CONFIRMED: Arcade Fire Collaborated With James Murphy Of LCD Soundsystem On New Material

December 7th, 2012

Dayton O'Connor

You have probably never been compelled to dance to an Arcade Fire album. Well, maybe you did, fey mid-Aughts independent movie about the complexities inherit in adolescence. But you’re not a person. You’re a work of fiction.

But the Canadian indie rock outfit might get you to shake that ass yet. A feature in Music Week confirms that Arcade Fire and James Murphy, the frontman of defunct dance-rockers LCD Soundsystem, have been working on music together.

According to Arcade Fire’s manager Scott Rogers, the band is “in with James Murphy on three or so songs plus Markus Dravs who is a long-time collaborator. They write too many songs – that’s a good problem to have. There’s around 35 songs with Arcade Fire, two albums’-worth for sure.”

This collaboration is more intriguing than anything else. There aren’t a ton of sonic touchstones that the two acts share in common. Arcade Fire traffics in Big Sounds and Important Themes whose albums are epistolary statements where guitar riffs carry a couple layers of meaning. LCD Soundsystem, who found comfort in the small clubs and the square gardens, are more about keeping the listener on their toes. Some erudite classic rock scholarship here, some understated electronics there. Some high energy funk here, some “New York, I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down” there. Here’s hoping the collaboration is worth the headlining reunion performance slot at Coachella 2019.