In March 2020 Elton was forced to pause his record-breaking Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour due to the unfolding COVID pandemic. As the world came to a halt, Elton John found himself making contact with artists he had come to know through his Apple Music show Rocket Hour.
This was the beginning of one of Elton's boldest and most interesting journeys in the music-making business. Calling it The Lockdown Sessions, this album has seen Elton come full circle and return to his roots as a session musician. While it was no easy feat recording during a pandemic, a completely new way of working for Elton, he took on the challenge with some impressive results.
The Lockdown Sessions is a dazzlingly diverse collection of 16 tracks with 10 brand new unreleased tracks that celebrates togetherness and sees Elton collaborating with an unparalleled range of artists only he could bring together
In Elton’s words: “The last thing I expected to do during lockdown was make an album. But, as the pandemic went on, one?off projects kept cropping up. Some of the recording sessions had to be done remotely, via Zoom, which I’d obviously never done before. Some of the sessions were recorded under very stringent safety regulations: working with another artist, but separated by glass screens. But all the tracks I worked on were really interesting and diverse, stuff that was completely different to anything I’m known for, stuff that took me out of my comfort zone into completely new territory. And I realized there was something weirdly familiar about working like this. At the start of my career, in the late 60s, I worked as a session musician. Working with different artists during lockdown reminded me of that. I’d come full circle: I was a session musician again. And it was still a blast.”
The Lockdown Sessions includes: Brandi Carlile, Charlie Puth, Dua Lipa, Eddie Vedder, Gorillaz, Lil Nas X, Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj, Rina Sawayama, SG Lewis, Stevie Nicks, Stevie Wonder, Surfaces, Years & Years, Young Thug, and more.
Available on three physical formats; CD, Cassette x 3 and 2LP vinyl, plus digital formats, you can pre-order here: https://EltonJohn.lnk.to/TheLockdownSessionsPR
