He had such an incredible 2013 – and it was aptly capped off
with a Grammy win for his superb production throughout – so it’s with masses of
excitement that the new solo album from Pharrell Williams was announced this
week as being just mere weeks away, currently scheduled for 3rd
March 2014, with the title ‘Girl’.
Pharrell’s incomparable year wasn’t only defined by his huge
mega hits like Daft Punk’s ‘Get Lucky’, Robin Thicke’s ‘Blurred Lines’ and ‘Happy’
from the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack, but it was also his lesser-known gems with
soul acts like Mayer Hawthorne (see ‘Reach Out Richard’, my song of 2013!) and
Aloe Blacc’s ‘Love is the Answer’ that also went on to steal fans’ hearts. His efforts continue with the funkiest thing
I’ve ever heard from Paloma Faith (‘Can’t Rely on You’), so all of this really
bodes for high expectations for an incredible release.
‘Happy’ has been announced to be a part of the album and deservedly
so. The song, apart from being the most
infectious record of recent years, went on to spawn the world’s first 24 hour
music video (see this while you can: http://24hoursofhappy.com/). It’s so difficult in this day and age to be
genuinely surprised by anything that happens in the industry – which isn’t a
comment on the quality of music at all, it’s just in regards to this
ever-present and watchful media eye, the internet and digital age, etc – to consistently
find new ways to be creative and push boundaries seems like a herculean task,
but I’ll be damned if that 24 hour music video didn’t do it.
Collaboration has been such a huge part of Pharrell’s
success this year and the last so I’m holding out hope that ‘Girl’ continues in
that trend – hopefully rekindling some of that Daft Punk magic by getting them
on board, as well as Nile Rodgers, but also reconnecting with the other half of
The Neptunes, Chad Hugo, whose presence I’d just love to see over a few songs.
But, speaking of the aforementioned Daft Punk and Nile Rodgers magic - did you see them all perform with Stevie Wonder at the Grammies??!! If you didn't, you really, really should:
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