A year after promising to say a slow goodbye, LCD Soundsystem have announced their final concert. James Murphy's dance-punk band is "retiring from the game", performing a farewell gig at New York's Madison Square Garden on 2 April.
"It will be our last show ever," Murphy said. "[But] if it's a funeral, let's have the best funeral ever!" Having released three albums and 19 singles since 2001, LCD Soundsystem are "gettin' out [and] movin' on", he explained. "For just one more night, we will be playing with friends and family for nearly three hours – playing stuff we've never played before and going out with a bang. We'd like you to be there."
LCD Soundsystem were rumoured to be calling it a day in 2008, and in January 2010 Murphy said the band were "probably" approaching their final tour. Last March, he told BBC Radio's Zane Lowe that This Is Happening would be their "last" album. "It just [seems] perfect," he said. "We'll make this the last record and we'll do exactly what we want and go out happy." Speaking to the Guardian last April, Murphy went into greater detail. "It just feels like this should be the last one," he said. "For one thing, I always told myself I wouldn't do LCD past the age of 40. For another, I don't know if EMI would put another record out by us ... And a third factor is that I really want to do a good job, and I want to do everything myself."
Though LCD Soundsystem is Murphy's band, he has recruited several consistent collaborators including Nancy Whang, Pat Mahoney, Tyler Pope and Hot Chip's Al Doyle. The end of LCD Soundsystem refers not to Murphy's musical career, but to this particular project, as he explained on the band's forum: "After [2 April] ... we'll be retiring as this live band."
Murphy may spend more time working with other artists, particularly as a producer. "Twice, I couldn't make an Arcade Fire record [because of LCD Soundsystem]," he told Spin. "I couldn't make a Spoon record. I couldn't work with John Cale or Devo. The plan was for this band to be part of my life, then it started to be the whole of my life."
LCD Soundsystem are currently completing their final tour, playing Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Chile before their last ever date in New York. Tickets for the farewell concert – with support from Liquid Liquid – go on sale on 11 February.
