Bryan Ferry has revealed new details about his upcoming album, ‘Loose Talk’. He made the comments during an appearance on the Rockonteurs podcast, hosted by Gary Kemp, of Spandau Ballet, and bassist and frequent collaborator, Guy Pratt. The interview aired two days before the release of the album’s third and latest single, also titled ‘Loose Talk’.
The album, which is a collaboration between Ferry and artist Amelia Barrett, marks a significant shift for the Roxy Music frontman. He compared the spoken word style to earlier Roxy tracks ‘In Every Dream Home A Heartache’ and ‘Mother of Pearl’. Talking to Clash Magazine last month, Ferry said: “The nearest I ever got to doing pieces like this before would maybe be back in Roxy… I’m pleased that when we’ve played Loose Talk to people, they’ve said, ‘Oh, this sounds really different.’ That’s what I’ve always wanted with everything I’ve done or been involved in: to be different.”
Barrett has built a career as an artist without pigeonholing herself, having dabbled in performance poetry, painting, and immersive exhibitions. She is not new to the music world either, having released a cassette in 2023 in collaboration with Christian Flamm, which contained recordings in both English and German. Barrett met Ferry at an art exhibition in London’s East End, going on to record an audiobook at the singer’s recording studio. This led to ‘Loose Talk’, which Ferry described as “her words, my music”.
In the podcast, the ‘Slave to Love’ singer revealed the pair’s creative processes. Barrett wrote and recorded her parts completely separately to Ferry, whose sole focus was on composing and mixing the music, doing so alongside the album’s producer, James Garzke.
Ferry also revealed that the album would feature a co-credit for late bass player Alan Spenner, who passed away in 1991. The bassist played with Roxy Music during the late 70s and early 80s, and the piece that Ferry has unearthed and used on his upcoming album comes from 1973’s ‘For Your Pleasure’. It was shelved, before Spenner added a bass part when he played with the band, and then shelved again. Spenner’s playing can be heard on ‘More Than This’, ‘Avalon’, and ‘Dance Away’. His playing style has been described as “spinning lines that exuded a soulful, rhythm & blues disposition akin to Motown masters”.
Through his work with Roxy Music and his solo career, Ferry has built up a reputation as a modern-day aesthete, regarding the visuals to be just as important as the music. He touched on this in the interview, crediting his former university lecturer and pop artist, Richard Hamilton, for shaping his tastes. The artist’s influence is evident in the three music videos that have been released so far, blending various filmmaking techniques and looking more experimental than his usual sleek and highly-stylised music videos. The music videos for ‘Loose Talk’ are also Ferry’s first time directing videos, which might go some way to explaining the shift.
‘Loose Talk’ is set to be released in less than two weeks, hitting shelves and streaming services on 28 March. Preorders, presaves, and an exclusive green vinyl pressing are all available now. With a considerable buzz in certain circles, it will be fascinating to see the response to Ferry’s new direction.
