Approximately two-and-a-half decades after beginning his career, Cure mastermind Robert Smith is working on his first solo album, a collection of collaborations with several of his friends.
Smith actually began working on the concept during the making of the last Cure album, last year’s Bloodflowers, but has had to put the project aside three times due to various concerns surrounding his group as well as the availability of others.
He said, “The basic songs have been recorded and I’m intending to collaborate with on each one with a different artist. That’s why I have to have, like, a clear run of time, because I have to work around other people’s schedules-it’s not just like I can do it when I feel like it. So I’m in the process of doing that now and I hopefully will be able to finish this in January or February of next year.”
However, Smith refrains from divulging the names of others participating in the project. “I’m loath to, because it won’t leave me much to talk about when I’ve done it,” he says. But Smith suggests that Cure fans might be able to figure out some of the guests on their own. “I only know a limited number of people in the music world, so it’s kind of obvious,” he says.
Among those that come to mind are various members of Siouxsie & the Banshees.
The Cure’s Greatest Hits collection arrived in stores November 13.