Franz Ferdinand gets dub infusion with "Blood"

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - For its second album of 2009, Scottish rock outfit Franz Ferdinand has recorded a dub version of the group's January release.

The nine-song set, "Blood," will be released June 1 through Domino.

It makes sense that "Tonight: Franz Ferdinand," the group's previous album, would lend itself to a dub treatment. (Evolved from reggae, dub centers on instrumental remixes of existing recordings.) On that set the band worked with Dan Carey, who has produced such artists as Lee "Scratch" Perry and Mad Professor. Speaking to Billboard in November 2008, lead singer Alex Kapranos described Carey as having "a different dynamic than other producers."

"I think with anything, it has to be a collaboration and we find ourselves bouncing off one another rather well," Kapranos said of the group's work with Carey. "He's coming from that Jamaican perspective -- there's much more space; the bass guitar leads a lot more on this record than anything else."

"He was very relaxed and fit in very easily into the band dynamic," added bassist Bob Hardy. "He's very interested in the process of making a record and that kind of world. He'd spend five hours working on a particular sound that will only be on the record for like three seconds' worth."

Franz Ferdinand is on tour in the U.S. through May 8.

(Editing by Sheri Linden at Reuters)