The manager of Beady Eye, Quest's Scott Rodger, has told Music Week that Liam Gallagher's new album could be the the best LP that the ex-Oasis man has ever recorded.
Rodger, who also manages the likes of Arcade Fire, Paul McCartney and Noah & the Whale, features in a four-page Big Interview in the new Music Week magazine.
Of all the albums on Quest’s roster, Rodger said he may be most enthused about the second record from Beady Eye – Liam Gallagher’s post-Oasis band, which also features Andy Bell and Gem Archer.
The group started recording the record in London last month with TV On The Radio guitarist and producer Dave Sitek, who has also worked behind the desk on albums from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Liars, CSS and Foals.
The currently unnamed album, the follow-up to 2011's Different Gear, Still Speeding, is due for release in the first half of 2013.
Explained Rodger: “It’s probably the most exciting record I’ve worked on for as long as I can remember. Everyone thinks they know exactly what record Beady Eye are going to deliver, but they’ve completely turned it on its head.
“I think Liam Gallagher is making the best album of his entire career. That’s a big statement because he’s made some classic records - usually with his brother’s songs. But Beady Eye are very talented players and writers and are technically fantastic.
“Gem Archer is an amazing engineer and producer. Both he and Andy Bell will produce records for other people at some point, I’m sure. They pretty much made the record this year in Gem’s studio in his basement. They were writing all year and did what a lot of bands do: they wrote about nine or 10 songs and then said, ‘We’re ready to go with the album.’
“We encouraged them to keep writing until August or September and lo and behold, they wrote 21 songs – and some of the later songs were the best ones. Then we had to find a producer. We wanted to get someone in who’d take [the album] from a 7/10 to a 9/10.
“I was on a plane to New York for a best friend’s wedding thinking, ‘Who can I call?’. Then I thought of [TV On The Radio producer] Dave Sitek – who I associate with New York and great records. I sent him the demos and a link to the studio after being told he’d never leave his LA home. He gets straight back to me to say, ‘I’m there.’
“Now they’ve tracked 21 songs in nine days [in London]. Sitek called at 6pm the other night to say, ‘I need a brass section. Get me a brass section now.’ Everyone in the [Quest] building was calling to sort it for him, and we did – within two hours it was recorded. It was a track that was never going to make the album, but Sitek completely changed the vibe and now it’s an amazing song.
“They have a couple of songs that are just unbelievable, mind-blowing. Everyone’s going to be shocked when they hear this record. It’s not like anything Liam’s ever recorded before."
Pick up the new Music Week today to read the full interview with Rodger, whose Quest company recently acquired the management contract for The X Factor.
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