Written by: Alex Green
Nile Rodgers revealed today that the legendary disco/soul outfit Chic will be putting out their first new album in 25 years.
The New York band’s last effort was 1992’s Chic-Ism.
Here’s what we know so far:
- The album will be called It’s About Time and though it was set for release in summer of 2015, the date kept getting pushed back due to a number of extenuating circumstances.
- Rodgers says the release of the album will not only mark the 40-year anniversary of Chic’s existence, it will also coincide with the 40-year anniversary of the opening of Studio 54. Chic’s “Le Freak” is one of several unofficial anthems of the landmark club.
- Rodgers has publicly confirmed that Chic will be playing a number of shows in 2017 to support the album. He also has cryptically indicated that the release date will come with an additional “big surprise” but wouldn’t elaborate any further.
- In an interview with Rolling Stone, Rodgers had this to say about the album providing a note of solace in an otherwise bleak time in our country’s history: “I feel like I’m at the breaking point. The only thing that counterbalances that much negativity is superimposing a massive amount of positivity…That’s the only way the scales get even. You can’t do just a little trickle; you’ve got to go all in. So [2017] is ‘party year’ for us. Like, big time. It’s insane.”
- On his website, Rodgers had this to say: “In 2016 the music industry was under pressure. It lost so many giants to the Angel of Death. The year had barely started when David Bowie passed away. Though I’ve done dozens of albums with god knows how many superstars, David and Let’s Dance is one of the highest plateaus in my career…When Prince suddenly died, it was like I’d been struck by lighting twice. It made me “see” why I named the next CHIC album “It’s About Time.” Time is so important, and what we do with it is everything. In 2016, I couldn’t release an album about the joy of life in A Year of So Many Deaths.
