// Specials // U2 New Album FAQ

Frequently asked questions about the new U2 album.

This page was last updated April 30, 2007.

U2's last album 'How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb' was released two years ago, the 'Vertigo' tour has ended ... so the obvious question on every fan's mind is 'When will U2 release their next album?'

On this page I will try to answer this question, together with other questions about the album.


// When will U2 release their next album?

In April 2007 The Edge confirms that the band is working on new songs, he says that the band is "getting lost in music":

We are working on a lot of material at the moment, but I have to say, it's without any particular ambition, without having to think about where it's going to go, and we're really enjoying that. It's very liberating. We're making music just for the sake of making it, and some wonderful things are happening as a result.

I'm really resisting the temptation to start thinking in terms of making a record, of finishing anything and putting a record out -- I want to keep this spirit going for as long as possible.

So it seems like it might be quite a while before we'll see a new album.

Also, when a fan asks Adam Clayon about the new CD Adam reportedly said: "What CD? We haven't started it yet."

December 2006
Paul McGuinness, U2's manager, tells Billboard.com that U2 is planning to release its next album by late 2007.

December 2006
Edge says the following in an interview with Q magazine:

Will there be a new record next year? We hope, but we don't know. We've got about five or six songs that are in good enough shape that we feel strong about them, but not in good enough shape that we could record them.

September 2006
Time Magazine asks The Edge if there is a new album around the bend, his answer:

Noooo. Nowhere near. We're here with [producer] Rick Rubin and enjoying the chemistry, but we're nowhere near a timetable or anything. I will say that we're having a good time. And I have a feeling that because of Rick's presence it's going to sound very different. But really, it's early days. And we are messing about with other stuff too.

June 2006
Bono says that the band would start to work on new songs in the summer, so it seems like they're in the early stages of making a new album, and it will propably take them quite a while before they're finished.

January 2006
In an interview The Edge says the following:

We haven't really got to the point where we're thinking seriously about the next record. We're at that wonderful place where we're just experimenting, and trying things, just really letting our imaginations go. It's my favorite phase of making an album because there are no constraints, you just write and explore possibilities. That's where I am now: loads of possibilities, but nothing concrete.

// What will the new album sound like?

December 2006
BBC Radio 1 DJ Jo Whiley interviews Bono, she asks him if U2 will to continue to be a rock band:

We're gonna continue to be a band, but maybe the rock will have to go; maybe the rock has to get a lot harder. But whatever it is, it's not gonna stay where it is.

Bono also said the following on changing the sound:

Our band has certainly reached the end of where we've been at for the last couple of albums. I want to see what else we can do with it, take it to the next level; I think that's what we've got to do.

During the interview Bono expressed his interest in stripping things down to just voice and acoustic guitar:

There's real power there, in voice and the acoustic guitar. I would like to do a couple of tunes in that direction, with just a lot of space around the voice and I'd like to strip things down. That's something I'd be very interested in at the moment.

December 2006
Q Magazine asks The Edge what the sound is going to be, he says:

It's going to be a very melodic record. It's interesting to me that some of the artists who were really glossed over in the early period of the bands existence I'm starting to "get" more and more now. People like the BeeGees. You listen to their work now and think "My God, how brilliant were they as songwriters?" But totally undermined by a lot of bad hair and living in LA, or whatever.

Then Q asks him: "Do you think you've got another disco album in you?"

No, but just melodically...and some of the things the Eagles wrote - amazing songs. It's a new found appreciation for pure melody. That seems to be what we're all interested in at the moment.

// Who is producing it?

April 2007
The Edge says that the band is working on new songs with Rick Rubin.

Fall 2006
In september 2006 U2 was in the studio with Rick Rubin, the legendary producer known for his work with rap and heavy metal. Rubin previously worked with artist like Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Run-D.M.C, Slayer, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Johnny Cash and many others.

Rubin worked with U2 on two songs: 'The Saints Are Coming' and 'Window In The Skies' but at this time it is not known if he is also going to produce the new album, it seems likely though.

It's believed that Jacknife Lee (who co-produced 'How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb) will also work on the new record.

// Where is U2 recording it?

Unknown.

During the summer of 2006 U2 did some work in southern France, and in september 2006 U2 started recording sessions in the worldfamous Abbey Road studios in London.

U2 won't be able to record at Hanover Quay studios (where most recent albums were recorded) because it will be demolished. A new studio will be built, but construction on the new studio hasn't started yet.

// Is it true that U2 is making a hip-hop album?

That's not very likely. But it is true that Bono has expressed interest in hip-hop, here's what he had to say:

I happen to be in really a truly great band, and experimentation has been the lifeblood of this band. We of course will look and are looking across at hip-hop and see the amazing innovation in the studio...

It's interesting to see that Rick Rubin will most likely produce the new album, Rubin is known for his work with rap artists.

// What's the album's title?

Unknown at this time.

// What's the tracklist?

Unknown at this time.

// You don't know much, do you?

Well at this moment, no. ;)
But as soon as more information becomes available I will add this information to this page. If you've got info or questions please contact me.