Pharrell confirms new N.E.R.D. albums are in the works
The award-winning producer shared he's done a dozen new tracks for The Neptunes side project in Paris
Pharrell Williams has confirmed he's working on new N.E.R.D. music.
Pharrell said he's recently "ended up doin’ 12 N.E.R.D records" in Paris in a new interview with Tyler, The Creator for GQ magazine. He described the new material for The Neptunes side project band with Chad Hugo and Shay Haley as having "big choruses, but you know, out of nowhere, I’ll just come out of nowhere with the three-bar, crazy-nuts chords that go three-bar to four-bar to eight-bar."
"This is like that feeling that I felt when we made [2001 album] 'In Search Of…'", Pharrel continued, referring to the group's debut LP, which preceded their chart-topping 2003 album 'Fly or Die'. "I won’t sit here and tell you that they were hits. I knew it was different, and I knew there won’t be nothing out there like this. But I’m talking about the feeling."
The award-winning artist also described what sounds fans can look forward to on the in-progress productions: "I want to use chords I never used before, and not just the dreamy ones. The ones that I’ve never done, that I fuckin’ hated. But using them in ways to get to other chords where the changes are such a release. And then, lyrically, the harmonies here…all the songs just have rainbow harmonies."
N.E.R.D.'s most recent releases are the 2018 singles 'Don't Do It' with Kendrick Lamar and 'Lemon' with Rihanna and Drake. The Neptunes (Williams and Hugo) released a single with Jay-Z called 'Entrepreneur' in 2020.
Earlier this spring and summer, Pharrell collaborated with Virginia gospel choir Voices Of Fire for 'Joy (Unspeakable)'. He also worked with Kaytranada and Aminé's joint project KaytrAminé on the '4EVA' single.
In February, Pharrell was announced as the late Virgil Abloh's successor as Louis Vuitton Men's Creative Director. Last year, he linked up with Calvin Harris, Justin Timberlake and Halsey on the 'Stay With Me' single and with Tyler, The Creator and 21 Savage on 'Cash In Cash Out'.
Read Pharrell and Tyler, The Creator's conversation in full via GQ.
