Now that the Pixies' latest reunion tour is under wraps, Black Francis has shifted his focus to a new project. Joining forces with songwriter Reid Paley, Black will release an album called Paley & Francis on September 13 via Sonic Unyon.
UPDATE: The album is now due out on October 13.
This is hardly the first time the two musicians have worked together. Francis produced Paley's 1999 LP Lucky's Tune, and the pair have previously collaborated on several songs and tours.
The duo released this joint statement about the whirlwind recording sessions that in turn made up Paley & Francis:
This album was recorded in two relatively short days this past September 2010 in Nashville, Tennessee. All first takes.
We wrote the music for the songs in Paley's apartment in Brooklyn over three afternoons when Francis was in New York for a three day run at Joe's Pub. After which we each took half of the songs to finish off with lyrics, and Francis went off to meet what he sometimes likes to call "the old band" for another tour.
A few days later, we were recording at Jon Tiven's studio in Nashville. We each sang lead on the songs we wrote lyrics for and sang backup on the others. We worked fast. Francis had Pixies shows each evening, so we had a curfew. Paley recalls finishing the lyrics to one tune literally a minute before cutting the vocal. The two of us on guitars, with legendary Muscle Shoals players David Hood on bass and Spooner Oldham on piano. Damn, those guys are good.
Hope you dig the vibe.
In an announcement on Paley's website, he revealed that the album will come out via Cooking Vinyl in the UK. There's currently no teaser track from the album, so for now you will have to satisfy yourself by checking out the tracklist below. At the bottom of this page you can also hear the previous Francis song "I'm Not Dead (I'm In Pittsburgh)," one of his many co-writes with Paley.
Paley & Francis:
1. "Curse"
2. "On the Corner"
3. "Magic Cup"
4. "Ugly Life"
5. "Seal"
6. "The Last Song"
7. "Cresent Moon"
8. "Deconstructed"
9. "Praise"
10. "Happy Shoes"
UPDATE: The album is now due out on October 13.
This is hardly the first time the two musicians have worked together. Francis produced Paley's 1999 LP Lucky's Tune, and the pair have previously collaborated on several songs and tours.
The duo released this joint statement about the whirlwind recording sessions that in turn made up Paley & Francis:
This album was recorded in two relatively short days this past September 2010 in Nashville, Tennessee. All first takes.
We wrote the music for the songs in Paley's apartment in Brooklyn over three afternoons when Francis was in New York for a three day run at Joe's Pub. After which we each took half of the songs to finish off with lyrics, and Francis went off to meet what he sometimes likes to call "the old band" for another tour.
A few days later, we were recording at Jon Tiven's studio in Nashville. We each sang lead on the songs we wrote lyrics for and sang backup on the others. We worked fast. Francis had Pixies shows each evening, so we had a curfew. Paley recalls finishing the lyrics to one tune literally a minute before cutting the vocal. The two of us on guitars, with legendary Muscle Shoals players David Hood on bass and Spooner Oldham on piano. Damn, those guys are good.
Hope you dig the vibe.
In an announcement on Paley's website, he revealed that the album will come out via Cooking Vinyl in the UK. There's currently no teaser track from the album, so for now you will have to satisfy yourself by checking out the tracklist below. At the bottom of this page you can also hear the previous Francis song "I'm Not Dead (I'm In Pittsburgh)," one of his many co-writes with Paley.
Paley & Francis:
1. "Curse"
2. "On the Corner"
3. "Magic Cup"
4. "Ugly Life"
5. "Seal"
6. "The Last Song"
7. "Cresent Moon"
8. "Deconstructed"
9. "Praise"
10. "Happy Shoes"