Duran Duran Discuss Timbaland, Timberlake Collaboration

September 26, 2007

When Duran Duran regrouped for new album Red Carpet Massacre, they were hungry like the wolf to snag uber producer Timbaland and protege Justin Timberlake to update their '80s new-wave sounds and scream-inducing pelvic thrusts.

"Timbaland was the only producer we could all agree on," keyboardist Nick Rhodes tells NME. "We're all huge fans of Timbaland's work with Missy Elliott, Justin Timberlake's first album, and his own material. When we inquired and he said he was a fan, it seemed very logical. We've always tried to blend rock music with dance music and electronics."

The '80s survivors are hoping to merge Timbaland's trademark beats with their own electro roots to come up with a "very modern, angular record" that also preserves the band's feathered hair roots. But don't think the infamous beat maker has completely taken over Duran Duran's record -- the band refused to simply be spoon-fed hits.

"[Timbaland] had recorded an entire track -- he had rhythm, he had bass, he had total instrumentations, he even had a guide vocal on it. He said, 'All you gotta do Simon is write the words.' And we just said, 'We don't do that,'" singer Simon Le Bon recounts to NME.

"Producers who work in the hip-hop world are used to building musicians -- that's what they do," adds bassist John Taylor. "They've refined that art. But they want to work with bands because there's nothing quite like a band. It's a learning experience for everybody involved."

Timbaland lends a hand to the band's first single "Falling Down," which will precede the album's release on Nov. 12. Coincidentally, Nov. 12 is also cougar appreciation day, the day when soccer moms around the world celebrate their inner coug by wedging themselves into an old pair of leather pants and lusting over their teenage idols. People with an adverse reaction to camel toe are advised to stay indoors during the celebrations.