Dirty Projectors and Björk's 2010 collaborative EP Mount Wittenberg Orca is getting an expanded reissue this Saturday for Record Store Day. Arriving via Domino, the reissue includes 20 bonus tracks of previously unreleased material, including demos, rehearsal takes and live tracks from a 2009 performance at the Manhattan bookstore Housing Works.
Alongside the announcement comes an unreleased live rendition of "On and Ever Onward," which you can listen to below.
"Mount Wittenberg Orca might be my favourite thing from this chapter of Dirty Projectors," David Longstreth said in a statement. "It feels like sort of a dark horse in the catalogue. Which I guess is kinda funny, considering it's a collaborative record with Björk. We were overwhelmed with the hype around the band at the time and purposely under-messaged it. But I love these songs. And as a basically live-in-studio album, it's the only official release that shows how this lineup really cooked as a band."
Longstreth continued: "The performances and engineering hold up really well. And, of course, Björk elevates us to a different level of protean majesty. I remember being spontaneously in tears during her vocal takes for 'Sharing Orb.' I'm also excited to share the original Housing Works show, in its raw beauty, as well as the writing tapes and rehearsals that show how the whole thing came together. Thanks for listening."
Björk released her tenth studio album Fossora last year. Dirty Projector's last release was 2020's 5EPs.
Mount Wittenberg Orca Reissue:
Side A
1. Ocean
2. On and Ever Onward
3. When the World Comes to an End
4. Beautiful Mother
Side B
1. Sharing Orb
2. No Embrace
3. All We Are
Side C
1. Intro (Live from Housing Works 2009)
2. Ocean (Live from Housing Works 2009)
3. On and Ever Onward (Live from Housing Works 2009)
4. When the World Comes to an End (Live from Housing Works 2009)
5. Beautiful Mother (Live from Housing Works 2009)
6. Sharing Orb (Live from Housing Works 2009)
7. No Embrace (Live from Housing Works 2009)
8. All We Are (Live from Housing Works 2009)
Side D
1. Wave Invocation (MWO I Inverness Demo)
2. Motherwhale Song (MWO II Inverness Demo)
3. Whale Watcher Song (MWO III Inverness Demo)
4. Fugal Swim (MWO IV Inverness Demo)
5. First Duet (MWO V Inverness Demo)
6. Migration (Unfinished MWO VI Inverness Demo)
7. Jubilation (MWO VII Inverness Demo)
8. Benediction (MWO VIII Inverness Demo)
9. When the World Comes to an End (Freewrite Demo)
10. When the World Comes to an End (Vocalise Rehearsal Rough)
11. Beautiful Mother (Vocalise Rehearsal Rough)
12. On and Ever Onward (Full Rehearsal Rough)
Alongside the announcement comes an unreleased live rendition of "On and Ever Onward," which you can listen to below.
"Mount Wittenberg Orca might be my favourite thing from this chapter of Dirty Projectors," David Longstreth said in a statement. "It feels like sort of a dark horse in the catalogue. Which I guess is kinda funny, considering it's a collaborative record with Björk. We were overwhelmed with the hype around the band at the time and purposely under-messaged it. But I love these songs. And as a basically live-in-studio album, it's the only official release that shows how this lineup really cooked as a band."
Longstreth continued: "The performances and engineering hold up really well. And, of course, Björk elevates us to a different level of protean majesty. I remember being spontaneously in tears during her vocal takes for 'Sharing Orb.' I'm also excited to share the original Housing Works show, in its raw beauty, as well as the writing tapes and rehearsals that show how the whole thing came together. Thanks for listening."
Björk released her tenth studio album Fossora last year. Dirty Projector's last release was 2020's 5EPs.
Mount Wittenberg Orca Reissue:
Side A
1. Ocean
2. On and Ever Onward
3. When the World Comes to an End
4. Beautiful Mother
Side B
1. Sharing Orb
2. No Embrace
3. All We Are
Side C
1. Intro (Live from Housing Works 2009)
2. Ocean (Live from Housing Works 2009)
3. On and Ever Onward (Live from Housing Works 2009)
4. When the World Comes to an End (Live from Housing Works 2009)
5. Beautiful Mother (Live from Housing Works 2009)
6. Sharing Orb (Live from Housing Works 2009)
7. No Embrace (Live from Housing Works 2009)
8. All We Are (Live from Housing Works 2009)
Side D
1. Wave Invocation (MWO I Inverness Demo)
2. Motherwhale Song (MWO II Inverness Demo)
3. Whale Watcher Song (MWO III Inverness Demo)
4. Fugal Swim (MWO IV Inverness Demo)
5. First Duet (MWO V Inverness Demo)
6. Migration (Unfinished MWO VI Inverness Demo)
7. Jubilation (MWO VII Inverness Demo)
8. Benediction (MWO VIII Inverness Demo)
9. When the World Comes to an End (Freewrite Demo)
10. When the World Comes to an End (Vocalise Rehearsal Rough)
11. Beautiful Mother (Vocalise Rehearsal Rough)
12. On and Ever Onward (Full Rehearsal Rough)
