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Duran Duran Release New Single ‘Invisible,' Announce First Album in 6 Years

"Future Past" will be the band's 15th studio album when it comes out in October

Duran Duran
High Rise PR

Feeling a little hungry for some Duran Duran?

Good news: The seminal 1980s band (best known for hits like "Hungry Like the Wolf") unleashed a new single and announced plans for its first album in six years on Wednesday

"Invisible," a pop-dance track with dark undertones, dropped with an artsy music video on social media; it'll be one track on the upcoming "Future Past," out Oct. 22.

But there's a bit more to that video than first meets the eye. Before the music starts, words appear on the screen indicating that the video was created by an artificial intelligence called Huxley, "a unique dreamer whose 'mind' has been modeled after the cognitive and emotional processes of humans."

This might explain why the whole thing looks like a combination between a fever dream and an LSD trip.

Duran Duran has been together since 1978, and its current lineup includes Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor and Roger Taylor (no relation between the Taylors). They hit big on the charts and as teen heartthrobs in the 1980s with songs like "Hungry Like the Wolf" and "Rio," and despite changes (original guitarist Andy Taylor, also no relation, left and returned multiple times) in the lineup, they've continued to make music off and on ever since, usually paired with eye-catching, often challenging music videos.

The band is also releasing special "360 Reality Audio" versions for "Invisible" and the new album, plus 360 versions of their back catalog. The technology from Sony is meant to provide a "simulated 360 Reality Audio Experience" in listeners' headphones. The experience, said the news release, is available on Amazon Music HD, TIDAL HiFi and Deezer HiFi.

And if that wasn't enough already, Duran Duran will perform on the 2021 Billboard Music Awards on May 23 on NBC.

In a news release, singer Le Bon said, "When we first went into the studio in late 2018, I was trying to persuade the guys that all we needed to do was write two or three tracks for an EP. Four days later, with the nucleus of 25-plus strong songs in the can, that all deserved development, I realized we'd be in it for the long haul, but that was before COVID.

"So here we are in 2021 with our 15th studio album, 'Future Past' straining at the leash," he continued, noting that the band worked with producers/musicians including Blur member Graham Coxon, Lykke Li, Mike Garson, Erol Alkan, Mark Ronson and Giorgio Moroder on the album. "I'm not saying it's epic, but well ... yes I am."

He noted that "Invisible" began as a story about a "one-sided relationship" and then transformed into "something much bigger."

"(Bassist) John and (drummer) Roger's rhythm track is mountainous; (keyboardist) Nick's melodies twist and soar; Graham's guitar is a knife. It feels exactly right for right now."

This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:

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