The War On Drugs On Beyoncé Collaboration: ‘It’s Arguably The Coolest Thing I’ve Ever Done’
The War On Drugs frontman Adam Granduciel has spoken about the experience of working with Beyoncé and his band’s new live album, Live Drugs Again, in a new interview with Variety.
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Granduciel revealed that when he laid down the guitar for II Most Wanted, the Beyoncé and Miley Cyrus duet on the former’s Cowboy Carter album, he didn’t realise who would be singing on the track. “It was exciting! When I heard the song, I was like, ‘Is that me?’ They definitely chopped it up a little bit, but the melody line was there. It’s arguably the coolest thing I’ve ever done.”
He went on to discuss The War On Drugs’ upcoming live album, Live Drugs Again, which was released yesterday (!3 September). “It’s a great thing when you have a definitive version of a song as it’s performed,” he reflected. “That’s something that the live aspect of this band has been great at — reinterpreting all of these recordings as a live act. It’s like you’re working with completely new songs.
“So, for me, a great live record is one that feels like you’re on stage with this band. You feed off of the energy of what’s happening, and it’s a mix of having control over the recorded environment and not overproducing live records. (And that’s coming from a guy that possibly overproduced this one, so who knows?) But we had a great time putting it all together, and it wasn’t so much what version [of each song] was best. It was more about, “I remember coming off stage in this town we never played before and having a wonderful day and meeting all of these great people. Let’s start with that show.” It wasn’t sifting through looking for the best solo.”