MYSTERIOUS WAYS
EVER SINCE HE JOINED THE BAND THAT would become U2 — right around 45 years ago — guitarist the Edge has sought to be economical in his compositional choices. Every note he plays has a purpose and is dictated by whatever the song calls for.
“I like musical themes that create the biggest impact with the least effort, whether it’s [English composer Edward] Elgar or the Velvet Underground,” he says. “To my ears, economy is elegant.”
The Edge has used his unexpected, pandemic-influenced time off the road to reaffirm that belief and keep his skills sharp. He’s worked on new music and continues to work on his composing skills. He utilizes guitar as well as keyboards and piano in an effort to “brush up on my understanding and ability to use some of these digital recording systems. These days, your laptop becomes a recording studio, so it’s been very liberating, in a way, to be able to develop music on my computer at home,” he says. “It’s been fun to really get into that.”
And then there’s his recent fascination with digital delay. “Digital delay for me was a way to add coloration, dimension, additional rhythm and a certain machine-age quality,” he says. “I know more about the mathematics these days, but it’s always about the part and the treatment evolving in tandem. It’s an instinctive and playful process. I never ‘use’ effects.”
“I always play 100 percent better if I have A SOUND I’M EXCITED BY AND THAT I FIND UNUSUAL OR NOVEL, and kind of an entry into some other opportunity with a guitar”
No matter how elaborate his guitars and gear have gotten over the years, let alone the level of stardom the band has reached, the Edge hasn’t forgotten the blood, sweat and tears the band has shed over the decades — and the unbridled joy of creating music. With the band’s 1981 album, October, turning 40 and their 1991 album, Achtung Baby, celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2021, it’s something that’s been on his mind of late. He hasn’t forgotten the lessons he learned making those albums — and the band members’ journeys discovering and refining what U2 is. While a lot has changed since those albums were released, much of what was learned on those albums still shows up in the band’s music.
“We are continuing our exploration of melodic essence,” he says. “It’s where all other aesthetic considerations fall away,
