In a rare interview with BBC Radio 6 (via Pitchfork), The Cure’s lead vocalist, Robert Smith, revealed to host Robert Keaveny that the band has booked studio time next month, for the purpose of demoing new songs. Smith says the studio time came as a result of curating London’s upcoming 25th annual Meltdown Festival. The Cure is set to headline on the festival’s final night.
Smith will soon follow in the steps of Patti Smith, David Bowie, Nick Cave and Guy Garvey as curator of the Meltdown Festival, which recently updated its roster to include Death Cab For Cutie, Frightened Rabbit, Low, Suzanne Vega, The Twilight Sad, The Joy Formidable and more. Smith revealed to Radio 6 that Meltdown served as a catalyst to write new songs, saying: “I’ve suddenly fallen in love with the idea of writing new songs.” The musician adds, “Funnily enough, doing this Meltdown thing has actually galvanized me and I’ve booked studio time for the band.” Fans can expect collaborations with other artists in Smith’s forthcoming work, as the musician has sent out handwritten letters to artists he’d like to work with.
Smith also hinted at possible appearances to celebrate The Cure’s 40th anniversary in 2019. The artist said, “What shall we do? Go back to Crawley, where it all started? Play in the pub where we did our first show as the Cure? Or should we go mega, play a show in every capital city in the world?” In light of the band’s success, the guitarists suggest that whatever body of work comes next for the band might be their last: “It’s the 40th anniversary of the first album in 2019,” Smith said. “I thought, if I don’t have something out new that year, that’s it for me. I don’t think The Cure will ever release another album.”