Twenty One Pilots: Blurryface didn't feel special

Twenty One Pilots say breakthrough album Blurryface didn’t feel like the world-class work it’s proved to be - because they wrote it in bits and pieces while on tour.

And because they couldn’t see an overview, vocalist Tyler Joseph and drummer Josh Dun had no idea how fans would react to the follow-up to 2013’s Vessel.

Joseph tells Music Feeds: “The record was written on the road, so it didn’t feel very universal at the time. It was in the back of the bus or the hotel room and small areas where songs were being written and concepts put together.”

As a result, he says, “each song doesn’t really know the other exists. They’re each written in a vacuum. You end up going all over the place

“Josh and I didn’t really know how it was going to be received. People’s opinion of a bunch of songs ranging all over the place is sometimes kind of negative.”

Blurryface debuted at No 1 in the US and peaked at No. 14 in the UK following its release in May.

Joseph says: “It truly is music that Josh and I enjoy listening to ourselves.”

Twenty One Pilots credit their success to hard work and a strong live show. They’re currently touring Far East, then play Belfast’s Belsonic festival on August 26 before a run of UK shows in November plus a London appearance in February.