Scorpions frontman Klaus Meine is sharing an update on the progress of work on their first new album since 2015’s “Return To Forever.”
The project, which began with a series of writing sessions last year, began to take shape in recent months as the group hunkered down in a German studio during the early stages of the pandemic and saw the recent release of a new single, “Sign Of Hope.”
"It's such a bummer," Meine tells Patrick Calamari of Pat's Soundbytes Unplugged. “Right now, we were supposed to be in Las Vegas to play a residency at Planet Hollywood. And we were so excited about this plan. And since, in 2020, we are focusing on making a new album, the plan was to go to Los Angeles in May and June to work with our producer Greg Fidelman, who used to work with all those great bands like Metallica and Slipknot. So we wanted to be in L.A. in May and June, and then go over to Vegas, play the shows. And for the off days, we booked a studio in Vegas already for the guitar players to go in and lay some tracks down and then maybe go back to L.A. in August. So now we're here, we're stuck in the lockdown and we're stuck in Germany, and it's not so easy. It's pretty crazy. But the good thing is, through this Zoom thing, there is a way to work.
"The whole month of May until early June, we were working in a studio in Hannover – just the three of us: (guitarists) Rudolf [Schenker], Matthias [Jabs and myself – with Greg coming in via Zoom every night. For us, at dinner time, and for him, it was, like, around breakfast. And we worked together, going through the songs, talking about the arrangements and everything: 'I like this song', 'Maybe this we'll keep for later.' And we made great progress with the record, believe it or not. So it's pretty crazy, but it's been working so far very well.
"I must say, especially in this COVID-19 pandemic, it's a blessing, as artists and musicians, we can take a deep dive in our creative world and create some new stuff, some new songs — to write lyrics, to compose songs,” adds Meine. “It feels so good that we can work and not sit at home, staring out of the window. So it's wonderful that we can be very active and very creative, hopefully to do something where all the fans hopefully will enjoy next year when we come back out on the road again with hopefully a couple of great new songs."
The Scorpions are seeking fan submissions for an upcoming music video for “Sign Of Hope.”
“Show us your ‘signs’ of hope!” says the band. “We want to use our new music video as a platform to spread a little hope in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. Whether a photo or image of a blooming flower, your favorite summertime activity or you spending time with loved ones, we want to include your sign in our new ‘Sign Of Hope’ music video.”
The deadline for image submissions is Monday, July 13 at 10pm ET; fans can submit their entry here.
See also:
Scorpions seeks fan submissions for Sign Of Hope video
Scorpions postpone 2020 Las Vegas residency
Scorpions release new single Sign Of Hope
VIDEO: Scorpions resume tour in Sydney following Klaus Meine surgery
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