Park’s ‘Light’ about family

Ora plans new album

LOS ANGELES, May 27, (Agencies): Linkin Park released their seventh studio album, “One More Light,” on May 19, notching their seventh top 10 entry on the Billboard 200 album chart. For a band that’s been together since 1996, “One More Light” finds members Mike Shinoda, Chester Bennington, Rob Bourdon, Joe Hahn, and Brad Delson stretching out sonically, collaborating with Pusha T, Stormzy, and Kiiara on tracks as well as writing with pop hitmakers Justin Tranter and Julia Michaels, Ross Golan, and Eg White.

“That’s our kind of spiritual imperative as artists, to always push the envelope and try to grow and there’s no looking back,” says Delson, who coproduced the album with Shinoda. The band is set to tour starting June 9 in Paris, but before they hit the road, Delson and Shinoda sat down with Variety.

Question: Did you approach songwriting differently on this album?

Brad Delson: For us, the barometer was the song. And that’s how we approached it. I didn’t come into the studio and say, “Hey, I’ve got a guitar riff.” I came in and said, “This is what’s going on in my life, I’m having this problem with a close friend, I have to get it off my chest.” And that’s what we’d write about . ... We were in a really honest place with each other when we were making this record so we had to kind of total trust to be as vulnerable as we needed to be to make these kinds of songs together. So when we actually finished the album and looked at it a little more from a distance it was really eye opening, like, “Wow, there are some themes.” And we kind of didn’t even know what they were in the middle of the process, we were just working our way through it. It was pretty apparent that the songs were kind of ahead of our consciousness.

Q: What was a theme that emerged that surprised you?

Delson: There’s a theme of fragility of life and that what we love can be taken away from us in an instant. I think when faced with those kinds of really scary or existential challenges, it puts everything in perspective and into place — what it is we love and don’t want to lose.

bombing. Netflix also scrapped a few screenings. (AP) Q: Do you agree, Mike? Mike Shinoda: This album is about how little control we actually have over what happens to us in life, and how we react to things when they don’t go the way we want them to. It’s about being human, being fragile, no matter what kind of “tough” facade we try to put on. It’s also about family, and having the perspective of being a parent or being “relied on.” ... We worked on this album for over a year — think about how many things happen to you in a year. We lost loved ones, we fought with friends and each other. We raised kids, and watched those kids do things we don’t want them to do. There was no shortage of “life” to sing about.

Q: Having toured as much as you guys have, is it still something to look forward to?

Delson: I’m looking forward to touring for a lot of reasons. Hopefully, sleep will be one of them. And it’s really awesome that we’re gonna be able to play some of these songs, some of the new songs, for people for the first time. We retooled our whole show, so I’m just excited to bring it out there.

NEW YORK:

British singer Rita Ora, whose first bid to make it big in the United States became mired in litigation, released a giddy pop song Friday as she plans a new album and show.

The Kosovo-born artist, long an A-list star in Britain, put out “Your Song,” an uptempo dance number cowritten with chart-topper Ed Sheeran.

“I don’t wanna hear sad songs anymore / I only wanna hear love songs,” Ora sings, her bright voice edging on raspy in the chorus.

She announced that the song would appear on her second album, her first since 2012 and her debut on prominent US label Atlantic Records.

In 2008, Ora was an early signing of rap mogul Jay Z when he set up Roc Nation, a label and entertainment promotion company.

But in 2015, the 26-year-old filed a lawsuit to exit the contract, saying Roc Nation had invested little time in her as Jay Z and his firm focused on other pursuits.

LONDON:

Also:

Guitar legend Eric Clapton has been honoured by France for his services to music, the French embassy in London said Friday.

Clapton was made a commander in the Order of Arts and Letters (l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres) on Thursday by French ambassador Sylvie Bermann, who called him an “ambassador of the blues in France”.

The investiture took place at the Royal Albert Hall concert venue in London, where the 72-year-old bluesman is playing a run of nights.

The French embassy tweeted a picture of Bermann placing the honour around Clapton’s neck. (AFP)