Ian Gillan talks about Deep Purple’s new album

After almost six decades, Deep Purple continues to tour and record new music. Besides a busy touring scheduled this year, according to the band’s frontman Ian Gillan they are also putting finished touches on their upcoming new album, which will be 24th studio album, the follow up for “=1” (2024).

This will be their second album with the guitarist Simon McBride and besides Gillan, the band is also formed by Don Airey (Keyboards) and the classic members Ian Paice (Drums – founding member) and Roger Glover (Bass). In an interview with Songwriting for Songwriters, Ian Gillan talked about the upcoming record.

Ian Gillan talks about Deep Purple’s new album

“Well, it’s very interesting on this one. I can’t give you too much at this stage, but it’s basically very optimistic. Let’s say there’s a general theme. It’s a fairly loose conceptual idea of the end of humanity, but not as grim as it sounds. In fact, it’s very optimistic. It’s about the metamorphosis of humanity into a metaphysical state, our next incarnation. It’s a bit too early to be doing interviews about this. I don’t mean time of day. I mean, it’s not gonna be out until June, so I don’t want to give too much away.”

He continued talking about how Deep Purple works when writing songs: “(The chemistry) It’s very important, obviously. But at the same time you’ve got to ignore it. I’ve got an idea that came to me a long time ago with Deep Purple. But when you’re writing like that, as opposed to sitting down with a co-writer or on your own with a guitar and you’re writing the entire thing, then there are no boundaries, really. But with a band, you are very much confined by what you’re given.”

“For example, the working practice of Purple has always been the same. We go to a place for a week or 10 days and go into the office every day — start at noon, finish at six and stop for tea at three o’clock. It’s like going to the office. And the guys just start playing, and it’s all improvised. You have no idea. If you were a listener, you’d think you might be hearing the preparation for something operatic or a mood music for a yoga or massage parlor or you might be in a jazz club or hearing some blues or rock or soul, any kind of thing that came to their mind. These are great players, and so the music evolves, as I say, and then dramatically switches into something else.”

He continued:

“So basically it’s a week-long or eight-day jam. And every now and again, somebody nods to somebody else and says, ‘Okay, that’s worth keeping,’ an idea, a mood, a rhythm, a sequence, or anything like that, and we record it and come back at the end of the session with probably 35 or 40 ideas. And the next session is much the same. We trim it down and then add some more, and trim it down to 30 ideas, and it gradually evolves. Now, I don’t have much choice, really, other than to say, ‘Well, perhaps there’s too many verses there,’ or ‘we need a little bit here’, or a section or a middle eight there or whatever.”

But basically it’s the guys putting the songs together. And I just have to — what I call — ride the pony. And when it comes to sitting down alone and shaping my contribution, I’ve gotta pretty much fit in. But then again, it’s easy to be overwhelmed with something like that because it’s a hell of a challenge. So I’ve got this attitude, I’ve gotta take over, I’ve gotta dominate completely and make it sound not as if I’m hopping on afterwards, but as if the whole idea came from the song first. It’s a reversal.”

“So I’ve got complete freedom in terms of lyrics, but obviously there’s a mood thing. And it’s gotta fit with the songs. And, obviously, I liked in more recent years, particularly, to have a concept for the album that basically hangs things together. The last album was called ‘=1’ and it was all about my frustration with the complexities of life these days and so forth,” Ian Gillan said (Transcribed by Blabbermouth).

Deep Purple 2026 tour dates

April

• 11 – Tokyo, Japan – Nippon Budokan
• 13 – Osaka, Japan – Grand Cube
• 15 – Nagoya, Japan – Mizuokadani Steel Machinery Public Hall
• 18 – Jakarta, Indonesia – Indonesia Arena, GBK Senayan
• 22 – Almaty, Kazakhstan – Almaty Arena

June

• 11 – Espoo, Finland – Espoo Metro Arena
• 12 – Tampere, Finland – Nokia Arena
• 14 – Kristiansand, Norway – Dirty Old Town Live, Odderøya Amfi
• 18 – Clisson, France – Hellfest (Sold Out)
• 20 – Meppen, Germany – Emsland Open Air
• 24 – Mönchengladbach, Germany – SparkassenPark
• 27 – Coburg, Germany – HUK Coburg Open Air, Schlossplatz
• 28 – Ulm, Germany – Klosterhof Wiblingen

July

• 4 – Gredos, Ávila, Spain – Músicos en la Naturaleza
• 5 – Pamplona, Spain – Navarra Arena
• 9 – Málaga, Spain – Starlite
• 10 – Cádiz, Spain – Tío Pepe Festival
• 16 – Pisa, Italy – Pisa Summer Knights, Piazza dei Cavalieri
• 17 – Este, Italy – Este Music Festival, Castello Carrarese
• 19 – Munich, Germany – Tollwood Festival

September

• 29 – Sofia, Bulgaria – 8888 Arena

October

• 1 – Cluj, Romania – BT Arena
• 2 – Budapest, Hungary – László Papp Arena
• 4 – Bratislava, Slovakia – Tipos Arena
• 5 – Vienna, Austria – Stadthalle
• 7 – Prague, Czech Republic – O2 Arena
• 8 – Łódź, Poland – Atlas Arena
• 10 – Belgrade, Serbia – Stark Arena
• 11 – Skopje, North Macedonia – Boris Trajkovski Arena
• 13 – Athens, Greece – Telekom Centre Arena
• 16 – Zurich, Switzerland – Hallenstadion
• 17 – Milan, Italy – Unipol Forum
• 19 – Barcelona, Spain – Sant Jordi Club
• 22 – Paris, France – Adidas Arena
• 23 – Antwerp, Belgium – Lotto Arena
• 25 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Royal Arena
• 26 – Stockholm, Sweden – Avicii Arena
• 28 – Oslo, Norway – Spektrum Arena
• 29 – Gothenburg, Sweden – Scandinavium
• 31 – Leipzig, Germany – QI Arena

November

• 1 – Hamburg, Germany – Sporthalle
• 3 – Dortmund, Germany – Westfalenhalle
• 4 – Berlin, Germany – Uber Arena
• 6 – Frankfurt, Germany – Festhalle
• 7 – Nuremberg, Germany – Arena
• 9 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Ziggo Dome
• 10 – Strasbourg, France – Zénith
• 12 – Bordeaux, France – Arkéa Arena
• 13 – Nantes, France – Zénith
• 15 – Lyon, France – LDLC Arena
• 18 – Newcastle, England – Utilita Arena
• 19 – Glasgow, Scotland – OVO Hydro
• 21 – Birmingham, England – BP Pulse Arena
• 22 – Manchester, England – AO Arena
• 24 – London, England – Eventim Apollo

December

• 13 – Monterrey, Mexico – Arena Monterrey
• 16 – Guadalajara, Mexico – Arena Guadalajara
• 19 – Mexico City, Mexico – Estadio Fray Nano