felt like the end of Chapter Two for the band, and we can’t wait to start on Chapter Three.
In speaking to Gunter Jakobs at the Dutch publication HBVL, Tom shared:
I’ve already got songs for the next Editors record that we’ll be working on as soon as we able to be in the same room again. Working together from a distance is not possible with the band. It takes a bit more time and effort to get Editors going. We are looking forward to it, but for now we are not making too big of plans. I haven’t even seen, let alone hugged, the other members of the group in almost a year.
Only Smith & Burrows Is Good Enough
On February 19th, Tom’s other group, Smith & Burrows, released their long-awaited second album, Only Smith & Burrows Is Good Enough. It’s a charming and breezy album, a welcome contrast to the times we’ve been living in this past year. It launched the singles “All The Best Moves,” “Old TV Shows,” “Parliament Hill,” and “I Want You Back In My Life.” A song called “Spaghetti” also got some attention in the promotion cycle.
Tom’s “Secret Lockdown Album”
But wait, there’s more! Some unexpected and exciting news from February was that Tom has recorded a full album! His “lockdown album” will evidently feature electronica-styled songs. Tom recorded it with “a couple of people,” though he didn’t specify who. The secret lockdown album seems to either be a solo project for Tom or a new collaboration project á la Smith & Burrows. We still have a lot of questions about this, but hopefully we’ll know more soon. With any luck, this new album will be released before the year is over.
In an interview with Independent.ie, the article mentioned “a new electronica project [Tom] says he can’t talk about just yet.” Then, in speaking with Norman Fleischer at NBHAP, Tom talked about staying creative during the pandemic:
Yeah, it’s okay. I mean, right now with home schooling and a hard lockdown it’s tough but apart from that it’s been quite a fertile time. I’ve written new Editors songs but with the current circumstances working on them as a group will be quite difficult compared to how we usually do things. I also recorded a lockdown album with a couple of people. Well, it’s doesn’t sound like a lockdown album but it was recorded in that time. That’s kind of a secret and I can’t tell more about it for now. But yeah it’s been creative times.
We hope this lockdown album won’t remain a secret for too much longer! We may hear it before Editors’ seventh album.
Tom’s Album with Luca D’Alberto
In October 2018, Tom revealed he was working the Italian composer Luca D’Alberto. In an Italian language interview with Supereva, Tom stated:
Three weeks ago I was in Rome to work with an Italian artist called Luca D’Alberto, who composes contemporary classical music and has just released his second album which is called Exile; you should listen to him.
I advise you to start from Exile, I find it a masterpiece. Luca lives in Rome and I spent a week with him writing songs. Right now, I don’t know what we’re going to do with these pieces, but it’s been really inspiring. So to conclude yes, it may be that in the near future you will hear about our first collaboration with an Italian artist.
Two and a half years later, and we’re happy to learn that this project is still in the works. In an RTL.de interview with Von Mirjam Wilhelm in February, Tom confirmed: “I’ve been doing some further work on the record I’m making with Luca D’Alberto.”
Still no clue as to when we’ll get it, but we’re excited to hear this collaboration!
New Music Coming Soon
We can’t wait to hear whatever Editors is cooking up in the studio! It’s great that they were finally able to begin recording, and with any luck, we’ll get to hear something before 2021 is over. For now, catch up on all we know about their seventh album here.
Tom also has other projects in the works, and we can hardly wait to hear them all. The “secret lockdown album” will likely come out first. His record with Luca D’Alberto may come next, though it’s been in the works for over two years as it is, so we shall see.
Fortunately, we can enjoy his new album with Andy Burrows now. Only Smith & Burrows Is Good Enough just came out in February, and it’s a real treat. It affirms the presence of Smith & Burrows, and fans’ desire for a third album… whenever that may be.
Keep checking back here for all the latest Editors music news.
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