Yesterday, the wife of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour leaked the band’s plans to release a new studio album, called Endless River, in October. Her tweet, seen below, mentions sessions from 1994 and that the new album would be a “swansong” for keyboardist Rick Wright, who passed away in 2008.
Btw Pink Floyd album out in October is called “The Endless River”. Based on 1994 sessions is Rick Wright’s swansong and very beautiful.
— Polly Samson (@PollySamson) July 5, 2014
More details have emerged since then. According to The Sun, a British newspaper [via Brain-Damage], it seems that Roger Waters will not be involved, as the sessions were recorded in 1994, and Waters quit the band after their 1983 album The Final Cut. Additionally, sources indicate that there will not be a tour associated with the album release.
Singer Durga McBroom-Hudson (who has worked with the band in the past) shared the following Facebook picture, confirming the album’s existence:
Apparently, the material dates back from 1994, but David Gilmour and PF drummer Nick Mason have been working through it for the past six months, and it’s “been a joy for [them] to rediscover” it. The music was created for a separate ambient project called “The Big Spliff,” that was recorded during The Division Bell sessions (their final studio album from 1994). Fans have known about “The Big Spliff” for a number of years, as an ambient track was played before Pink Floyd concerts in 1994.
You can listen to this ambient track, simply entitled “Soundscape,” below. No telling if any of this music will be included on The Endless River. Brain-Damage expects a formal announcement of the album to come tomorrow.
-David Melamed (@DMelamz)