“I fell in love with him. He’s a savant” The War On Drugs’ Adam Granduciel on working with Sam Fender
When Sam Fender recently revealed that he worked with The War On Drugs’ Adam Granduciel for his forthcoming third studio album, People Watching, it must’ve felt like a foregone conclusion for fans of either artist who have recognised their similarities for some time.
Fender has been vocal in his admiration for Granduciel in the past, and his earnest, stadium-sized indie anthems sonically nods to the Philadelphian band’s cosmic heartland rock. Given he’s one of the UK’s currently most lionised guitar acts, it was a no-brainer for Granduciel to answer the call when Fender asked him to help shape his new album’s sound. Though, he had more in common with Newcastle’s hometown hero than he initially thought.
READ MORE: The Genius of The War On Drugs – A Deeper Understanding
Whilst talking to Guitar.com about his all-time favourite live albums – after the release of The War On Drugs’ recent second live album Live Drugs Again – Adam also reflected on his experience working with Fender, admitting: “I fell in love with him. He’s a savant.”
From his home in Los Angeles, Adam opened up about inviting Fender over in the Spring to record a handful of tracks that he’d already penned, and to work on completely new material that may or may not have made the new album.
“Sam and the boys came out in March for about five weeks. We worked on some stuff they’d already started, then we worked on some more stuff from the ground up. It was awesome. I’d never met Sam, but we’d communicated once or twice.”
“I fell in love with him. He’s a savant. Which I wasn’t really prepared for. I didn’t realise how much of a musical savant he was.”
“I have this picture I’m looking at now, above the sink in my kitchen, that I took of the boys. Sam, Joe [Atkinson], Dean [Thompson] and Drew, just hanging out in my studio. They inspire each other. It’s like my band: everyone can just sit there for fifteen hours and just hang. You don’t have a wildcard, everyone’s easy and loose, and musical, and good-hearted. It was a blast working together.”
Safe to say that anticipation for People Watching, Fender’s first album since 2021’s Seventeen Going Under, is pretty darn high. He virtually sold out his upcoming run of arena gigs based on a 30 second clip he shared on social media – showing Fender in the studio with Granduciel – of the album’s titular single, even before its full release.
Recently Fender has also announced four enormous stadium concerts for next summer, one at London’s Wembley Stadium and three at Newcastle’s St. James Park, with The War On Drugs acting as main support for three of the four shows.
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Ahead of the release of People Watching on 21st February 2025, Fender will also complete a run of sold out UK and European dates, with £1 from every ticket sold donated to the Music Venue Trust, which seeks to support and improve grassroots music venues throughout the UK.
Dubbed the spiritual successor to the “coming of age” stories which made up Seventeen Going Under in a recent press release, People Watching promises “colourful stories and observations of everyday characters living their everyday, but often extraordinary, lives.”
Sam Fender’s upcoming album People Watching is out on 21st February 2025 via Polydor Records.
The War On Drugs, Live Drugs Again is out now via Super High Quality Records.
The post “I fell in love with him. He’s a savant” The War On Drugs’ Adam Granduciel on working with Sam Fender appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Source: www.guitar-bass.net
