U2’s The Edge wants to be the “vanguard” of guitar music’s revival
U2 guitarist The Edge has said he wants to be “the vanguard of this resurgence of guitars”.
Speaking to MOJO magazine, The Edge said that he experienced a huge burst of creativity during the Covid-19 pandemic. “The lockdown was a very creative period for me, just in composing music. I don’t want to jinx ourselves… but there’s a lot of great material waiting. I think the guitar is coming back. I really feel it. And I would like to be part of that.”
He added: “I’d like to be the vanguard of this resurgence of guitars! Don’t get me wrong – talking to people I know who work at Fender [guitar shop], they’re selling more guitars now than they’ve ever sold. But in terms of popular culture, there’s been a drift away from the instrument, it would be fair to say. And I think that pendulum is going to start swinging the other direction. Because it’s such an incredibly expressive instrument. The few bands that are using it well, it’s still fresh.”The guitarist concluded by saying that it “doesn’t necessarily have to feel like you’ve heard [guitar music] all before.”
The Edge was subsequently asked about U2’s place in the current musical landscape and if he thinks U2 can still set trends. “We do that as well (laughs). I dunno … To not have any ear for what’s relevant within the culture is just being out of touch. You can do stuff that’s completely against the grain, but you still want to know where the grain is. I think about it in terms of the flow of a river – if you’re not in the flow, you’re part of an oxbow lake. And I want to be part of the flow.”
You can read our classic review of U2’s Joshua Tree here.
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