Evolve- ing with time
> Imagine Dragons will make its concert debut in Kuala Lumpur next year as part of its world tour
GRAMMY awardwinning, multiplatinum-selling band Imagine Dragons will be bringing its massive Evolve World Tour to Kuala Lumpur.
The concert, organised by PR Worldwide and Live Nation will take place on Jan 6, next year, at the Malawati Indoor Stadium in Shah Alam.
Since making its full-length debut with 2012’s multi-platinum Night Visions, Imagine Dragons has drawn worldwide adoration for its anthemic yet moody altrock.
On Evolve, its third album, the band has shifted perspective and took on a brighter but more layered emotional outlook.
“The last year has been the healthiest year of my life, and I think that’s very much reflected in the music,” says lead vocalist Dan Reynolds, whose bandmates include guitarist Wayne Sermon, bassist Ben McKee, and drummer Daniel Platzman.
“There’s definitely some moments of sadness on this album, but there’s also moments of real celebration,” adds Reynolds.
On lead single Believer, Imagine Dragons wholly embodies the emotional dynamic at the heart of Evolve.
With its bold percussive vocals and hip hop-inspired rhythms, the track offers a testament to gaining strength through adversity.
Sermon says: “Over the past eight years, we’ve gone through some bad times, but those were almost always the times that helped us evolve. We didn’t always want to grow, and pain was the gateway to that growth.”
In bringing Believer to life, Imagine Dragons joined forces with Swedish production duo Mattman & Robin, and carved out a cleaner sound than it has ever attempted before.
“For each song on this album, we were very careful about selecting the minimum number of instruments needed to portray the emotions we were searching to capture,” says Reynolds.
In a departure from the largely self-produced Night Visions, and its 2015 follow-up Smoke + Mirrors, Evolve finds the band working closely with Mattman & Robin and producers like Joel Little (best known for helming the production of Lorde’s Pure Heroine).
“We purposely went after producers with a ‘less-is-more’ philosophy,” says Sermon, “and they each helped us build that big Imagine Dragons sound but with a much simpler palette.”
Throughout Evolve, Imagine Dragons finds unlikely glory in intense self-reflection.
On Whatever It Takes, the band turns self-doubt into a soaring, shimmering epic driven by heavy beats and Reynolds’ rapid-fire flow.
Another moment of reckoning, Thunder brings waves of majestic harmonies and warped vocal effects to Reynolds’ recounting of his life’s journey so far.
“That song is me looking back on my earlier years, when I felt like such an oddball and making music was my only escape, even though I was too shy to share it with anyone,” says Reynolds.
“It’s about how that time was the lightning before the thunder, and how now I’m at a place where I get to do the thing I love and travel the world playing music for people.”
In a rare turn for Imagine Dragons, Evolve also offers up a selection of love songs.
With its delicate guitar tones and tender vocals, Walking the Wire centres on what Reynolds describes as “a tumultuous relationship that feels like it’s going to collapse at any moment – but that’s what makes it exciting”.
A more lurid twist on that sentiment, I Don’t Know Why brilliantly blends icy synth with throbbing rhythm.
Reynolds explains: “I Don’t Know Why started with that beat. It’s got this feeling like you’re going 90 miles an hour, swerving in between cars, and you’re just about to crash.
“The danger goes along with the romance in the song, where it’s so exhilarating but headed somewhere tragic.”
One of Evolve’s most balladlike moments, I’ll Make It Up to You, unfolds with glistening guitar work and warmly delivered lyrics about “that moment of passion that forgives all the things you’ve done wrong”, according to Reynolds.
For Imagine Dragons, one of the greatest achievements of Evolve is its unfettered honesty.
“Instead of hiding behind metaphors, I was able to be more direct in my lyrics,” says Reynolds. “I really focused on searching deeper for lyrical value.
“Right now, the world can seem like a very dark and daunting place. Our hope is that the album helps people focus on the beauty of each moment, and really see all the brilliance and colour of life.”
Tickets for the Evolve World Tour Live are scheduled to go on sale this Thursday at 10am. For more , visit the PR Worldwide website.