Yesterday morning, Coachella confirmed LCD Soundsystem were playing its festival, after LCD Soundsystem released a song at Christmas. Later in the evening, James Murphy explained why the band were playing gigs again but went further to say that this isn’t a victory lap”, there will be more gigs around the world, it’s not a reunion tour as there’s a new album on the way too. The songs were building up in him and rather than go solo or start a band called Everteen (Lol), he asked the rest of the band if they wanted to do another LCD album.
Murphy says he understands why some fans feel betrayed about their return after the brouhaha over their last shows, though a statement he made at the time suggested there was a possibility.
I don’t understand the feeling of betrayal. If you love a band, and LCD Soundsystem’s stature has only grown in the intervening years, why wouldn’t you want to experience them again, or let others do it for the first time?
‘All My Friends’ has sustained as an all-encompassing end-of-night club anthem for the ages. Last year, a few hundred people turned up in a venue to watch their concert film in Dublin. Una has written more extensively on why that is. The band mean something to people. That’s important.
James Murphy was never far away in those five years, tinkering away on coffee, writing soundtracks, creating music out of tennis match data, producing Arcade Fire and remixing Bowie. He’s been a constant on the DJ lineups of festivals. Along with 2ManyDJs, he created Despacio, a club space that placed an emphasis on great soundsystems and slow experiences, knocking the DJs off their pedestal and putting them back where they started – in a booth off the side. Despacio was the real impetus for Lumo. Murphy has never rested, he’s continued to inspire others which makes the prospect of another chapter in LCD’s history less of a worry.
Below, you’ll find a Spotify playlist featuring a lot of LCD Soundsystem music, original, live versions and remixes along with tracks from their label DFA Records that have their imprint.
