Paul Weller’s next solo album will be "spacey and soulful".
The 60-year-old British music icon hasn’t even released his 26th solo record ‘True Meanings’ yet, but he’s already putting his ideas together for his next one.
Asked what it will sound like, The former Jam star told the latest issue of Q Magazine: "Well, I don’t want to say too much, it’s still in the development stage but something kind of spacey and soulful as well.
"I’ve got three or four tunes that I am happy with so it’s going the right way.
The ‘Going Underground’ hitmaker has always been a prolific songwriter, but he admits he is even moreso now he’s getting older as he realises how precious life is.
He continued:"Life goes by so quickly. It’s probably with my age saying this but it is true, mate.
"You’ve got to f***ing really love it and dig it and get on with it and enjoy it while you can."
‘True Meanings’ features a number of collaborations, including a track with Weller’s pal Noel Gallagher.
In May 2018, Weller turned 60 and reaching that landmark age has influenced the songs on the LP, whilst it also features the most collaborations he has ever committed to record.
Weller and the former Oasis star have teamed up for a song, which is the latest in a long line of joint songwriting efforts by the pair.
Previous collaborations including ‘Echoes Round the Sun’ on Weller’s 2008 LP ’22 Dreams’ and ‘Birth of an Accidental Hipster’, which they co-wrote for The Monkees’ 2016 album ‘Good Times!’
Weller also featured on Noel’s latest solo album, ‘Who Built the Moon?, playing the organ on ‘Holy Mountain’.
Other guest appearances on ‘True Meanings’ come from Rod Argent of the Zombies playing Hammond organ on ‘The Soul Searchers’ and piano and Mellotron on ‘White Horses’; folk legends Martin Carthy and Danny Thompson adding picked guitar and double bass respectively to ‘Come Along’; Little Barrie taking lead guitar on ‘Old Castles’; Lucy Rose singing back-up vocals on ‘Books’; and ‘Movin On’ is the result of a "scratchy demo" on Paul’s phone that was sent to Tom Doyle of the White Label project.
The record also surprisingly contains four songs which have lyrics penned by other writers to Weller’s melodies and music.
Connor O’Brien from Villagers came up with the words to opener ‘The Soul Searchers’, while ‘Bowie’, ‘Wishing Well’ and the closing ‘White Horses’ are all the lyrical work of Erland Cooper from Erland & The Carnival.
Paul Weller’s next album will be spacey and soulful
