It seems Mike Shinoda has kept himself very busy during his time in Australia, including a keynote event at the BIGSOUND music conference earlier this week, and making various appearances on live TV, all to talk about his new haircut (or conspicuously not talk about it) and other music-related topics. Most recently, he held an exclusive Q&A event in Sydney, mostly attended by Linkin Park Underground members. These lucky fans got the opportunity to submit questions days in advance, and sit in the same room as Shinoda at [VENUE REDACTED] while Triple M host Brendan Annakin rattled off a selection of them for him to answer. Among the highlights of this hour-long Q&A was the special chance to hear a brief snippet from Shinoda's upcoming music project which he has been teasing online recently. He described the upcoming new music to the audience as having been written specifically with his own singing in mind, in contrast to how he typically writes parts for other vocalists. He then prefaced the surprise preview by imploring fans to find their mental happy place before the music played. Linkin Park Discord server member Dampney, who attended this Q&A, was kind enough to upload his own video recording of this segment, which you can see on Twitter via LinkinPark:br: This snippet obviously falls in line with Shinoda previously describing his new music as something that will be "familiar" to Linkin Park listeners. Indeed, fans who have feverishly speculated that Shinoda is revisiting guitar riffs are likely to feel vindicated, but it is nonetheless unknown where the song travels stylistically after the moments we actually get to hear. The rest of the Q&A saw Shinoda talking a wide range of topics, including Linkin Park's fanbase adapting to new online social tools as they evolve, the personal experience of moving forward with brand-new solo music while compiling the nostalgic "Meteora" anniversary package, and his undying love of Rick Astley. He also thoughtfully touched on current issues like the use of artificial intelligence programs as it pertains to music-making, as well the impact that changing music consumption trends could have on songwriting decisions. There were, suspiciously, no questions about Shinoda's new haircut. Are you excited for new music from Mike Shinoda? Tell us on our message board! Source: LinkinPark:br on Twitter
Really cool to hear Mike seems to be onto "a project", rather than random one-offs ^^ I like the idea of him composing music with his own singing in mind. Will hold from listening to the snippet.
He's been describing it pretty ambiguously, but what I'm gathering is that he'll drop singles but with greater effort in the presentation - probably something similar to "Welcome" where he did a whole tour and merch drop centered around the one song.