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Jamie Lidell Returns With ‘Compass’ on May 18, 2010

Post a Comment February 8, 2010 – 5:53 pm | Permalink |  Print This Post |

JAMIE LIDELL ALBUM COMPASS SET FOR MAY 18, 2010 RELEASE

Warp Records is pleased to announce the release of Jamie Lidell s third full-length album Compass on May 18, 2010. The album was recorded in Los Angeles, New York and Canada, Jamie s fellow travelers on Compass include Beck, Feist, Gonzales, Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear and Pat Sansone of Wilco. Musically and lyrically this is very much a Jamie Lidell Production—reflecting not only his exhilarating, diverse tastes, but also a year of change, love, longing and arrival at a new place.

Undoubtedly, Compass is his most eclectic album yet. Songs shift, chop, change and mutate genres and forms before our very ears. It s got funk in spades; the jaw-dropping power of the vocals is stronger than ever; it rocks, it pops, it s sweet, angry, hard, soulful and soft, often within the span of a single track. It s the restless album that finally matches the soul of its creator.

Sessions began at Beck s Hudson Studios in Los Angeles, where he gathered Jamie together with Wilco, Leslie Feist and veteran drummer James Gadson (who s hit sticks for Bill Withers, Quincy Jones among many others) for Beck s Record Club project (where a group of musicians cover an album in a day). Inspired by the chemistry of those jams, they shifted to the legendary Ocean Way Studios. There, they were joined by producer/keyboardist Brian Lebarton, singer Nikka Costa, and Justin Stanley. All would have an important impact on the album. Pat Sansone from Wilco and Chilly Gonzales (who s played on both Multiply and Jim) were present as musical meta-spirits , recording their parts remotely and delivering them via the internet. As Jamie says of this formidable line-up of brilliant collaborators— You don t fuck with them!

Back in New York he began to make sense of this great big mess on the hard drive. Then it was up to Feist s ranch in the Niagara Escarpment with Chris Taylor, producer and member of Brooklyn avant-pop sensations Grizzly Bear. Musically and lyrically Compass is certainly A Jamie Lidell Joint—reflecting not just his exhilarating, diverse tastes, but also a year of change, love, longing and arrival at a new place.

I wrote every song in a month, Jamie says, It s been an emotional couple of years, so I tapped into what I wanted to say and started writing. There was a lot to draw on. When he takes to the road in 2010, he ll be bringing a band again, but stripping it back; keeping it lean. For both newcomers and initiates, this will be an experience. And no, he won t stop.