New York, NY (May 16, 2008) – Despite being sympathetic to the evil Red Sox Nation, I gotta give it up to the Boston Herald for a great article on N.E.R.D this past Wednesday. Chris Faraone caught up with Pharrell, Chad and Shay before Glow In The Dark tour hit town last night; here’s an excerpt from their convo:
…Though they graduated more than a decade ago, N.E.R.D. still takes inspiration from their school days.
“We have a serious library of music in our heads,” Hugo said. “We draw on everything from music appreciation that we learned in school, to hip-hop, rock, pop and any other sounds you can imagine.”
N.E.R.D.’s first two albums - 2002’s “In Search Of” and 2004’s “Fly or Die” - followed no noticeable formulas. Both projects and subsequent tours provided a release for the increasingly high-profile Williams and Hugo, who as the Neptunes were expected to deliver distinctly counterintuitive digital tracks to the music industry’s hottest MCs and singers.
“There was never any structure to N.E.R.D.,” Williams said. “The only thing calculated about it has been our vision.”
Though they claim their forthcoming “Seeing Sounds,” due out in June, also follows no set format, it’s clear that at least Williams has a motive: to counteract the current club and party aesthetic that the Neptunes are largely responsible for ushering into hip-hop.
“Most of the songs out there about being in the club are just boring,” Williams said. “It’s almost like life imitating art. That’s my problem. So many songs are about being in the club that you listen to them and you’re almost desensitized.”
Word. Here’s a review from LupEnd blog on last night’s show, as well as Faraone’s review.
