Duran Duran and Nile Rodgers, who has been collaborating with the group since the remix of ‘The Reflex’ in 1984, have returned today with a true anthem to free love. ‘Free To Love’ is described by Simon Le Bon as “an album for the 2020s”. In some ways, the song is doomed to be forgotten upon its release, but the material is good enough that its life can be extended with an inspired remix.
The song begins with an unmistakable strum from Rodgers, before Le Bon’s voice begins to intone about being “at the intersection”: “Ready for a connection / Maybe skin to skin,” he sings. No one will be surprised by the musical section of the song, but surely many will appreciate the return to disco music without detours: a lot of bass, a chorus of voices and a chorus that, perhaps by force, ends up staying in the head.
Le Bon says that the song “is about freedom and loving the modern world instead of hating it, which is something we need right now.” These statements may refer to the second stanza, which mentions that we are “chasing a dream among the confusion”: “There is no possible substitution for being the best we could be,” he concludes.
About Rodgers’ now iconic guitar, Nick Rhodes says that “the electricity it generates every time we play with it could light up an entire city.” The guitarist, on the other hand, has also dedicated some words of affection to the British group: “My love for Duran Duran, and what our music has always been about, is the love we share for the deepest meanings of our songs.”
