In several recent interviews, David Gilmour and Nick Mason of Pink Floyd has confirmed that their much anticipated upcoming album, The Endless River, will not only be the band’s first album since 1994’s The Division Bell but also their last. The guitarist and drummer revisited the last album and reworked The Division Bell’s studio sessions in order to pay tribute on The Endless River to their fellow bandmate and keyboardist, Rick Wright, who passed away in 2008. The new LP will be released November 10th.
In a video interview featured on Rolling Stone, Gilmour describes the new album as “a continuous flow of music that builds gradually over four separate pieces over the fifty-five-odd minutes. There’s a sort of continuum from The Division Bell album to this, and the last phrase but one on The Division Bell is the ‘endless river’/ ‘the endless river forever and ever’ at the end of the song ‘High Hopes.’ The only concept is the concept of me, Rick and Nick and I, playing together in a way that we had done way way in the past but had forgotten that we did, and was instantly familiar.”
“I think Rick would be thrilled actually,” Mason muses in the video. “I think this record is rather a good way of recognizing a lot of what he does. I think the most significant element was really actually hearing what Rick did, because having lost Rick, it was that thing of…it really brought home what a special he was.”
“It is a tribute to him,” Gilmour states. “It’s very evocative and emotional in a lot of moments. Certainly listening to all of this stuff made me regret his passing all over again. This is the last chance anyone will get the chance to hear him just playing along with us in that way that he did.” He adds towards the end of the video, “I think we have successfully commandeered the best of what there is. I suspect this is it.”
In a radio interview with BBC 6 Music, Gilmour talks about the upcoming album, but also about how the band symbiotically arrived at this point. “We all had very very different characteristics. Roger was very forceful and was a great lyricist, and I had a sort of gentler, more melodic musical thing. Rick had his particular keyboard thing, which just sort of oozed emotion in a strange way, and it was just one of those lucky things where the sum was greater than the parts, where we came together and created something that was wonderful.”
“Roger has been busy working, touring the world for almost three years now,” Mason mentions. “I know he’s very happy doing that. The show is astonishing, fantastic. So I think to some extent, it works reasonably well for him to get on with that, and us to get on with this.”
“It’s sad, obviously, but other people are probably much more sad…,” Gilmour says. “It just wouldn’t work. However much I would like it, to do that. There are moments where I think that his great abilities combined with mine do work quite well. But it just wouldn’t work.” When asked if they have more music in the works, Gilmour flatly states, “No, there isn’t.”
“Well Rick’s gone, dead,” he continues. “This is the last thing that will be out from us. I’m pretty certain that there will not be a followup to this. And Polly, my wife, thought that this would be a really good lyrical idea to go out on; a way of describing the symbiosis that we have, or had.” As the interview draws to a close, Gilmour’s definitive words on the group are, “It’s a shame, but this is the end.” As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. Fans can find out more about the band and The Endless River on the Pink Floyd website.