Niall Horan is back with a brand new sound.
"I'm so happy to be releasing 'Slow Hands.' I've been listening to a lot of early '80s stuff lately and been inspired by that heavy bass and the funky guitar sound," the 23-year-old singer-songwriter told E! News Thursday. "It's another flavor to my album that I'm excited to share." The single follows Horan's debut solo song, "This Town," which he released in November 2016.
Horan co-wrote "Slow Hands" and recorded it at L.A.'s East/West Studios; Julian Bunetta produced the song. Horan will shoot the music video for his second single sometime next week.
Recently, in the podcast Bizarre Life With Dan Wootton, Horan said he's proud of what One Direction's Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson have accomplished since the boy bend went on hiatus last year. "It's still the same as it was, to be honest. Everyone's releasing their own projects at the minute," he explained. "So, we're all pretty much on the same page."
Taking a break was good for everyone, he added.
"When we called the hiatus, we just felt like it was the right time. It was a long time to keep going at that intensity and that pressure, touring that much and bringing out albums at that pace," the "Kiss You" singer told host Dan Wooton. For the foreseeable future, "We're just doing our own thing, you know? Inevitably, I'm probably going to end up touring this. Harry will probably end up doing the same. Probably Liam. Probably Louis. That's a year—time adds up."
Horan said his bandmates sends each other demos of their solo material. He was particularly impressed by Styles' "Sign of the Times," saying, "I think people were a little bit shocked by it, by the song. I don't think so at all. I think it is very Harry. I really enjoy it. I really like it—it's a great song. I was listening to it earlier, actually, in the car." As for Tomlinson, Horan said, "Louis lives quite near me in L.A., so I'll be going over to him when I get out there. So, I'll be going out and seeing him and playing him some of my stuff, and hopefully he's got some stuff to play."
Now that he's a solo artist, Horan has left Simon Cowell's record label. "We were very close to Simon for years and had a lot of success together. I felt like I wanted and needed a fresh start. It's a long time to be at a label; I wanted to broaden my horizons and try something new," he said. "We both know that. When One Direction comes back, we'll still have albums left to do."
Horan called in to KIIS-FM's On Air With Ryan Seacrest Thursday, where he revealed that the song was received live with a full band. "It's a longer process and I've done it before, but it's good," Horan said. "I pick all the songs I want to record before I go into the studio, so I kind of knew what was going to be on the album three or four months ago, but I have yet to record it."
"Slow Hands" is the "most out there" song, as he "wanted to try something different."