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GRAMMYs

A Perfect Circle

Photo: Tim Cadiente | Design: F Inomata

News
Billy Howerdel On A Perfect Circle's Return & More perfect-circles-billy-howerdel-new-music-touring-again-more

A Perfect Circle's Billy Howerdel On New Music, Touring Again & More

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We go behind-the-scenes with the influential rock group's guitarist and lead composer, who shares what it's been like making music together again and hints that "Judith" could be heard live in the near future
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Oct 15, 2018 - 12:06 pm

A Perfect Circle, led by Maynard James Keenan and Billy Howerdel, released their ground-breaking, genre-nonconforming debut album, Mer De Noms, in 2000 to much critical acclaim. The group followed up with two more albums, Thirteenth Step in 2003 and Emotive in 2004, but then took a long hiatus to work on other projects, including Keenan returning to his GRAMMY-winning band Tool. Despite the time apart, A Perfect Circle wasn't over, and much to fans' delight the group started actively working together again in 2017, embarking on a tour and working on new music. They released their fourth studio album, Eat The Elephant, on April 20, 2018, along with a stunning album-length companion film.

The group visited the GRAMMY Museum on Oct. 10 for an intimate conversation and performance at the Clive Davis Theater for 200 lucky fans. Before the event we caught up with Howerdel to ask what he's been listening to lately, how the group's creative approach has shifted, his favorite songs to play live, what he'd like to say to fans, and more.

Billy Howerdel On A Perfect Circle's Return & More

Howerdel, who composes the majority of the group's music, with Keenan writing the lyrics, shares that their creative process has indeed shifted, and in working on the new album they took extra time "breaking things down a bit more" on each song. The guitarist also reveals that "Delicious" is one of his favorite tracks to play from the new album, and he's looking forward to playing it live for the first time soon. He also hinted that he wants to play "Judith," a fan-favorite from Mer De Noms, with the group again soon, one they haven't performed together live in quite some time.

Exclusive Video Premiere: A Perfect Circle "Eat The Elephant"

Jared Leto

Jared Leto

Photo: Lorenzo Agius | Design: F Inomata

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Jared Leto On 'America,' Halsey & "Rescue Me" jared-leto-america-working-halsey-rescue-me-more

Jared Leto On 'America,' Working With Halsey, "Rescue Me" & More

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We go behind the scenes with the Thirty Seconds To Mars frontman to chat about the band’s latest album, creativity, collaboration and more
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Dec 31, 2018 - 9:52 am

Actor and musician Jared Leto may have made his name in Hollywood with major roles in films like Requiem For A Dream and Dallas Buyer Club, for which he won an Academy Award, but music has always been his main passion.

Leto formed alternative-rock group Thirty Seconds To Mars with his brother Shannon back in 1998, releasing their cult-classic, self-titled debut album in 2002. Since then, they have toured the world several times, filmed music video epics and recorded four more studio albums. Their latest LP, America, released on April 6, features tons of collaborations (Halsey, Zedd and ASAP Rocky all make appearances) and experimentation with new sounds, including a greater emphasis on pop and dance influences.

Jared Leto Talks 'America,' Halsey & "Rescue Me"

Leto recently visited the GRAMMY Museum in his hometown of Los Angeles to go in-depth on new music and more in a conversation at the Clive Davis Theater. Before the event, we caught up with the singer and actor, who revealed his favorite track on America, what it was like recording his first-ever duet (with GRAMMY nominee Halsey), his approach to making music, and more.

Lenny Kravitz On His Biggest Influences, Love, Creativity & More

A Perfect Circle

A Perfect Circle

Photo: Rebecca Sapp/WireImage/Getty Images

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Premiere: A Perfect Circle "Eat The Elephant" exclusive-video-premiere-perfect-circle-eat-elephant

Exclusive Video Premiere: A Perfect Circle "Eat The Elephant"

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The supergroup returned with a new album 'Eat The Elephant,' 14 years since their last. They filmed a special album-length video for the release, and today we premiere the video for the emotive title track
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Oct 11, 2018 - 3:15 pm

A Perfect Circle released their fourth studio album, Eat The Elephant, on April 20, 2018, 14 years after they put out their last album, Emotive. Their latest video for the album's title track is an emotive opening to the new album, with lead singer and songwriter Maynard James Keenan's haunting vocals supported by flowing, piano-filled notes by Billy Howerdel, the group's lead composer and guitarist. The group shot an innovative album length film for their new release, for which we see the first segment of in the new video for "Eat The Elephant."  

Always ones to put exquisite attention detail in their art, the rock group didn't hold back on their return to making music as A Perfect Circle. They worked with innovative filmmaker Steven Sebring to create a 58 minute film for the full album. The film was shot with Sebring's high-tech 360 degree circular camera system, creating what they are calling the "world's first hologram album." The latest video for "Eat The Elephant," premiering here today exclusively on GRAMMY.com, is a piece from the storyline of the new film.

The video is strange and intriguing, fitting for Keenan's piercing vocals, which begin with him singing; "Looming, omnipresent/This task ahead/This task at hand/Ominous and daunting." In the video we see a young girl sitting on a rotating bed, looking into a handheld projector. It gives you taste of the content of the album's full film, albeit in 2D, which takes you on a journey through the eyes of the same young girl across all 12 songs of the album.

"It's not so much a music video, so much as a companion piece to the song. I mean it is a video, but it's not," Howerdel recently told the Recording Academy. "Steven [Sebring] has this amazing loft in New York City, he's got this 360 degree camera array in there. We shot the album cover photos of Maynard and I there, and then he did the other video content. It's just amazing…It was an interesting process to see of how that booth worked."

The hologram film can only be viewed in 3D through a special prism placed on top of a smartphone. Watching it through the small silver pyramid-shaped device, which is available with the deluxe box set of Eat The Elephant, is next level visuals, like a live message being transmitted from another dimension, or from someone otherworldly.

"Having Maynard and Billy’s trust to create this for A Perfect Circle was a true artist's dream," Sebring shared on his site. "Their 14-year break allowed technology to catch up with their groundbreaking music and gave me the chance to apply new ideas of dimensional capture to this stunning album."

"It's incredibly refreshing to meet someone as bananas as I am," Keenan told Revolver. "Steven Sebring is my kind of eccentric. Top notch, Mr. Sebring. Top notch."

https://twitter.com/GRAMMYMuseum/status/1050503451770318856

Last night @aperfectcircle joined us for a special conversation and intimate performance 🎶 pic.twitter.com/DNUjUoXy2s

— GRAMMY Museum (@GRAMMYMuseum) October 11, 2018

Last night, at An Evening With A Perfect Circle at the GRAMMY Museum on Oct. 10 Keenan and Howerdel discussed their creative process on the new album, the new film and played some new material to an intimate group of fans. Keenan shared "it was just time" to make music together again.

The group continues their tour in support of the new album, with dates across the U.S. ending in Phoenix on Nov. 20, then crossing the pond over to Europe in December. More information on the tour as well as the special album box set can be found on the band's website.

A Perfect Circle Announce More U.S. Tour Dates In Support Of New Album

A Perfect Circle

Maynard James Keenan and Billy Howerdel

Photo: Rebecca Sapp/WireImage/Getty Images

News
A Perfect Circle Talk Building 'Eat The Elephant' perfect-circle-influences-collaboration-building-eat-elephant

A Perfect Circle On Influences, Collaboration & Building 'Eat The Elephant'

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The influential rock group stopped by the GRAMMY Museum to discuss the impetus for their new music, their early influences and the creative process behind their big 2018 return
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Dec 25, 2018 - 7:30 am

A Perfect Circleis the kind of band fans wait with bated breath to hear new music from, no matter how long they are away. In the case of Eat The Elephant, the band's fourth album, the wait was a full 14 years. Still, the new material was met with much anticipation, a testament to the art.

A Perfect Circle Talk 'Eat The Elephant'

Back in October, we premiered a video for the title track from the album-length film the band made for Eat The Elephant. In the song, lead singer and songwriter Maynard James Keenan’s stark, haunting vocals creek and soar over lead composer and guitarist Billy Howerdel's dynamic backdrop. During a recent visit to the GRAMMY Museum in Los Angeles,as Keenan and Howerdel shared how they came to revisit the project after all these years away.

"I think it was just time," said Keenan. "I was really busy with Puscifer for quite a while. Then I was gonna get back into doing some Tool music, and they weren't ready, so I was like [to Howerdel], "Hey, what's up?"

The time passed since their previous album, 2004's Emotive, manifests itself on Eat The Elephant in the space within and around its songs, creating a new sonic environment from the band's previous work. This had everything to do with how the songs' foundations were built.

"A lot of times on this record we had the song kind of almost complete, and then he put the vocals on top. It was pretty amazing," explained Howerdel. "Maynard had a lot more input into the music this time, just to, you know, try to some things, because he knew where he was gonna go vocally. He wasn't in the room when I was working on the music, so we'd kind of lightly steer in that direction. And I think it worked out because he just had something in mind and then was able to throw the solid final performance on top of it."

When it comes to architecting a vocal, Keenan does it like no one else. The genesis of his genius instincts begin with responding to the music, as he revealed during the conversation. "First and foremost, it's a reaction to the melodies and structures and time signatures that the group of musicians are presenting me, whether it's Mat Mitchell, or Billy, or Tool," he said. "It's all a reaction melodically to those rhythms, constructing it in a way that feels like an actual conversation. And I of course react better when they're not in 4/4. I don't speak in 4/4."

"Then [I] figure out where that emotion is going, and then just look at your life experiences, what you're experiencing at the moment, and attach a set of words or a circumstance to that set of rhythms and melodies to see if it opens up a whole story, because you know, human interaction, human experience from birth to death, there's an infinite number of flavors and colors and bandwidths and emotions that come with those experiences."

Keenan also named an intriguing roster of early influences, providing a glimpse into his stylistic DNA. His early exposure to everything from Roberta Flack to Black Sabbath to Joni Mitchell led to an appreciation of Minor Threat, Killing Joke, Swans and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, which in turn led him to Gillian Welch and PJ Harvey.

"To me, there's a sadness that's captivating in that writing that's essential," Keenan says of Welch, Harvey and his tastes as they've evolved over the course of his life.

A Perfect Circle has evolved, too. At its core, it's a dynamic collaboration, which means Keenan and Howerdel cannot say what will come next.

"It's a marriage of sorts," says Howerdel. "You have to make this more than just the sum of its parts, more than the sum of the two of us. That comes from the unknown of collaboration… Having collaboration is the magic of never knowing what's coming next."

A Perfect Circle’s Billy Howerdel On New Music, Touring Again & More

Dua Lipa

Dua Lipa

Photo: Luc Coiffait | Design: F Inomata

News
Dua Lipa On Calvin Harris, "New Rules," & More dua-lipa-calvin-harris-other-dream-collabs-new-rules-more

Dua Lipa On Calvin Harris, Other Dream Collabs, "New Rules," & More

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We go behind-the-scenes to hear what it was like for the pop star to work with Harris on his throwback-inspired "One Kiss," her gratitude for "New Rules" giving her "so many opportunities," and more
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Oct 5, 2018 - 6:15 pm

Dua Lipa has been on fire lately and she's ready for more. Following the viral success of her catchy girl-power anthem "New Rules," released last summer from her debut self-titled album, she's brought more hits in the form of big-time collabs. In April, dance music powerhouse Calvin Harris dropped the summer-ready jam "One Kiss" featuring Lipa, and in September Silk City, the new Diplo and Mark Ronson production duo, gave us another dance-floor gem from the pop star with "Electricity."

Dua Lipa Talks Calvin Harris, "New Rules," & More

She visited the GRAMMY Museum in Los Angeles on Sept. 28 to give fans an intimate conversation and performance, and we caught up with her beforehand to learn more about what it was like working with Harris, who else she would love to collab with (Frank Ocean is on her list), what song she currently has on repeat, the success of "New Rules," and more.

The star is humble about her success and grateful for the positive reception she has gotten so far. She reflects on her breakout hit single "New Rules" with gratitude for what it's allowed her to do since then.

"It was something that I wanted, but never something that I expected. It really took me by surprise," Lipa shares. "I feel like it definitely took ten steps bigger and it just gave me so many opportunities."

Shawn Mendes On Being Authentic And Connecting With Fans

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