There was no grand plan when Adrian Belew first stepped into what would become Gizmodrome. At least, not on his end. “I thought I was just going to maybe play on a project with Stewart Copeland,” Belew says, imagining a quick guest appearance. “Maybe play some crazy guitar on a few songs.” Instead, ten days later, it had quietly turned into a full-fledged band.
“And everybody was loving it,” Belew recalls. “Really enjoying being together. The music—you can tell—there’s a lot of joy there.” That joy is the connective tissue of Gizmodrome, a record that sounds less like a supergroup experiment and more like four people discovering something electric in real time. “We just decided, well heck, this is so much fun and we love it—we’ve got to share it with the world.”
For Belew, the surprise went beyond the music. After decades of moving fluidly between solo work, collaborations, and his trio projects, the idea of another band wasn’t exactly on the agenda. But Gizmodrome tapped into something older and rarer. “It feels like kids in a candy store,” he says, comparing it to the early, us-against-the-world thrill that bands often lose over time.
Part of that excitement came from the circumstances. “We have a proper record label now,” Belew says, still sounding slightly stunned. “That’s something I haven’t had for a long time. I thought I’d never have that again.” Even more surprising? “We can be on the radio. Isn’t that incredible? I didn’t think that was going to happen for me again.”
Musically, Gizmodrome clicked fast. Songs often arrived half-formed from Stewart Copeland and Vittorio Cosma, then evolved in the room. “Most of the time they were just showing us the basics,” Belew explains. “‘Here’s the verse, here’s the chorus.’ Then all four of us would work up an arrangement.” The process was brisk and instinctive. “We’d do probably no more than three takes. Almost always we took the second one.”
Why the second? “The first one’s for practice,” Belew laughs. “The second one, you know. The third is one time too many.” That slight looseness mattered. “We like the jam quality—the fact that it doesn’t sound like you’ve sat down and worked out a lot of parts. It sounds like a band playing together.”
That feeling reminded Belew of another lightning-in-a-bottle moment: touring and recording Remain in Light with Talking Heads. “I could play whatever they needed,” he says. “Working on the fly like that—it’s fun.”
Vocally, Gizmodrome centers on Copeland’s idiosyncratic delivery. “Stewart sings in a way no one else can,” Belew says. “He’s more of a storyteller than a singer.” Belew and Mark King handle the choruses, creating a contrast between Copeland’s character-driven verses and polished harmonies. “That seems to be the blueprint for this record,” Belew notes, already hinting that the next one may open up further.
Live, that dynamic will expand even more. Copeland will alternate between frontman and drummer, with Level 42 drummer Pete Biggin keeping the engine running when needed. “We won’t miss a beat,” Belew says.
Between Gizmodrome, upcoming Bowie celebrations, and archival releases tied to Frank Zappa, Belew’s schedule is full—but his enthusiasm is unmistakable. “It’s going to be a lot of work,” he says, smiling through the workload. “And then it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Listen to the full interview above and then check out "Summer's Coming" below!
