Andy Summers, the former lead guitarist of the 80s-rock band "The Police," has a new album scheduled for release on March 24. It will be titled 'Triboluminescence’ and released under Flickering Shadow Productions. The title is a scientific word that refers to “creating light from dark.” The album will be released on all digital platforms in the U.S. and on Amazon and Cargo Records in the U.K.
Summers' successful solo career
A special vinyl edition will also be released with nine extra bonus tracks on it about a month after the original CD is released.
The new album is an exotic mix of soft rock and world music with Summer’s signature guitar sound. He experiments with various instruments and broadens his creativity building on his 2015 album, "Metal Dog." One of the tracks, “Pukul Buny Bunye," is an Indonesian phrase that means, “hammering” striking keys.
We spoke to Andy Summers regarding the new album, his photography work and an upcoming solo tour in Brazil.
“I’m trying to bring in fresh, alternative-type sounds into what I do, it’s not like this old-star jazz, or rock it’s putting into more interesting areas,” Andy Summers said in a phone interview. “That's what this new album reflects, it's all me on the record, there are no guest artists.” "It’s very much a solo creative process filled with pain, I put all these things together, I created many tracks before I put together the album for what it actually is.”
Summers said that he's released many albums and doesn't have to be safe or commercial.
"I can do what I like.” He added, “Metal Dog’ went out well it got me back into making records again after I took a sabbatical." "This is where I got back into my own thing, and I really enjoy it. I like being in the studio alone with the engineer and creating all this music on my own."
Life after 'The Police'
Andy is also a professional photographer and has been throughout his successful career as a guitarist for the 80s band “The Police.” He wrote a memoir in 2006 titled “One Train Later." It was followed by a documentary film, “Can’t Stand Losing You,” named after the iconic famous Police hit, and was released in 2015.
Summers' photographs were also featured in that film.
Andy had recent exhibits across the globe at the Leica Gallery in Los Angeles, São Paulo, Brazil, and Germany. This year, Steidl will publish “The Bones of Chuang Tzu," which features Andy’s photography from several journeys to China.
“Not right at this moment, I’ve had many exhibits in the last two or three years; there will be more this year, I’m just about to go to Brazil." "I had an exhibit in L.A.
last year. I’ve had many and this year I think I’ll do another exhibit in Shanghai in October.” He also has a signature camera coming out, by Leica Camera. “I’m very involved with photography.”
"The Police" last had an official reunion in 2007-08. The disappointing news for the fans is that there will be no reunion this year. Summers would rather concentrate on his solo work. Summers said he’s only in touch with his former Police band mates occasionally and doesn’t seek them out.
“I haven’t got time," Summers said. “These events are fantastically large set-up, political, financial, business set-up and then a few months later you’re on tour, it’s a much bigger deal than that. I will be playing a lot of ‘Police’ material in Brazil with an amazing Brazilian superband!” "I prefer to produce albums in the studio.” I’m doing a solo performance at the Grammy Museum next week in L.A.”
Summers said the music has changed since his early days in "The Police."
“Old bands still exist but they sound a bit old-fashioned now," Summers said.
"You have to look for the ‘diamonds in the rough.’ I have eclectic tastes in music and I think as a musician you have to keep your headspace creative and not after everyone else’s stuff.”
No U.S. tour at the moment, his schedule is currently booked up. The solo tour in Brazil begins in April with more dates to follow.
