Unused material from The Division Bell recording sessions in 1993 — the last time David Gilmour, Nick Mason and Rick Wright collaborated as a band (Roger Walter had exited by then) — forms the heart of Pink Floyd’s latest album, The Endless River. Original compositions have been revisited and remastered to create this predominantly instrumental album dedicated to Wright, who passed away in 2008. Need more reason to look forward to The Endless River? Stephen Hawking lends his voice on ‘Talkin’ Hawkin’’.
Meanwhile, these musicians are giving in to Pink Floyd nostalgia, remembering the times when the legendary band’s music became the soundtrack of their lives:
“I was going through a really low period in New York — I was poor, working a few jobs I hated, losing my voice too often, and bombing every audition. I remember walking through the streets with ‘Comfortably Numb’ blaring through my headphones and feeling a certain fearlessness. I loved them for perfectly encapsulating exactly how I felt. Years later, I would catch the flying pig [a regular prop at their live shows] and Roger Waters in India, and know that the rock stars managed to change the entire planet with their musical revolution.”
–Monica Dogra
“My family was attending one of my first gigs at Jazz By The Bay in Mumbai — the crowd was drunk and the sound was terrible — and they were kind of lost at the random English music being thrown at them. But when Floyd came on, they suddenly knew every word. It’s just how relatable their vibe is. The sheer versatility of their music makes them a good background score to life in general.”
– Arjun Kanungo
“Pink Floyd was integral to my education — when I was studying at IIT Roorkee, you could listen to their music everywhere on campus; most people were really into it. I used to create my own Pink Floyd mixtapes, sit on the hostel terrace and listen to ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’. I’d recorded it on both sides of the tape so I could just flip it and listen to it again. And again.”
– Ankur Tewari
“My favourite Pink Floyd album is Animals. The first time I heard it was after my grandmother’s funeral — my uncle, who had every Pink Floyd LP, was visiting, and both of us bonded over the music. This album in particular is very dark and it took me on a sombre, melancholic trip.”
– Sid Coutto
“Floyd came to me as a hand-me-down from my older, cooler Enfield-riding cousins. My brother bought the double album cassette of the The Dark Side Of The Moon, and we would listen to it on repeat, furiously rewinding one cassette with a ballpoint pen while the other played. Listening to the album now immediately transports me to the time when FM radio and tape recorders were such a big part of our lives.”
– Saba Azad
The Endless River is out on November 7
