RUDY BOLLY
The Good Times are most definitely back for dance music’s ultimate hitmaker. “Everybody will be worldfamous for 15 minutes,” proclaimed Andy Warhol many moons ago – but Nile Rodgers has surely tipped the hour mark, and then some. He survived the ‘Disco Sucks’ movement, the 80s backlash, drug overdoses, a major post-millennial chart comedown and, more seriously, cancer. But the producer’s status grew immeasurably when he sprinkled fairydust over Daft Punk’s Get Lucky in 2013, and he has been a ubiquitous presence at music-industry happenings ever since. Even so, a new album under the Chic mantle was a long time coming. Back in 2015, It’s About Time came close to fruition, preceded by its nostalgic lead single, I’ll Be There. But three years on and “it’s a whole different thing”, demurs Nile, clearly only focused on the new and improved version of It’s About Time. “This album is the most self-indulgent record I’ve ever made in my life, except for maybe [debut 1983 solo LP] Land Of The Good Groove. It’s the first Chic album in 26 years; I had plenty of stuff I wanted to say. The only reason why I didn’t continue after I’ll Be There is because that record was a big tribute to all the artists who made my life so special. I was thanking Bowie, Michael, then Prince, but these artists started dying and it just didn’t feel right. I realised that particular world I was writing about had changed, that time was gone and I’ve got to be making records in this world for a new Chic experience.”