As it says in the press release, Bonnie “Prince” Billy has kept himself busy over the past few years with covers including Susanna Wallumrod (wolf of the Cosmos), Mekons (The Curse), Merle Haggard (Best Troubador) and a collaborative record with Bitchin Bajas (Epic Jammers and Fortunate Little Ditties). What has been missing is an album of originals, the last one being Wolfroy Goes To Town released way back in 2011.
Here we hand over to Will Oldham:
“In recent years, the whole world of recorded music, in the way that such music is conceived, perceived, recorded, released and distributed, has been atomized. I tried holding my breath, waiting for the storm to pass, but this storm is here to stay and its devastation is our new landscape. What else is a person to do except what he knows and feels, which for me is making records built out of songs intended for the intimate listening experiences of wonderful strangers who share something spiritually and musically? I started working on these songs thinking that there was no way I was going to finish them and record and release them. This was a constructive frame-of-mind that protected the songs until this frightening moment when we let go of them and give them to you.”
“The world has changed. Some things will never change. Some are gone forever. Thankfully, this isn’t one of them…” we couldn’t agree more!
I Made A Place is set for release on 15th November but today Oldham gets to share a new single – (At The) Back of the Pit, the place where we keep precious things which include women’s socks, wedding rings, matchbox and hotwheel cars…
We’re told that the song considers what to do with the things we love when it comes time for the death (and therefore, rebirth) of our painstakingly-built’n’kill’t world. Check out the new video which includes a cast of Will Oldham, Michelle Wiseman, Joan Shelley, Jacob Duncan, Nathan Salsburg, Danny Kiely, Mike Hyman and Ike Harrell.
Photo credit: Christian Hansen