Collaborations are more than popular in the music world, but ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons is experimenting with what might not be the most natural collaboration you would imagine.
Following the Texas trio’s tour in Europe this past June, Gibbons headed to Ibiza where he connected with with successful EDM producer, David Guetta.
“I wanted to know how they did certain things, and of course they were badgering me to bring the guitar to the forefront,” Gibbons told Billboard. “They said, ‘Y’know, the only thing missing in dance music is a good guitar player.’ I said, ‘Let’s see if we can bring the two together and make it shake.’”
While it’s far from what people might expect, Gibbons suggests that many have overlooked what made the trio’s eighth studio album, Eliminator so interesting was the risks they took when ceasing opportunities to collaborate and experiment.
“A lot of people have overlooked the fact that one of the things that made (ZZ Top’s) Eliminator so interesting was the opportunity to go into that experimental side of things and fool around with the coolest new toys that could be found in the recording studio,” he said. “I’m always fascinated by that, so my time in Spain was very fruitful.”
The result of connecting with Guetta are the eight or ten completed tracks Gibbons says should see the light of day soon.
Meanwhile, the band will be celebrating their 45th anniversary this year and recently kicked off their joint tour with Jeff Beck.
